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143rd Year, No. 62
REGONIAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019
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WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
IN FRONTIER LAW ENFORCEMENT
NEW FACES,
OLD PROBLEM
EO Media Group/Tim Trainor/
The streets of Fossil were mostly empty in November as the county sheriff ’s offi ce prepared for a change in leadership.
By TIM TRAINOR
For the East Oregonian
I
f your car drives off the road, your house
catches fi re, or your ex is pounding too
loudly on your door in Wheeler County,
know this: It’s likely to be a long time
before help arrives.
Currently, a four-person sheriff’s offi ce
patrols the rural county in north-central
Oregon. Yet a system of volunteer fi refi ghters and
EMTs, in place for more than a generation in the
county, is in danger of collapse.
The number of volunteer fi refi ghters has
dropped by more than half since the lumber mill in
Fossil closed more than 20 years ago, taking with
it most of the local economy and much of the pop-
ulation. The regional emergency dispatch center in
nearby Condon is down three positions. To cover,
dispatchers have been working 12-hour shifts for
nearly a year. There are no city police departments
in Wheeler County and no Oregon State Police
troopers are based there, though some can respond
from neighboring jurisdictions many miles away.
Despite that, public safety could have been
worse following a changeover of its entire county
sheriff’s offi ce in 2018. When former sheriff Chris
Humphreys announced in June that he wanted to
resign his position, each of his deputies decided to
move on as well.
“It’s just kind of like when a band breaks up,”
Humphreys said. “When one person leaves, no
one else wants to be here. And by here I mean in
law enforcement ... no one wants to be here with-
out each other.”
Humphreys stayed on until December as a new
band began to form. That crew is now led by Sher-
iff Mike Smith, who was approved by the county
court after his most recent stint as deputy in neigh-
boring Gilliam County. Undersheriff Mitch Elliot,
who joined the force earlier in the year, has expe-
rience at both public and private law enforcement
agencies throughout Oregon. Two recently hired
Surprising career change
for former Wheeler sheriff
Chris Humphreys takes
job in mental health
By TIM TRAINOR
For the East Oregonian
fter seven years as Wheeler County
Sheriff, Chris Humphreys found he
could no longer connect with his
family. The “gloom” in his head just
wouldn’t go away.
“I was never completely there,” he said, clean-
ing out his offi ce during his last days on the job.
“That’s a hard thing to realize when you’re talking
to your daughter.”
For Humphreys, the years of shoestring bud-
gets, hand-me-downs and lack of time away from
the job led to burnout and a need to fi nd a new
career.
“I heard more frustration in my voice than
hope,” he said.
A frustrated police offi cer can be dangerous. In
2006 and 2009, Humphreys faced scrutiny for two
separate on-the-job incidents while working for
the Portland Police Department, according to The
Oregonian.
James P. Chasse, a Portland man suffering from
paranoid schizophrenia, died of blunt force trauma
to the chest after a struggle with Humphreys and
two other offi cers, who did not tell paramedics the
extent of force they had used and then failed to
insist that an injured Chasse be taken to a hospital.
Chasse later died in the back of Humphreys’ patrol
A
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
After facing frustration and two controversial on-the-
job incidents while serving on the Portland Police
Department, Chris Humphreys ultimately left his law
enforcement career to work in the fi eld of mental
health.
“I HEARD MORE FRUSTRATION
IN MY VOICE THAN HOPE.”
See Law, Page A8
Chris Humphreys, former Wheeler County Sheriff
See Humphreys, Page A8
Pendleton hits housing goal, falls short on infrastructure
As new units go up, roads continue to get worse
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
In his fi rst act as mayor-elect in
2016, John Turner detailed his plans
to form a committee that would help
draft goals for the Pendleton City
Council.
“If you don’t like the list of goals
we have set, tell us what you want.
With your input, we can establish a
prioritized list of the top three or four
goals, and assign them measurable
outcomes,” he said in a statement. “I
expect these goals to drive the delib-
erations of the new city council in
2017-18.”
After going through a survey and a
committee, the city council approved
its four goals in January 2017: cre-
ate sustainable infrastructure fund-
ing, increase economic development
activities, develop commercial, indus-
trial, and residential property, and
increase available housing.
Two years later, the results are a
mixed bag.
By the council’s own measures, the
city has achieved some of its goals
while falling short on others.
Infrastructure
Funding for road maintenance was
one of the council’s top priorities, but
its numbers are going in the wrong
direction.
While the council had a goal of
maintaining a pavement management
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
See Goals, Page A7
The city set a housing goal in 2017 of increasing housing construction by
50 units a year.