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About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2021)
Columbia Gorge News www.columbiagorgenews.com Wednesday, July 21, 2021 9 Former police officer Jeffrey Kienlen to sue over wrongful termination Alana Lackner ■ By Columbia Gorge News followed Ellis’ discovery of a disciplinary letter from 2011 in his desk, just a few days after taking over the position THE DALLES — Former as Wasco County District The Dalles Police Officer Attorney. Jeffrey Kienlen gave notice The letter was a Notice of on July 13 that he would be filing a wrongful termination Discipline from the Chief of lawsuit against the City of The Police detailing an incident in which Kienlen was to Dalles. attend a training in Eugene, Kienlen was terminated on March 5 following Wasco Ore., with another officer. Kienlen requested a separate County District Attorney room, which the Chief of Matthew Ellis’ decision to Police denied. Kienlen then add Kienlen to the county’s requested to take his city car Tier 1 Brady list — the most severe administrative penalty in order to visit his cousin who lived in Eugene, which prosecutors can apply to was approved. law enforcement officials However, according to the — which rendered Kienlen letter, Kienlen told the other unable to testify in court. officer he would be staying The decision to add with a cousin near Salem, Kienlen to the Brady list Ore. When questioned about where he had stayed, Kienlen told the Chief of Police he had stayed at the Riverview Inn on Monday and Thursday, but would not initially disclose where he stayed on Tuesday or Wednesday. After further discussion, Kienlen admitted he spent these nights at the Comfort Suites in Salem with a partner. He also admitted his cousin lives in Hubbard and he didn’t have a cousin in Eugene. The letter stated that this was a violation of policy W.1.1.100.040 - Truthfulness. It also mentioned an incident from 2010 in which he was found in possession of a Stinger.22 pen gun that had been entered into evidence. After this incident, Kienlen was disciplined and told “any further violations of Policy and Procedures may result in further discipline up to and including termination.” On the back of these two incidents, Kienlen was demoted from Sergeant to Officer, according to the letter. Following the discovery of the letter, Kienlen was placed on administrative leave in January 2021, as the district attorney’s office began an investigation into the matter. The letter had not been dis- closed to defense attorneys in cases where Kienlen testified, which could’ve called into question his reliability as a witness. Upon reviewing cas- es Kienlen was a state witness in, many open misdemeanor cases were dismissed. The office found that Kienlen should be placed onto the Brady list at Tier 1 for “intentional and mali- cious deceptive conduct,” rather than Tier 2, which would indicate an intention to deceive that wasn’t mali- cious in nature. Tier 2 would’ve required the Notice of Discipline to always be presented at court, but would not have prevent- ed Kienlen from testifying. Because Kienlen was placed on Tier 1, he was thereby unable to testify in court, pro- hibiting him from being able to do his job. For this reason, he was terminated. Kienlen is currently being represented by Thenell Law Group in the pending suit for wrongful termination. The law group announced both the suit and their request for all department material re- garding Kienlen from January 1991 to present, so they can compile their case. City Attorney Jonathan Kara said the city does not comment on pending litiga- tion or litigation expected to be filed, but confirmed they did receive a Tort Claims Notice and Preservation and Public Records Request relat- ed to the matter on July 15. Oregon Dems blast own party for ‘arrogant’ moves Gary A. Warner ■ By Oregon Capital Bureau U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Their bitter reproach A pandemic political deal was aimed at Oregon and feuding Democrats have House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, who had struck made for a noisy start to the a deal to end a slowdown makeover of Oregon’s con- during the 2021 legislative gressional maps in time for session by giving Republicans the 2022 election. a seat on the House What was supposed to be a solo slam dunk has turned Redistricting Committee. It into a three-way high-speed would be an even 3-3 split between parties. slam dance. Kotek argued Oregon Not just Democrats vs. Republicans, but Democrats needed the deal to pass ma- vs. Democrats. jor bills on housing, unem- “It’s just inexplicable and ployment, health, and other arrogant,” U.S. Rep. Peter issues. Besides, Democrats DeFazio, D-Springfield, told have argued in the past that Politico magazine last month. political parity was good “Like shooting yourself in government. the head,” said U.S. Rep. Kurt National Democrats called Schrader, D-Salem. it the latest in a string of state The Democratic duo Democrats “unilaterally dis- wasn’t hammering former arming” their political advan- President Donald Trump or tage on redistricting in the shrinking number of states where Republicans didn’t control the Legislatures and governorship. “In rabid partisan states that are controlled by Republicans, they’re carving up left and right,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia. Will history stick to script? Oregon was supposed to be a bright spot in 2022 — a Democratic-controlled state that was getting a sixth con- gressional seat. Democrats need all the help they can get. Since World War II, the party of a new president — Republican or Democrat — averages a loss of 26 seats in the first midterm election. The Senate is harder to forecast because of staggered six-year terms. But the president’s party typi- cally loses two Senate seats. If history sticks to the script, Republicans will wake up the morning after the Nov. 8, 2022, election in control of the House and Senate. The national political map will have to play itself out. The big question in Oregon was when the Legislature would get the block-by-block data needed. On Thursday, the U.S. Census announced the Aug. 15 date for sending packets to the states was on track. It wasn’t supposed to work out this way. Democrats had big majorities in both cham- bers of the Legislature and fellow Democrat, Gov. Kate Brown, to give her stamp of approval. There would be none of the partisan tussle of the redistricting for the 2002 election or the forced smile compromise of the 2012 dis- tricts drawn by a power-split Legislature. Democrats would make the maps and approve the maps. Republicans could make noise, but not much else. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and like every other part of life, redistricting plans teetered and fell. The census count would have fits of stop-and-start. Dates for getting data to the Oregon Legislature were pushed back again and again. Constitutional deadlines were missed. The Oregon Supreme Court had to step in. It ordered a timeline do-over. But at politically hypersonic speed. The House and Senate re- districting committees would receive the data in mid-Au- gust. But meeting outside of a legislative session, the “interim” committee could talk and plan. They had a starting point: round numbers. The new official population of Oregon was 4,237,256. Each of the 30 Senate districts would include an average of 141,242 people. Nestled within each Senate district would be two House districts — a total of 60 — with an average population of 70,621. The tougher task will be Congress. With six districts, each would have 706,209 people. But exactly where and how the changes will be mapped won’t be known until next month. 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