A6 The BulleTin • Friday, augusT 13, 2021
Court
Continued from A1
Nelson was former De-
schutes County Sheriff Larry
Blanton’s chosen successor,
appointed by a vote of the
County Commission upon
Blanton’s retirement in Sep-
tember 2015.
Blanton stepped down amid
several scandals involving his
senior leadership team, though
he and Nelson largely avoided
direct blame.
In March 2016, Kozowski,
then a 14-veteran of law en-
forcement, announced he was
running against Nelson in the
2016 election, telling voters
that widespread problems with
workplace culture and harass-
ment had continued under the
new sheriff’s leadership.
A month before the election,
Kozowski, who had no record
of discipline or misconduct,
said in a letter to the county le-
gal department that he and his
supporters were being targeted
for retaliation.
Kozowski ultimately lost the
race by 10%. Fourteen months
later, he was gone, fired by Nel-
son for office policy violations,
including a finding Kozowski
failed to log a report in an in-
stance when he was required
to, which Kozowski denies,
and a finding he declined to
arrest the subject of a warrant.
Homeless
Continued from A1
The decision marks an un-
precedented investment in
addressing homelessness for
the city of Redmond. Other
local governments, like the
city of Bend and Deschutes
County, have made similar
investments with rescue plan
funding as the homeless pop-
ulation continues to grow in
Central Oregon.
But half of the Redmond
City Council pushed back at a
meeting Tuesday, instead ad-
vocating for all of the money
to go toward the public safety
facility.
About $450,000 will go to
Bethlehem Inn, a nonprofit
that is converting a hotel into a
high-barrier homeless shelter,
which means someone needs
to be sober to stay there. This
amount will match $450,000
given by Deschutes County to
help close a funding gap for
the shelter, which is primar-
ily funded through the state-
funded Project Turnkey grant.
Another $300,000 will go to
Shepherd’s House Ministries,
a nonprofit seeking to open a
low-barrier shelter in the city.
Keychain
Continued from A1
Ten separate allegations
made by members of the
public in early May were de-
termined to be either “un-
founded” or “not sustained,”
according to the chief’s find-
ings report.
Capt. Nick Parker, head of
the patrol bureau, went a step
further in a letter to Krantz, de-
claring Spano “exonerated” of
the keychain-related allegation.
Krantz did, however, write
that while conducting the in-
vestigation, he encountered
departmental policies in need
of revision, including those re-
lating to uniforms, outside em-
ployment and social media.
Though its roots are in an-
cient Greek history, the term
“MOLON LABE” has been
used more recently as a defiant
battle cry by groups including
Second-Amendment support-
ers and U.S. military Special
Forces, according to the inves-
tigative report written by Bend
Police Lt. Juli McConkey.
McConkey’s investigation
included consultation with
local military recruiters who
confirmed the patches visible
in Spano’s vehicle in social me-
dia posts were consistent with
those often exchanged and col-
lected by military members,
her report states.
McConkey interviewed
Spano on June 2. They were
joined by his attorney, Angela
Lee, and the head of city hu-
man resources, and the Bend
Police Association.
Spano said in the interview
he’d used the keychain while
on-duty for at least 11 years, in
Bend and at his previous job
with the Medford Police De-
Kozowski said he was follow-
ing the direction of a super-
visor.
Another disciplinary strike
against Kozowski received me-
dia attention at the time. The
deputy was dinged for wearing
his uniform during a televised
debate in the sheriff’s race.
Nelson was also in uniform
but said that as elected sheriff,
he was “always on duty.”
In a short public statement
announcing Kozowski’s fir-
ing, Nelson said, “We’ve had a
number of people in the past
who have degraded the pub-
lic’s trust. I don’t want those
people working here. I am
committed to the highest level
of standards and professional-
ism in this office.”
In February 2018, follow-
ing his termination, Kozowski
filed his lawsuit in federal
court alleging Nelson violating
his First Amendment rights
along with Oregon’s law pro-
tecting whistleblowers.
Kozowski named Nelson
and sheriff’s Capt. Paul Gar-
rison separately in the suit.
Garrison conducted the initial
internal investigations into Ko-
zowski.
Kozowski filed a complaint
with the Oregon Department
of Justice, but department in-
vestigators were “unable to
corroborate” his claims. Ko-
zowski did get a victory when
Deschutes County District
Attorney John Hummel de-
clined to add Kozowski’s name
to the local “Brady” list of po-
lice officers found to have been
deceptive in the past, finding
that Kozowski had not lied nor
misled.
The Deschutes County
Commission in consultation
with Nelson, declined to set-
tle with Kozowski numerous
times. If the county is found
liable in the case, payment
would come from the coun-
ty’s risk fund. If the liability
exceeds the county’s rate of
self-insurance — $1 million
— the county’s insurance com-
pany would pay the portion in
excess, according to county at-
torney David Doyle.
Kozowski and his Bend-
based attorney, Michael Mc-
Gean, declined to comment
for this article.
Nelson was reelected in No-
vember, defeating Bend Police
officer Scott Schaier, who also
criticized Nelson for lagging
behind the times on crucial
issues like representation and
employee morale.
Several months after the
2016 election, the sheriff’s
policy handbook was revised
to directly state that the sheriff
may appear at election events
while in uniform.
The rest of the money will go
toward the Oasis Village, a
project in part orchestrated by
the nonprofit Jericho Road to
create a managed camp where
people can legally camp.
The proposal to use a por-
tion of the rescue plan fund-
ing came from Councilor Ed
Fitch, who was one of three
councilors on a subcommit-
tee that helped decide how the
money should be allocated.
He argued it was crucial to in-
vest in solutions for homeless-
ness before the problem gets
bigger.
Fitch also considers it a
moral issue.
“Each meeting we start with
a prayer...if there was any mes-
sage Jesus Christ conveyed to
us, it’s that we have compas-
sion for those who are less for-
tunate than we are,” Fitch said
Tuesday.
But the two other coun-
cilors on the subcommittee,
Shannon Wedding and Kris-
anna Clark-Endicott, argued
all of the rescue plan funding
should go toward the public
safety facility.
Clark-Endicott, who is mar-
ried to Mayor George Endi-
cott, said in the meeting that
the root cause of homelessness
is mental illness and drug ad-
diction, and that those are is-
sues the county is funded to
address, not the city.
“If the city uses city-allo-
cated funds to solve coun-
ty-assigned issues, is the
county going to pay to solve
city-assigned issues?” she said.
But James Cook, a mem-
ber of the Homeless Lead-
ership Coalition of Central
Oregon, pushed back against
Clark-Endicott’s premise in
the public comment section
of the meeting, saying people
become homeless for a diverse
set of reasons.
“That’s a lie. It’s wrong, and
it’s an easy excuse to try to not
accept responsibility for peo-
ple in this community,” Cook
said.
In the end, the council
voted 4-3 to move forward
with Fitch’s recommendation,
with Wedding, Clark-Endicott
and the mayor voting against.
Endicott said he supported
Bethlehem Inn’s project, but
did not “feel strongly” about
the rest, without elaborating
on why.
partment, where he worked
from 2008 to 2015. He said he
wears it to honor his oaths to
the military and law enforce-
ment and denied that it rep-
resents any antigovernmental
sentiment.
The internal investigation
caused Spano to learn the
phrase has been “hijacked” by
extremists like the Three Per-
centers and white suprema-
cists, McConkey wrote.
As a result of the investiga-
tion, Spano no longer uses the
keychain, according to the re-
port.
Parker writes that although
Spano did not receive formal
approval to display his key-
chain, his supervisors were
aware of its existence and did
not discourage him from wear-
ing it while on duty. Parker ac-
knowledges that had he known
more about the term “MO-
LON LABE,” he might have
acted differently.
“Unfortunately, I did not
take more care in this situa-
tion while researching what the
phrase signified and appropri-
ately apply the uniform policy,”
Parker wrote. “Had I done that
then this situation could have
potentially been avoided.”
McConkey also found no
evidence to substantiate claims
Spano violated policies with
a private business he’s estab-
lished in Oregon, Sage Steppe
Outdoors, with a listed address
of the Bend Police station.
In his findings report,
Krantz ordered that Spano re-
ceive a debriefing on the de-
partment’s rules for maintain-
ing outside employment. He
further wrote the department
should develop rules for use
of the police headquarters ad-
dress for personal businesses.
e
e
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
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Reporter: 541-633-2160,
bvisser@bendbulletin.com
McConkey further found
no evidence to support a com-
plaint Spano violated policy
by using a notebook reading,
“People to Kill” on the front,
seen on his personal Instagram
page.
The notebook was sold con-
taining blank pages and deter-
mined to be satirical. Inside the
notebook, Spano had written
notes for an upcoming class he
was to teach, according to Mc-
Conkey.
The claims against Spano
were submitted by members of
the activist group Central Or-
egon Peacekeepers. Deschutes
County District Attorney John
Hummel has accused Krantz of
harboring an “obsession” with
the Peacekeepers, by singling
out the group’s members for
arrests and enhanced surveil-
lance because they’re critical of
police.
On May 1, Spano responded
to a trespassing call at the Les
Schwab Tire Center on Frank-
lin Avenue in Bend. During the
call, Peacekeeper Mike Satcher
was cited for trespassing, ac-
cording to the investigative re-
port. He did not “accept” the
citation when Spano placed it
in his lap.
As Satcher left the area,
he made a comment about
Spano’s keychain, the report
states.
Satcher was never charged
with the offense by the De-
schutes County District Attor-
ney’s office.
The Peacekeepers posted a
photo on Facebook showing
Spano in uniform during the
incident at Les Schwab.
On May 3, the complaints
were filed with Bend Police.
They included the photo of
Spano as well as others pulled
Nicole Bales/The Bulletin
The Redmond School Board met Wednesday for a special meeting to discuss the governor’s mask mandate.
Redmond
Continued from A1
The packed auditorium at
Redmond High School erupted
in cheers and clapping after
Summers read the resolution
that demanded Brown return
decision making to local au-
thorities.
“As a parent, I feel like my
rights have been stripped, and
it was, ‘shut up and do what we
tell you,’” Summers said. “And
that doesn’t go over very well.
“There are ramifications for
this. I fully understand that,” he
said. “I’m not trying to with-
hold somebody’s options. I’m
trying to add one more.”
The board voted 4-1 in favor
of considering the resolution.
Liz Goodrich was the lone vote
in opposition and said the ram-
ifications “are very serious.”
“You’re asking people to put
their licenses on the line,” Go-
odrich told Summers after the
board was told noncompliance
could be met with fines and
loss of licensure for administra-
tors and teachers. “You’re ask-
ing people to put personal lia-
bility on the line. That is a lot.
“There are parts of this man-
date that I’m not happy with ei-
ther,” said Goodrich as she was
heckled by the audience. “That
said, I believe the masks are a
part of the puzzle to keep our
kids in school in person in a
safe and healthy way.”
She said she appreciates
Summers putting the resolu-
tion together and asked that
they work together to craft
it. The board however, chose
Chairwoman Shawn Hartfield
to work with Summers.
The board discussed how to
proceed with summer school
programs in the meantime. Jill
Cummings, a new member to
the board, asked whether sum-
mer school should be canceled
since the board does not have
from his social media pages
suggesting he supported ex-
tremist groups or ideolo-
gies. They included photos
of patches on the dashboard
of his private vehicle and the
“People to Kill” notebook.
A call to the Peacekeepers
was not returned Thursday.
After the posts, Peacekeep-
ers submitted complaints to
Hummel. Spano responded in
a letter to Hummel defending
himself and highlighting past
actions that he says demon-
strates his fairness as an offi-
cer, such as when he arrested a
fellow military veteran for an
alleged race-based assault at
the Red Robin in Bend.
“All I would ask is just like
those of us that perform the
duties of Police Officers, be a
finder of fact, don’t be influ-
enced due to social pressure,
and represent the commu-
nity you serve with pride and
not prejudice,” Spano wrote to
Hummel.
Spano did not return a call
time to make a decision regard-
ing masks.
Superintendent Charan
Cline shook his head. He said
that although the mandate was
effective Aug. 2, he delayed
enforcement until the board
could meet. He said masks
would be required, effective
Thursday.
“The board doesn’t have to
do anything,” Cline told the
board. “The order’s in place.
The regulations are in place.
We just simply have to start en-
forcing. The board doesn’t ac-
tually have the authority to not
enforce it.”
Angry parents left the au-
ditorium, some saying they
would not bring their children
to summer school the next day.
The Redmond School Dis-
trict began its summer school
programs in early August, rec-
ommending masks instead of
requiring them. Other Central
Oregon school districts, in-
cluding Crook County, Culver
and Jefferson County, also re-
jected the mandate when it was
announced but have softened
their tone.
Crook County School Dis-
trict was met with backlash
during a meeting on Monday
after announcing it would “ac-
knowledge” the mask mandate.
The school board, however,
said the mandate would not be
enforced.
A Jefferson County School
District spokesperson told The
Bulletin on Thursday that it
will comply with the mandate.
Culver School District Su-
perintendent Stefanie Garber
said the school board will dis-
cuss whether or not to comply
during a meeting in late August.
Throughout Central Oregon,
venue spaces for school board
meetings have moved from
classrooms to auditoriums as
attendance grows. While de-
bates over masking have taken
center stage, the issue often gets
overshadowed by parents and
others protesting teachings re-
lated to race and gender.
The Redmond School
Board’s discussion on the mask
mandate Wednesday followed
presentations and discussions
with Colt Gill, the director of
Oregon Department of Edu-
cation, and Deschutes County
Public Health officials.
Throughout the meeting,
the audience laughed at, talked
over and heckled Gill and lo-
cal public health officials while
they appeared virtually to pres-
ent data, information and an-
swer the board’s questions.
Phrases including, “Fake
data,” “cite your source,” “how
much are they paying you?”
and “we’re not listening,” were
shouted from the crowd. “The
vaccine does nothing,” some-
one else shouted. “It’s poison,”
another added.
During public comment,
people who spoke in favor of
masks were also heckled. Board
members, teachers and other
parents opposed to masks
talked about the toll wearing
masks have had on students’
mental health.
Barry Branaugh, a long-
time teacher in the Redmond
School District, said that while
he agrees students’ mental
health has suffered, he thinks
part of the blame lies with the
adults.
“As a community, we have
not sent consistent messages
as to why we make these hard
choices,” Branaugh said. “I be-
lieve kids’ resiliency will come
forward if the adults can unify
around a message that, while
we don’t like having to wear
masks, we’re going to because
we want to protect them and
our community and then we
model that behavior.”
and an email seeking comment.
Spano was given a contin-
gent job offer by the Deschutes
County Sheriff’s Office though
he is still going through the
hiring process, sheriff’s spokes-
man Sgt. Jayson Janes con-
firmed Thursday.
If given a formal offer, Spano
would start Sept. 1, Janes said.
e
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Reporter; 541-617-7854,
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Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
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