TROOPER NEWS - Oregon State Police Officers Association

OSPOA MONTHLY TROOPER NEWS MAY 2012 

WWW.OSPOA.COM 

Official Publication of the Oregon State Police Officers’ Association 

Trooper News 

News, Information, Features, Opinions, and Letters Related to Law Enforcement 

OSP Achieves Highest Recorded Drug Seizure Levels During 2011 

A review of statistics and cases developed by Or- 

egon State Police (OSP) Patrol Services Division troop- 

ers and Drug Enforcement Section detectives during 

2011 reflected the highest seizure levels ever tracked 

by OSP. The OSP Drug Enforcement Section recorded 

300 drug-related seizures that met High Intensity 

Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) reporting thresholds. 

This number is nearly 30 percent higher than 2010 

rates and more than a 150 percent increase over 2008 

reports. 

Captain Calvin Curths, director of the OSP Criminal 

Investigation Division, was encouraged by the 

unprecedented statistics but recognized the real fact 

that significant drug supplies are still getting to our local 

communities. 

“Although these seizures have kept traffickers 

from delivering substantial quantities of dangerous 

illegal drugs to their destination, significant supplies 

remain available and have a real effect on our communities 

and individual users. Unfortunately, these illicit 

drugs are of unknown origin, and their purity is often 

unpredictable and extremely dangerous to those who 

use them,” said Curths. 

Dr. Karen Gunson, State Medical Examiner, recently 

released 2011 drug-related death statistics 

that reflected an alarming increase from the previous 

year and the highest number of total deaths since 

the beginning of 2000. Heroin was the leading cause 

with 143 drug-related deaths in Oregon, followed 

by methamphetamine (107 deaths) and cocaine (33 

deaths). Information for all counties with at least one 

drug-related death and a comparison of drug-related 

categories during the last 11 years is available on the 

OSP website: http://www.oregon.gov/OSP. 

Canine Units play an important role in many drug seizures.

PAGE 2 MAY 2012 OSPOA TROOPER NEWS WWW.OSPOA.COM 

2011 DRUG SEIZURE STATISTICS 

24 lbs of heroin seized (increase of 240% over 

2010) 

242 lbs of methamphetamine seized (increase 

of 265% over 2010) 

164 lbs of cocaine seized (increase of 500% 

over 2010) 

382 arrests for drug-related crimes (15% 

increase over 2010) 

222 marijuana cases (increase of nearly 39% 

compared to 2010 statistics) 

Over 2,600 lbs of marijuana seized (a 95% in- 

crease with an estimated value of $6.5 million) 

Over 24,000 marijuana plants seized (increase 

of over 1,200%) 

Over 8 lbs of heroin seized involving use of 

drug-trained canines 

84 lbs of methamphetamine seized involving 

use of drug-trained canines 

138 lbs of cocaine seized involving use of 


632 lbs of marijuana seized involving use of 


Wallowa marijuana grow 

Oxycontin seizure 

Methamphetamine bust


President’s Post 

senior Trooper Darrin Phillips 

Changes are at hand. As many of you 

have heard, the OSPOA is currently under- 

taking a huge project. At my direction, 

with input from many, we have terminated 

our contract with Jadent. Jadent was the 

telemarketing firm that made calls on our 

behalf soliciting donations to support our 

mission. 

Over the past year I have received many 

complaints, including a complaint to the 

Department of Justice and a negative news 

article regarding our telemarketing practices. 

As this unfolded, I started to research 

what was actually occurring. I found that 

not only did we not have a good system of 

checks and balances with the accounting 

of how much money was being generated, 

but our image was also not being well represented. 

As many of you know, OSPOA received 

25% of every dollar that was donated to us. 

Jadent kept 75% and absorbed all overhead 

and produced the Trooper Magazine. As the 

economy has declined, so have our telemarketing 

dollars. Over the past 10 years, 

Jadent has generated between $500,000 

and $750,000 per year through its telemarketing 

efforts. We have seen returns ranging 

from $90,000 to $125,000 per year. 

After doing the research and meeting 

with our brothers and sisters to the north 

in the Washington State Police (WSP), who 

also conducts business very similar to us in 

regards to telemarketing, I quickly realized 

that we were missing out on a huge opportunity. 

With all of that in mind, I brought 

Erin Reyes-Smith and Michael Sullivan in as 

consultants to work on this project. 

My vision is to develop a call center that 

utilizes our members, members’ families, 

and friends of OSPOA. That way when a 

potential donor speaks to someone from 

within the organization, they will be able to 

get a much better perspective on what we 

do and how we utilize the donations. Furthermore, 

we would build lasting relationships 

with our donors and bring them into 

the family. 

As of this writing we have completed an 

extensive budget, leased space, and hired 

11 new employees to move forward with 

our vision. We have secured technology 

that will allow us to not only run a call center 

in Salem but also to offer employment 

opportunities to your families as part of 

that call center through remote access at 

home with a computer and high speed internet 

connection. The software allows us 

to track, record, and monitor every call from 

the call center. We can discuss issues and 

coach our remote employees via web cam 

and ensure that they are carrying out our 

mission. 

With this plan, every penny that is generated 

goes directly into either our members’ 

pockets as the salary that we pay or 

into OSPOA’s general account to be used 

for scholarships, assistance to our members 

who suffer from PTSD, and many more 

worthwhile causes. 

Under the old systems, OSPOA traditionally 

offered $20,000 in scholarships to 

members’ children each year. Under our 

new vision we plan on offering reoccurring 

full-ride scholarships as well as dozens 

of smaller scholarships. Our vision is to increase 

our scholarship output from $20,000 

yearly to hundreds of thousands of dollars 

each year. 

As you can see, this is a lofty goal but 

the model already exists to generate much 

more revenue with an in-house operation. I 

have worked closely with the SEC and Rob 

Norton, our Meryl Lynch financial consultant, 

to ensure that our cash reserve would 

not be negatively affected by this project. 

Rob has put together a financial plan to 

help us fund the project with maturing investments 

and avoid pulling any funds from 

our existing accounts. 

Our project manager, Rob, and I will be 

tracking the dollars and cents closely and 

reporting to the SEC and the membership 

regularly to maintain as much transparency 

as possible when dealing with our finances. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or 

interest in employment, please feel free to 

contact me at any time. It is you and your 

families that will make this venture a success. 

Until next time, stay safe, and please 

take care of each other. 

Darrin


Crescent Lake Kidnapping Ends in Capture of Suspect by OSP 

and Safe Release of Hostage 

A standoff at a remote Crescent Lake-area 

cabin between the OSP SWAT team and a kidnapping 

suspect ended when the suspect received 

a non-life threatening gunshot wound 

and was apprehended by the Oregon State 

Police. The suspect, Alberto Quiroz Martinez, 

age 28, was shot by an Oregon State Police 

(OSP) trooper assigned to the SWAT team 

during a standoff at a remote Crescent Lakearea 

cabin in northern Klamath County. The 

female victim reported missing was rescued 

and not injured. 

On May 1, 2012, in the late morning 

hours, law enforcement officers responded to 

a report that a vehicle associated with a Umatilla 

County missing person case was spotted 

near a cabin in the Crescent Lake area. Upon 

confirming the report, officers secured the 

area, and the OSP SWAT team responded to 

the scene. Negotiators made contact with 

two people inside, later confirmed as suspect 

Alberto Quiroz Martinez and a female identified 

as Melody Kay Mickel, age 26, from Herm- 

iston. According to the Umatilla County Sheriff’s 

Office, Mickel was reported missing under 

suspicious circumstances April 27, 2012, and 

Martinez was a suspect in her disappearance. 

After several hours of negotiations, Martinez, 

who was barricaded inside the remote 

cabin, then exited the cabin wielding a knife 

and holding the kidnapped woman in front 

of him as a human shield. During the standoff 

outside the cabin, Martinez was shot once 

by an OSP SWAT team member and received 

a non-life threatening injury. Mickel was released 

unharmed and was later transported 

from the scene by officers to meet with investigators. 

She had been held against her will 

at the cabin since she was reported missing. 

Martinez was transported by ambulance 

and treated at a Bend area hospital for a superficial 

head wound. He was later released 

and lodged in the Deschutes County Jail on a 

Parole Violation warrant. Additional charges 

are pending related to investigations in Umatilla 

and Klamath counties. 

The investigation into this officer-involved 

shooting is continuing by the Klamath 

County Major Crimes Team, Oregon State 

Police (OSP) Criminal Investigation Division, 

Klamath County District Attorney’s Office, 

Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office, 

and Umatilla/Morrow County Major Crimes 

Team. 

The name of the OSP trooper is withheld 

pending the ongoing investigation and interviews. 

The 35-year old trooper, an 11-year 

OSP veteran, is on paid administrative leave, 

a routine step taken in officer-involved shootings. 

The cabin location is also withheld until 

investigators conclude their work at the 

scene. According to the Klamath County District 

Attorney’s Office, their office will present 

the investigation before a grand jury when 

completed. 

Questions regarding the original investigation 

in Umatilla County should be directed 

to Umatilla County Undersheriff Terry Rowan. 

OSP and Brookings Police Apprehend Federal Fugitive in Brookings 

Oregon State Police (OSP) and Brookings 

Police Department (BPD) arrested a federal 

fugitive early Saturday at a Brookings-area 

bar where he was working as a disc jockey. 

The man was sought by the U.S. Marshals 

Service and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office 

of Michigan for two arrest warrants. 

According to Senior Trooper Jess Oliver, 

information was received from the U.S. 

Marshals Service and the Oakland County 

Sheriff’s Office that a wanted fugitive named 

Craig Thomas Balog, age 30, was possibly in 

the Brookings area working at a local business. 

Follow-up investigation by BPD and 

OSP confirmed Balog was working at the 

101 Bar and Grill in the 98000 block of West 

Benham Lane. 

Balog, who was considered by the U.S. 

Marshals Service as armed and dangerous, 

was wanted on a federal warrant for 

Probation Violation. He was also wanted 

out of Oakland County, Michigan, on a 

warrant charging Failure to Appear for 

Sentencing. 

On May 5, 2012, at approximately 2:25 

a.m., officers from OSP and BPD located 

Balog and took him into custody without 

incident as a Fugitive from Justice. 

He was lodged in the Curry County 

Jail.


2011 Tollgate Incident Provides a Model of Effective OSP 

Response to an Officer-Involved Shooting 

As the SWAT team shooting of a kidnap- 

ping suspect in Umatilla recently emphasizes, 

troopers will always be faced with situations 

in which deadly force is needed to resolve 

the situation. In light of this, it is valuable to 

revisit a shooting incident that occurred a 

little more than a year ago in a nearby area 

which illustrates how the right response to a 

trooper-involved shooting incident can serve 

both justice and the needs of the trooper. 

On March 22, 2011, OSP trooper Ryan 

Sharp and Umatilla County deputy Morgan 

Dunlap responded to a report of a vehicle 

crash on Highway 204 near Tollgate. When 

officers arrived, they found the vehicle abandoned 

and footprints visible in the snow 

leading away from it. The trooper and deputy 

searched the area for the driver whom they 

learned was wanted on a federal Parole Violation 

warrant related to a weapons offense. 

At approximately 7:28 p.m., they saw 

a man crouched down near a snow bank 

armed with a rifle. The officers ordered the 

man to drop the rifle aimed at the officers, 

but he failed to comply and shots were fired, 

wounding the man. The man, identified as 

Michael Thomas Summers, age 52, from 

Milton-Freewater, was shot three times, was 

treated for his injuries, and survived. Both 

Trooper Sharp and Deputy Dunlap were 

cleared by a Umatilla County Grand Jury 

following an investigation into the shooting. 

According to Umatilla County District 

Attorney Dan Primus, the Grand Jury found 

the use of deadly force by OSP Trooper Ryan 

Sharp and Umatilla County Deputy Morgan 

Dunlap was justified related to the shooting 

of Michael Thomas Summers. 

While the preceding covers the general 

details of the case, it is worth focusing on 

the immediate response of supervisors and 

support personnel following the shooting 

itself. The lead investigator in the case, Senior 

Trooper Mark Banks, notes that officers 

have had careers ruined and reputations 

tarnished due to poor handling of the situa- 

tion post-shooting. Fortunately, this situation 

was handled in an exemplary manner. 

Almost immediately, the OSPOA President, 

Senior Trooper Darrin Phillips, arrived 

at the scene with OSPOA attorney, Daryl Garrettson, 

to oversee proper handling of the 

situation, ensuring all details were correctly 

addressed. There was also swift arrival and 

response from the Critical Incident Response 

Team (CIRT) and Sergeant Bob Cannon, the 

OSP manager who took over the scene. Sergeant 

Cannon took control of the situation, 

and Trooper Sharp was able to leave in order 

to decompress and to meet with his attorney 

before being questioned about the incident. 

The CIRT Team Leader, Trooper Swede 

Pearson, recalls that the response from everyone 

involved was “very successful and 

worked really well. The supervisors took 

good care of [Trooper Sharp]; Sergeant Cannon 

and Lieutenant Sherman did a great job. 

The response from Darrin Phillips and the OS- 

POA attorney was timely and helpful as well.” 

Trooper Pearson explained that the CIRT 

team is called in to make sure that the trooper’s 

needs are being met by offering debriefing 

with peers or trained psychologists, or by 

referring officers to other needed services. 

CIRT members are trained to respond to a 

variety of needs: emotional, physical, family 

notification, peer support, etc. This is all part 

of keeping troopers healthy and well-functioning 

in the aftermath of highly stressful 

situations. 

Umatilla County District Attorney Dan 

Primus pointed out that troopers benefit 

from getting away from the scene to decompress 

from the stress and shock of such 

incidents. 

“We tend to think about the legal side 

of things and can overlook the human side. 

Management in this situation focused on 

the human side and showed care for the 

trooper involved. The trooper remained on 

the scene to give aid to the suspect but was 

able to leave when Sergeant Cannon arrived. 

It slows things down a little, but it’s 

the proper way to handle things, giving the 

individual a chance to decompress, relax, and 

consider what happened. We find that the individuals 

involved--officers and victims--actually 

give better, more detailed interviews 

when they are allowed to decompress this 

way,” DA Primus explained. He also added, 

“Ryan Sharp is an outstanding trooper.” 

Trooper Sharp was later questioned with 

his attorney present, as was his protected 

right. Upholding the rights of troopers benefits 

everyone, including the community, by 

retaining skilled, valuable officers such as 

Trooper Sharp. 

In evaluating the handling and outcome 

of this situation, Vice President Banks pointed 

to one area in need of improvement. 

“We need to keep the dispatch in the 

loop and will in the future, “ he said. “A union 

rep should have contacted the dispatcher to 

find out if they were okay, if they needed to 

take a day for themselves after this situation. 

Checking on dispatchers’ health is part of our 

job as well.” 

Finally, as Banks reiterated, when managers 

do not handle a situation well and when 

officers do not have good union representative 

support, incidents like these can end the 

careers of talented, dedicated officers. Fortunately, 

all parties responded in an effective, 

supportive manner. He added, “That is one 

of the important roles the Association plays- 

-making sure that all procedures are followed 

and the trooper’s rights are fully protected in 

any situation.”


By Senior Trooper James L. Mecham 

As a trooper with the Oregon State Police 

for twenty-two years and a teacher of Defensive 

Tactics for the past seventeen years, I’m 

concerned because of recent deadly force 

incidents and the media’s response to these. 

Two separate officer-involved shootings (officers 

from other agencies) occurred in our 

county within two weeks. The good news 

is that in each instance the officers survived 

and the threats were stopped. However, 

because both threats were killed during the 

confrontations, a media maelstrom ensued 

with armchair quarterbacks criticizing the officers’ 

uses of deadly force. 

My thoughts and prayers went out to 

these men, our brothers behind the badges. 

At one point I listened to a local radio station 

and heard a self-proclaimed “police officer” 

ramble about how the officers involved 

should have utilized different tactics and 

how the officers’ lack of planning “caused” 

the incidents. This “officer,” on a public radio 

station, proceeded to outline various tactics 

that police agencies use to apprehend suspects. 

I hope the criminals weren’t listening 

and taking notes. I was angered. We should 

not eat our own, and we should definitely refrain 

from speaking negatively about fellow 

officers who have survived a life-threatening 

event. Constructive discussions can be conducted 

later, in private. 

During our SW Region DT Classes, we review 

the ORS and our Department’s policy 

regarding the use of Deadly Physical Force. 

As law enforcement, we need to have a good 

working knowledge of Deadly Force policies 

because our careers--and lives--depend on 

it. Additionally, we should be able to explain 

Deadly Force confidently, intelligently, and 

succinctly to the public. 

All uses of force have a common thread: 

The threat dictates the officer’s level of force. 

We, the officers, do not determine the force 

level, the threat does. Therefore, the injuries 

and severity of injuries incurred is the threat’s 

own responsibility. 

An Overview of the Use of Deadly Force 

As officers, we don’t fight fairly, we fight 

to win. This mentality finds its basis in our 

policy: It is incumbent upon the officer to 

overcome the threat’s resistance as quickly 

as possible to minimize the possibility of injury 

(or degree of injury) to the threat and the 

officer. The longer the fight lasts the greater 

chance of injury to all involved. For us, it’s not 

a game; every fight we are in puts us at risk 

for injury or death. 

The following is NOT a checklist; it is the 

foundation and framework for a good working 

knowledge of deadly force. 

To review, Deadly Physical Force according 

to ORS 161.015 means physical force that, 

under the circumstances in which it is used, 

is readily capable of causing death or serious 

physical injury. Serious Physical Injury according 

to ORS 161.015 means physical injury 

which creates a substantial risk of death, or 

which causes serious and protracted disfigurement, 

protracted impairment of health, or 

protracted loss or impairment of the function 

of any bodily organ. 

Basically, Serious Physical Injury (SPI) may 

cause death or permanent injury. An officer 

fighting for his life gouges the threat’s eye. 

This would be considered use of deadly physical 

force since the threat (who dictated the 

officer’s use of deadly force) potentially could 

lose an eye. 

Two main factors must exist in each incident 

to justify the use of deadly force: 

1) A level of suspicion (for the officer), and 

2) The use or threatened use of SPI by the 

threat. 

The two levels of suspicion are Reasonably 

Suspects and Probable Cause (PC). Reasonably 

Suspects (Reasonable Suspicion) according to 

ORS 131.605 means that a peace officer holds 

a belief that is reasonable under the totality 

of the circumstances existing at the time and 

place the peace officer acts. Probable Cause 

according to ORS 131.005 means there is a 

substantial objective basis for believing that 

more likely than not an offense has been 

committed and a person to be arrested has 

committed it. 

Our policy, within the framework of the 

ORS, gives us some basics for the circumstances 

in which deadly physical force may 

be used. Each can be reduced into a simple 

acronym (at my age, acronyms help me keep 

it brief and simple, so humor me): 

DAP = Defend, Apprehend, Prevent. 

Defend the officer or another person from 

what the officer reasonably believes to be 

the infliction or threatened infliction of serious 

physical injury. Bottom line: We can defend 

anyone from SPI, whether occurring or 

threatening to occur, if we have a reasonable 

suspicion. 

Apprehend a person who the officer has 

probable cause to believe has committed, or 

is committing, a crime involving the infliction 

of serious physical injury. Bottom line: We 

can use deadly force to arrest a threat who 

we have PC to believe has or is committing a 

crime involving SPI. Please remember the exception 

here: Without SPI as part of the crime, 

we are not justified to use deadly physical 

force; refer to Tennessee vs. Garner below. 

Prevent the escape of a person from custody 

who the officer has probable cause to 

believe is inflicting, or threatening to inflict, 

serious physical injury as a means of escape. 

Bottom line: If we tell someone they are 

under arrest, they are in our custody. If we 

have PC to believe the in-custody is inflicting 

or threatening infliction of SPI, we can use 

deadly force to stop them. 

Two important cases we should read often 

are Tennessee vs. Garner and Graham 

vs. Connor. Tennessee v. Garner 471 U.S. 1 

(1985) was a case in which the United States 

Supreme Court held that under the Fourth 

Amendment, when a law enforcement officer 

is pursuing a fleeing suspect, he or she may 

use deadly force to prevent escape only if the 

officer has probable cause to believe that the 

suspect poses a significant threat of death or 

serious physical injury to the officer or others. 

Bottom line: We can’t shoot a fleeing felon 

unless we have PC (level of suspicion) to be- 

See DEADLY FORCE, Page 10


A Message from the Vice President 

Senior Trooper Mark Banks 

During my many meetings with mem- 

bers around the State, I have noticed three 

significant issues of concern reoccurring 

that I’d like to address this month. 

The biggest issue I see facing our members, 

as mentioned last month by OSPOA 

President Darrin Phillips, is the fallout of 

Brady v. Maryland 373 U.S. 83 (1963). This 

was a 1963 ruling where the Supreme 

Court held that withholding exculpatory 

evidence “where the evidence is material 

either to guilt or to punishment,” violates 

due process. Brady was a defendant being 

prosecuted for a murder and admitted to 

being involved in the murder but stated his 

coconspirator, Boblit, had done the actual 

killing. The prosecution withheld a written 

statement in which Boblit confessed 

to committing the murder by himself. The 

fallout of this ruling requires prosecutors to 

notify Defense Attorneys whenever a law 

enforcement member involved in the investigation 

has been determined untruthful 

in an official capacity. 

Flash forward 49 years, and we now 

have numerous interpretations of this law 

and problems which come with new case 

law and its application. The Department’s 

recent attempt to include a statement 

about being able to provide truthful and 

accurate testimony in our position descriptions 

was nothing more than an attempted 

end run around just cause to fire an employee 

deemed not fit to testify in court by 

a prosecuting attorney. 

This ruling is not exclusive to police officers. 

Our Forensic Scientists need to understand 

this will probably affect them as 

much or more than the police employees. 

Depending on the discipline of the scientist, 

they may have many more subpoenas 

in a year than some of the police employees 

will see in ten years. 

There also seems to be some movement 

within the State to move from untruthful 

in an official capacity to document- 

ed untruthfulness. An example would be 

if my friend and I were having drinks in a 

bar, and I watch him become involved in a 

bar fight. Being impaired or not impaired, 

I fear for the arrest of my friend, so I tell responding 

officers that he was not involved, 

downplay his role, or exaggerate the other 

party’s role. This now gets documented in 

a police report that is sent to the District Attorney’s 

Office and contains my untruthful 

statements. This kind of thing is going to 

cause a “Brady Letter” to be issued and will 

likely force the Department to look at my 

termination. 

When contacted by law enforcement as 

a witness, victim, or suspect, you have two 

choices: refuse to give a statement or tell 

the truth to the best of your ability. I would 

apply this to traffic tickets and/or game offenses 

as well. It is common place for officers 

to hear lies and obvious attempts to 

minimize behavior to avoid citations. You 

don’t want to have yourself recorded lying 

to get out of a traffic ticket and have agency 

supervisors or prosecutors seeing that 

on video. Again, I recommend you be very 

honest and own your mistakes if made, or 

politely refuse to give a statement. When 

ordered to give a statement by a supervisor 

while on duty about on-duty or off-duty 

conduct, ask for a rep and always tell the 

truth. 

Some members will read this and say, 

“That’s a no-brainer; don’t lie and you don’t 

have to worry.” Certainly, being honest 

takes away most of the problem. However, 

then the issue becomes who determines 

when an accusation of untruthfulness is 

sustained. This is the biggest threat to our 

members. It could be a supervisor who has 

never liked you and wants you terminated. 

It could be a prosecutor who wanted your 

testimony to be more in line with his theory 

of the crime instead of fair and impartial. 

These are issues I’ve not experienced in my 

career, but I have seen others fight these 

overwhelming battles. Unfortunately, the 

determination of whether or not a lie or 

untruth was offered by an employee is in 

the hands of those in power, who do sometimes 

seek a predetermined outcome. 

A second important but unrelated topic 

that is commonly discussed during my 

meetings with members is that of fit problems 

with the new Point Blank vests. They 

had difficulty getting the necessary modifications 

for proper fit of the vest through 

the stockroom. An ill-fitting vest is not 

something that should be ignored. It may 

seem like a minor annoyance at first, but 

5-7 years later, the best thing that can come 

out of it is a vest you have come to detest 

wearing daily. For some of our members, 

it could potentially lead to back, shoulder, 

and/or neck problems. 

My recommendation is to be diligent, 

and if the vest doesn’t fit right, send it back, 

send it back, and send it back again. If that 

still doesn’t work, contact your office rep 

and have them report it to Darrin and me. If 

there is a significant problem with getting 

a properly fitting vest, we need to know so 

that maybe we can work out something 

with the Department to get the manufacturer 

more involved in the process. 

Two of our members also brought up a 

great point about the manufacturer. They 

want the vest to fit and will bend over backwards 

to make that happen, so there is no 

reason to be forced to wear a vest that 

does not fit correctly. Unfortunately, I 

don’t think we can do anything about the 

increased thickness of the new vest, so 

don’t compound the downside of being issued 

a thicker vest with tolerating one that 

doesn’t fit right. 

The final issue I’d like to address was 

brought up by our attorney, Daryl Garretson. 

That is the issue of “safety release” language 

in the last two contract bargaining 

sessions. This would allow an employee 

See MESSAGE, Page 11


Elude and Standoff Ends in Arrest East of the Dalles 

A Kelso, Washington, man 

was arrested April 19th by 

OSP troopers and SWAT team 

members during a standoff 

following the man’s attempt 

to elude eastbound on Interstate 

84 east of The Dalles. 

On April 19, 2012, at approximately 

8:16 a.m., OSP 

received information to be 

on the lookout for a Ford 

F-250 pickup eastbound 

on Interstate 84 from the 

Hood River area following 

a reported hit and run 

non-injury crash. The pickup reportedly 

rammed into the back of another vehicle 

driven by an adult male near milepost 59. 

An OSP trooper and lieutenant spotted 

the suspect vehicle eastbound at Rowena 

near milepost 76 and attempted to stop it. The 

pickup’s driver failed to stop and sped up to 

nearly 100 m.p.h., weaving between lanes and 

passing other vehicles on the right shoulder. 

Near milepost 83, OSP deployed 

spike strips, hitting the left front tire. 

The pickup avoided a second attempt to 

spike it two miles later, continuing east- 

Improvised Explosive Device Rendered Safe by OSP Explosive Technicians 

Oregon State Police (OSP) is continu- 

ing the investigation into the discovery of 

a homemade improvised explosive device, 

commonly known as a pipe bomb, on a Highway 

126W bridge east of Florence near milepost 

1. The highway was closed about three 

hours, and the device was rendered safe by 

OSP Explosives Unit technicians before the 

highway was re-opened. 

On April 3, 2012, at approximately 6:30 

p.m., a citizen called OSP Northern Command 

Center dispatch reporting a suspicious object, 

described as a piece of pipe with a fuse, 

laying along Highway 126W about a mile 

east of Three Rivers Casino and Hotel. No OSP 

troopers were on duty out of the Florence 

office, so two troopers were called out from 

their homes to respond. 

bound as the left front tire began to deflate 

until it stopped near milepost 88. 

The driver failed to comply with troopers’ 

orders and remained inside the pickup 

for about six minutes before driving off eastbound. 

The left front tire shredded off the rim, 

and speeds were near 70 m.p.h. for another 

nine miles. The pickup exited at Celilo and lost 

control as it tried to turn at the bottom of the 

off-ramp, stopping in a wide gravel pullout. 

The driver continued to fail to comply 

with orders, so troopers and officers from 

Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, The Dalles 

Police Department, and Sherman County 

Trooper Leland Farrar arrived on scene 

about an hour later and confirmed the object 

appeared to be a small improvised explosive 

device on the eastbound shoulder of a 

bridge. 

Troopers closed traffic in both directions 

as OSP Explosives Unit technicians responded 

from Salem. Explosive technicians arrived 

about 9:20 p.m. and rendered the device safe 

before removing it from the area. 

ODOT personnel assisted with traffic control 

until the highway was re-opened at 10:15 

p.m. 

Anyone with information regarding this 

investigation or who may be responsible for 

the placement or construction of the explosive 

device is asked to contact OSP at (800) 

452-7888. Trooper Farrar is the lead investiga- 

Sheriff’s Office established 

a safety perimeter. 

A crisis negotiator and 

OSP SWAT team members 

with an armored vehicle 

responded to the scene. 

At approximately 12:20 

p.m., the OSP SWAT team 

deployed a round with a 

chemical agent into the 

pickup at which time the 

driver came out and surrendered 

without further 

incident. The freeway was 

re-opened shortly thereafter. 

No weapons were found on the driver. 

David Clay Jennings, age 40, from Kelso, 

Washington, was subsequently lodged in the 

Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility 

(NORCOR) on charges related to incidents 

in both Hood River and Wasco counties. He 

was charged with Hit & Run - Property Damage 

(Hood River County), Reckless Driving 

(Hood River County), Recklessly Endangering 

Another Person (Hood River County), Felony 

Attempt to Elude in a Vehicle (Wasco County), 

and Reckless Driving (Wasco County). 

tor. 

The Oregon State Police Explosives Unit 

responds to approximately 300 calls per year 

statewide; about half of the calls are handled 

by Salem-area explosive technicians. The 

calls vary widely and include such responses 

as picking up fireworks and small arms ammunition 

for disposal; found explosives such 

as old dynamite, blasting caps, grenades and 

other various improvised explosive devices; 

and a large number of suspicious object/ 

package calls. Trained technicians are stationed 

regionally in Salem, Central Point, and 

Pendleton/Hermiston areas to respond to 

any explosives-related incident that may be 

encountered by public safety personnel or 

citizens.


By Lissa Willis 

On the evening of March 12, the Both- 

well Construction crew stayed in Waldport 

to get an early start on their work at the 

State Radio Project’s Table Mountain site the 

next morning. During the night it began to 

snow, and by 6 a.m., the town was blanketed 

by six inches of snow. 

“We knew that if there was that much 

snow on the coast, there would be much 

more at the job site at an elevation of nearly 

2,500 feet at the top of Table Mountain,” said 

Glenn Bothwell, owner and crew leader. 

The crew decided to try to access the 

mountaintop by driving east on Oregon 34. 

When they reached the five-mile point, they 

found several stopped cars and trucks. 

“Beyond the vehicles and people, it 

looked like a bomb had gone off,” Bothwell 

said. “There were dozens of trees down 

across the road, mixed with snow and rock 

slides.” 

Among the group of people gathered at 

the closure were a local sheriff and Oregon 

State Trooper Carla Urbigkeit from Newport. 

Bothwell mentioned to Trooper Urbigkeit 

that they were there to work on the radio 

site, and Urbigkeit indicated that OSP had 

no radio coverage on that portion of the 

highway. Bothwell assured the trooper that 

coverage should improve when the radio 

Snowstorm Sparks Spontaneous Collaboration 

Table Mountain impasse 

project work at Table Mountain was completed. 

The radio project crew quickly learned 

from the group that several people were trying 

to reach stranded family members miles 

to the east and that power had been lost 

during the night for many homes along the 

road. 

Those who had them got chainsaws from 

their trucks and set to work amid the cheers 

of bystanders. As time passed, more vehicles 

arrived, along with bigger chainsaws, which 

were put to work immediately. 

“I felt a little inadequate not having a 

chainsaw in my hand,” said Urbigkeit, “but 

I did help clear brush and limbs. Knowing 

there were people stranded without electricity 

and water made plowing through 

that mess a little quicker. It was really great 

how many folks were helping to open the 

highway — and the main concern they all 

had was for medical rigs to get through if 

there was an emergency.” 

The radio project crew pitched in and 

worked alongside the spontaneous rescue 

team of assembled travelers and officials, 

with appreciation for all the helping hands. 

“The trooper was right there in the middle 

of the volunteers carrying logs and limbs 

and thanking us for our help,” Bothwell said. 

“Our project crew was happy to help and to 

have the pleasure of working with other local 

folks who knew what needed to be done 

and did it.” 

The group worked for several hours cutting 

a path from the west until they met another 

group who had been cutting toward 

them from the east. 

“They said they had come from Alsea 

to the east,” Trooper Urbigkeit said. “We all 

cheered and clapped, and then the flood 

gates opened: The family got to their stranded 

son, westbound traffic made it through, 

and everyone was grateful. I traveled on to 

milepost 26, along a mostly one-lane road. 

I saw the Forest Service and ODOT working 

on the roads and knew they were going 

as fast as they could. All sorts of folks were 

out moving away debris and limbs; it was really 

wonderful to see.” 

Bothwell and his crew agreed. 

“It was a good feeling to know that we 

helped open a road that might not have 

been worked on for many hours due to the 

huge workload ODOT had elsewhere,” he 

said. 

Radio project crew members and Trooper 

Carla Urbigkeit help clear Oregon 34 after an 

early March snowstorm downed trees and 

caused landslides.


Road Memorial Sign Honoring Three Fallen Oregon State Police Officers 

A public ceremony was held April 27, 

2012, on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol 

recognizing the placement of Oregon’s 

third roadside sign honoring law enforcement 

officers killed in the line of duty. 

State Representative Andy Olson, representatives 

from the Governor’s Office, several 

State legislators, Deputy Superintendent 

Richard Evans, Oregon Department of Transportation 

officials, and others joined family 

and friends of three fallen Oregon State 

Police law enforcement officers. The officers’ 

names will be displayed on a sign that will be 

DEADLY FORCE 

continued from Page 6 

lieve the suspect poses a threat of death or 

SPI to us or others. Additionally, in Graham 

vs. Connor 490 U.S. 386 (1989), the finding 

issued by the United States Supreme Court 

regarding a use of force incident (in this case 

the force used was not deadly, but it is the 

standard set for examination in all uses of 

force): The Fourth Amendment “reasonableness” 

inquiry is whether the officers’ actions 

are “objectively reasonable” in light of the 

facts and circumstances confronting them, 

without regard to their underlying intent or 

motivation. The “reasonableness” of a particular 

use of force must be judged from the 

perspective of a reasonable officer on the 

The memorial sign on Interstate 5 near milepost 258 

placed along the northbound lanes of Interstate 

5 near milepost 258. 

Three fallen Oregon State Police law enforcement 

officers are honored on this sign. 

Superintendent Holly V. Holcomb died in the 

line of duty November 25, 1975, in front of 

the Public Service Building in Salem when 

he was shot following a confrontation with 

a former state police employee. Sergeant 

Richard Schuening died in the line of duty 

October 2, 1997, while performing duties as 

a Hazardous Devices Technician at a remote 

site in eastern Oregon. Schuening joined the 

scene, and its calculus must embody an allowance 

for the fact that police officers are 

often forced to make split-second decisions 

about the amount of force necessary in a 

particular situation. 

Bottom line: Armchair quarterbacking 

not allowed. 

Strength and Honor. 

James L. Mecham and your Defensive Tactics 

Instructors 

Department of State Police in April of 1979 

and worked in a variety of duties including 

patrol, criminal detective, and arson and explosives. 

Recruit Trooper Dan Nelson died in 

the line of duty July 28, 1972, at the age of 

24. Nelson had recently completed recruit 

school training and was beginning solo patrol 

when he was struck and killed along Interstate 

5 north of Salem while standing next 

to a vehicle he stopped for a traffic violation. 

The three names serve as a gesture of 

memory and a tribute to their sacrifice.


A promising addition to the OSPOA team 

has been Project Adminstrator and our new 

Trooper Magazine editor, Erin Reyes-Smith. 

Many of you know Erin personally through 

her work with the OSP. Erin joined the Oregon 

State Police in 1990 as a Dispatcher in Medford 

and then transitioned from Dispatcher 

to State Trooper in 1994. During her time as a 

trooper, Erin worked in Tribal Gaming, Patrol 

Division, and Legislative Security, as well as 

serving as a Crash Reconstructionist for the 

MESSAGE 

continued from Page 7 

OSPOA Welcomes Erin Reyes-Smith as the New Editor of Trooper Magazine 

who is required to work an unusually long 

shift (18 hours, for example) to receive 8 continuous 

hours off-duty before returning to 

work or to be compensated with overtime for 

each hour worked until receiving 8 continuous 

hours off duty. 

As it stands now, if you work 24 hours 

in a row, you start your next day on duty at 

straight time. The exceptions would be using 

your own leave to go home, or flexing your 

schedule and not claiming some of the hours 

worked during the previous 24 hours as premium 

hours. 

During the last two contracts, I was on the 

bargaining team as a representative of the 

Criminal OSPOA members. Four years ago, I 

polled detectives across the state about their 

thoughts on “safety release” language and received 

a clear message that members in the 

Criminal Division did not want it. They were 

Salem Patrol Office. In 2001, she became a 

Recruiter for the Sworn Applicant Processing 

and then in 2002 became the Regional Training 

Officer. 

By 2003, Erin was assigned to plain 

clothes Legislative Security Detail at the Oregon 

State Capitol, later receiving a promotion 

to Sergeant. As the Sergeant for Sworn Applicant 

Processing, she, with the support of her 

team, developed and implemented the largest 

recruiting and hiring campaign for Sworn 

Membership. 

By 2008, she was ready to see what type 

of impact she could make outside of OSP. 

With her husband’s support and urging, she 

made the decision to accept the Criminal Justice 

Chair position with a local University, as 

well as starting a construction business with 

her husband. 

However, her husband soon received orders 

to report for active duty for a year deployment 

to Afghanistan with the 1186 MP 

Unit out of Salem. With the construction busi- 

afraid of being sent home during a major 

case. 

Despite concerns, I see this language as 

a benefit to Dispatch, Forensics (particularly 

those certified to respond to crime scenes), 

Patrol, Fish and Wildlife, Criminal, SWAT, MRT, 

and Collision Reconstruction. It really forces 

the Department to decide if you’re needed to 

be on duty for extended hours and if so, to 

compensate you for long hours worked without 

forcing you to burn leave or flex to avoid 

declaring premium hours worked. 

Daryl has successfully bargained this language 

in other contracts. I know his motivation 

behind this is not to generate higher 

incomes for employees. He doesn’t want 

members working 20 plus hours unless it’s 

absolutely necessary. He sees the damage 

of having a trooper working night shift and 

then spending the next day in court without 

a reasonable break of service before starting 

his next shift. It would be great for that 

employee to be afforded 8 hours of leave af- 

ness now almost running itself, Erin wanted 

to find another occupation during her husband’s 

long absence. 

Fatefully, she received a call from both the 

current and former OSPOA Presidents to ask if 

she would be interested in assisting the Association 

with projects. She gladly accepted the 

position as both Project Administrator and as 

the new editor of Trooper Magazine. 

“I am passionate about this position because 

the projects I have been assigned will 

make a positive impact on the OSPOA membership. 

Darrin has a vision of an association 

providing the greatest benefit to its membership, 

and I am grateful to have the privilege to 

be a part of it,” Erin said of her position. 

As part of her many duties, Erin is devoted 

to developing the Trooper Magazine to a level 

of quality the membership will appreciate. 

She can be reached with questions and ideas 

for Trooper Magazine at reyes@ospoa.com. 

ter court before returning to work. No one 

wants to drive a patrol car, write a report, or 

generate any work product that will be scrutinized 

by the defense bar after 23 hours on 

duty unless it’s truly an emergency situation. 

If you have an opinion for or against “safety 

release” language, please let your office reps 

know, and ask them to forward it to Darrin 

and me. 

During my recent travels to worksites 

around the State, we certainly discussed 

more topics than what I’ve written about. I 

will be covering the other regions and worksites 

in the next couple of months. I hope 

to use those meetings as an opportunity to 

discuss issues already brought up and to uncover 

new issues our members consider important. 

Mark Banks


Upcoming Events 

Trooper Events and Announcements 

Participants Needed for Fallen 

Trooper Memorial Run Send OSP Announcements 

The Fallen Trooper Memorial Run is next 

month. Many duties have been assigned. 

There is still time to volunteer to help. 

and Events to the Trooper 

News 

If you are not signed up already, please 

Are there events coming up that your 

consider becoming a participant in the run 

fellow OSP troopers or retirees would 

(walking is great, too). Also, please spread 

like to know about? Contact the editor 

the word about the charity run as we have 

of the Trooper News at troopernews@ 

low numbers of registrants right now and the 

ospoa.com to include your event in the 

more runner/walkers, the more money will be 

raised for the memorial. 

next issue. 

Contact Detective Chris Schinnerer at (503) 

731-3020 ext. 422 for more information or for 

fliers to distribute. Thanks in advance for all 

Directions to the Cow Camp 

Gathering 

your help. 

The 20th annual Cow Camp gathering will 

be held June 18th through 22nd beside Jack 

Contacting Retirees 

Creek near Sisters, Oregon. 

The campground is located north of high- 

Your retired fellow officers are easy to way 20 between Sisters and Suttle Lake. Travel 

find. If there is someone you would like to north from highway 20 on USFS Road #12. 

say hello to, please contact Ken Chambers After about 4 miles, turn left on Road #1230, 

at ChambersKen@Juno.com or Marge York and shortly you will cross Jack Creek. After 

at margeyork@earthlink.net, and they will crossing the creek, turn immediately left (up- 

relay your request to the OSP Retiree or stream) and continue to the camp (about 200 

Friend. 

yards). All of the route is paved except for the 

mentioned campground access road. 

Please contact Gary Hayden at (541) 382- 

2707 or garymaryh@gmail.com for more information. 

June 3, 2012 1st Annual Oregon State Police Fallen Trooper Memorial Run 

Run at 9 a.m.; park open at 7 a.m. for the event 

Champoeg State Park south of Wilsonville, Oregon 

Contact run coordinator Detective Chris Schinnerer at (503) 731-3020 ext. 422. 

June 18-22, 2012 20th Annual Cow Camp Gathering 

Jack Creek near Sisters, Oregon 

Contact Gary at (541) 382-2707 or garymaryh@gmail.com. 

August 4, 2012 OSP Memorial Softball Tournament 

Skyline Sports Complex, Bend, Oregon 

Contact Trooper James Duncan at james.duncan@state.or.us. 

Awards and Honors 

The recipient of the 2011 “Senior Trooper 

Maria Mignano Dedication to Duty 

Award” is Senior Trooper Scott Skinner 

from the OSP Ontario Area Command office. 

For the second straight year, the Oregon 

State Police (OSP) Springfield Area 

Command office was selected to receive 

the “DUII Agency of the Year Award for 

the Oregon State Police”. 

The Oregon State Police “DUII Enforce- 

ment Officer-of-the-Year” award was pre- 

sented to Trooper Adam Walport from 

the Central Point Area Command office. 

The “DUII Trainer-of-the-Year” recipient 

was Trooper Evan Sether from the OSP 

Springfield Area Command office. 

The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife 

Division recognized the impressive work 

of troopers from The Southeast Oregon 

Team by awarding them the Division’s 

Team of the Year award for 2011.


A note from the Editor 

Dawn Plechl 

Our May Trooper News offers many success 

stories for the OSP. The record number 

of drug seizures and arrests in 2011, the safe 

release of a kidnapping victim in Umatilla 

county through negotiation and SWAT action, 

and an overview of excellent policies 

that protect officers when they must use 

their firearms during the course of a dangerous 

job--these are just a sampling of achievements 

featured here. In fact, I found that I 

had to leave out many worthy items just to 

keep the Trooper News to a readable length! 

As you know, Oregon State Troopers accomplish 

important work for their communities 

and for the state of Oregon every day. I am 

so happy to have the chance to share some 

of what you do in these pages. 

Each and every month, you are involved 

in situations that your fellow troopers and 

their families want to hear about. Is there an 

aspect of your specific job that your fellow 

troopers know little about? Write an article 

(or offer an interview, and I will be happy to 

write it for you) so that others can learn more 

about what you do. 

A question I have for all of you to consider 

for our upcoming issues is this: How is the 

job you do different in the summer months? 

We’ve had several articles focusing on the 

challenges of snow season. What special 

challenges do troopers face as the weather 

heats up and people are out in large numbers 

at parks, beaches, and lakes? If you 

have some insight into how summer affects 

your job, let me know. 

Thank you for your work and for your 

help in shaping your Trooper News. 

Contact ospoA and Trooper News 

President Darrin Phillips phillips@ospoa.com 

Vice-President Mark Banks banks@ospoa.com 

Treasurer Devon Sommer sommer@ospoa.com 

Secretary Jim Ragon ragon@ospoa.com 

Region 1 Rep Tom Hatch hatch@ospoa.com 

Region 2 Rep Ray Stallsworth stallsworth@ospoa.com 

Region 3 Rep Robert Gorman gorman@ospoa.com 

Region 4 Rep Tim Thomas thomas@ospoa.com 

Region 5 Rep Stephanie Gourley gourley@ospoa.com 

Office Manager Rhonda Lewitzke rhonda@ospoa.com 

Editor, Trooper News Dawn Plechl troopernews@ospoa.com 

Editor, Trooper Magazine Erin Reyes-Smith reyes@ospoa.com 

The Trooper News is an official publica- 

tion of the Oregon State Police Officers’ Association. 

It is produced monthly for active 

and retired OSPOA members. Articles and 

letters appearing herein do not necessarily 

reflect the views of the OSPOA, its officers, 

or its editor. 

This newspaper is your means of communicating 

with other OSPOA members 

statewide. Articles, letters, and photographs 

that are appropriate and in good taste are 

accepted from members and nonmembers 

alike. It is desired that articles be limited to 

approximately 500 words except by agreement 

with the editor. Advice and publishing 

guidelines can be obtained by the editor. 

The receipt deadline for articles is the 

25th of the month that precedes the month 

in which the articles would be expected to 

appear. Submit articles to: 

Editor, Trooper News 

troopernews@ospoa.com 

503 881-0283

TROOPER NEWS - Oregon State Police Officers Association

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