Oregon sheriff ordered to be a cadet again at 70

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon agency that certifies police officers says the sheriff of the state’s most populous county — a member of the force for nearly half his 70 years — has to go back to basic training.

Multnomah County Sheriff Bob Skipper will become a police cadet next month — possibly the oldest in state history — unless he and other county officials persuade the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training to reconsider.

“My job is not to write citations — I am the CEO,” Skipper told The Oregonian newspaper as his office prepares for a $9.4 million budget cut and large-scale layoffs.

“I’m having to back myself out of the middle of all this and say, ‘I can’t deal with this right now. I have to go off and learn to be a patrolman.’”

Skipper returned to the job after 13 years of retirement when Sheriff Bernie Giusto stepped down amid an ethics scandal. His time away from the job meant that he had to seek a waiver to avoid going through the four-month basic training for new recruits, even though he has spent 34 years in the sheriff’s office, five as sheriff.

The standards and training department can make exceptions but did not in Skipper’s case. Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler and District Attorney Michael Schrunk have written letters appealing to the agency to reconsider.

Eriks Gabliks, deputy director for the training agency, said the law is clear.

“Anyone out over five years has to go back to basics unless they remained current somehow in law enforcement,” Gabliks said. “He hasn’t had that training or experience for more than 12 years. I’m not aware of someone being out that long and coming back.”

Skipper argues the state agency should make an exception because the training is designed for new officers, not veterans. He also argues that his job is an administrative position dealing with the budget, personnel and politics of a large county office that would never require him to ride on patrol or make arrests.

And he argues that sending a veteran to learn basic policing is a waste of taxpayer money. He will earn $45,000 in county salary at the academy and the state will pay $15,000 to retrain him.

Information from: The Oregonian, www.oregonlive.com