Dear Yamhill County Citizens and Fellow Oregonians, Yesterday, October 1, 2014, you should have received the Chehalem Business Connection, and you probably noticed on page 4 the campaign ad/letter that my opponent, candidate Tim Svenson, published. I am an individual who believes in and practices the virtues and principles of fairness, honesty, integrity, loyalty, and transparency. Above all else I acknowledge and accept the fact that I am not perfect. None of us is perfect, but like everyone else I have nothing but perfect intentions to do what is right in all facets of my life, to include the privilege of being your Sheriff. With those good intentions in mind, it would be a great disservice and most disrespectful to you, the citizens of Yamhill County, if I was not forthcoming with an honest and truthful response to the campaign ad/letter that candidate Tim Svenson published. Candidate Tim Svenson made some clear statements that not only question my credibility as a law enforcement officer, but also that of my brother, Brian Casey (Newberg-Dundee Police Chief). Tim Svenson’s statement also simultaneously imply rather directly that the fine deputies, officers and detectives of the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office and the Newberg-Dundee Police Department cannot be entrusted to conduct a fair investigation between our respective agencies with myself as Sheriff and my brother, Brian Casey, the Chief of Police. This personal attack not only insults us and our family, but by extension is an even greater insult to those hard working professional members of two very professional and well-respected law enforcement agencies in the State of Oregon. I feel it is a disingenuous insult to you, the citizens of Yamhill County, to assert that as your Sheriff, neither I nor my brother, Chief Brian Casey, would conduct ourselves in a professional, fair, and impartial manner. To explain in more detail, the following is a quote from candidate Tim Svenson’s ad/letter: “Having established the need for an independent sheriff, here are some examples of incidents that occurred in right here in Newberg and Yamhill County: -A Yamhill County sheriff’s deputy was involved in an officer-involved shooting in Dayton. The Sheriff contacted the Newberg-Dundee police chief and arranged for a Newberg detective to investigate the shooting to make sure it was handled appropriately. -A person reported that he suspected a Newberg officer of domestic abuse. The police chief asked the sheriff to have his detectives investigate so there was no appearance of a cover up. Let me add one more example that all of you are familiar with: When a Fergusson, Mo., police officer shot an unarmed man, an outside agency was tapped to come in and address the concerns of the public. It was absolutely necessary that the agency selected to restore order be viewed as totally independent from the Ferguson Police Department, and accountable only to the citizens. Here is my question: Would you be completely comfortable that a fair investigation was conducted in each of the incidents cited if the head of the agency requesting the head of the agency conducting the investigation were brothers? What if the incidents were highly controversial? Would you be comfortable in all cases that there was no nepotism, collusion or cover up?” In making these comparisons, candidate Tim Svenson left out important facts that are not common knowledge to those outside of a law enforcement agency. For instance, law enforcement agencies routinely request assistance from a variety of other agencies, and it does not have to be an agency within the same county who conducts a specialized investigation (e.g. officer involved shooting), or who conducts the criminal investigation of a member within a respective law enforcement agency (e.g. an officer accused of domestic abuse). Additionally, candidate Tim Svenson also failed to mention that Senate Bill 111, which addresses the implementation of deadly force by a law enforcement officer has been in place since 2008—seven years after the referenced officer-involved shooting in Dayton. SB 111 requires specific practices be followed in the event of an officer-involved shooting in Oregon. A key component of SB 111 that candidate Tim Svenson also failed to mention in his examples is that, in all cases where an officer uses deadly physical force that causes serious physical injury or death of a person in Yamhill County, these cases are investigated by the Yamhill County Major Crimes Response Team (MCRT). The MCRT is overseen by and works at the direction of the District Attorney, and is comprised of detectives from the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, McMinnville Police Department, Newberg-Dundee Police Department and officers from the Amity, Carlton and Yamhill Police Departments. All of candidate Tim Svenson’s referenced cases were cases in which members of the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office and Newberg-Dundee Police Department have been investigated by the other agency. He failed to mention an occasion where a Yamhill County deputy was accused of a crime, and the Newberg-Dundee Police Department requested that the Oregon State Police conduct the investigation rather than conducting the investigation locally. This procedure was followed to ensure that, because the two agencies work so closely together, there would be no appearance of favoritism. Another example of interagency cooperation occurred in May of 2008, when an inmate was killed in the Yamhill County Correctional Facility. The Sheriff requested detectives from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office conduct an independent investigation into the death of the inmate. Again, the outstanding detectives of the McMinnville Police Department or Newberg-Dundee Police Department were not involved in any way. Candidate Tim Svenson’s reference to the tragedy in Ferguson, MO, was not only irrelevant, but was in poor form coming from a candidate running for Sheriff of Yamhill County. Given the circumstances of the highly emotional and racially-charged incident, the agency that was brought in was selected by the Governor of Missouri and not at the request of the Ferguson Police Chief. If an officer-involved shooting occurred in Yamhill County, be it an officer with the Newberg-Dundee Police Department or the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, the fact remains that the M.C.R.T. would investigate the incident and not the Sheriff’s Office over the Newberg-Dundee Police Department or vice versa. That investigation would be overseen and run by the District Attorney. Therefore, candidate Tim Svenson’s assertion that “In emotionally charged, high profile criminal cases, an arrangement like this would only lead to charges of conspiracy, corruption of [sic] dynasty building,” is nothing more than political propaganda. As Sheriff, there are several issues and information that one is privy to, and an elected official should conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times, while treating citizens in the county with respect. I personally feel that candidate Tim Svenson’s campaign ad was not professional, nor is it respectful to publish such an ad while omitting several of the critical points that I referenced. My belief is that Yamhill County is an amazing place to live and raise a family. Neither I nor my brother, Brian, would do anything to tarnish the great reputations of the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office or the Newberg-Dundee Police Department. I am aware that when the citizens of Yamhill County vote for me they are placing their trust in me. I do not take that lightly. The residents of Yamhill County should expect that I will hold the Yamhill County’s Sheriff Office staff, including myself, to the highest moral and ethical standards that they expect from a Sheriff. It would be my honor to serve you as Sheriff. Sincerely, Tim Casey
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 19:45:06 +0000
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