Sheriff Palmer intends to sue city of John Day, employees

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By Sean HartBlue Mountain Eagle
Published on April 11, 2016 12:01AM
Last changed on April 11, 2016 10:06PM

Sheriff Glenn Palmer has given notice he intends to sue the city of John Day and its employees for a list of allegations stemming from actions related to the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Palmer’s attorney, Benjamin Boyd from Hostetter Law Group in Enterprise, sent a tort claim notice received by the city April 4 that states Palmer will assert claims for damages against the city, John Day dispatch employees, City Manager Peggy Gray and Police Chief Richard Gray. The notice is required before filing a lawsuit against a public body.

In the notice, Boyd said, as Palmer was traveling to a roadblock near Seneca after the law enforcement action Jan. 26 that led to the arrest of most of the occupation leaders and the death of one, city dispatchers falsely determined a passenger with Palmer was a militia member. He said the passenger was actually Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter.

Boyd said Palmer asked an unidentified dispatcher for an update, who “knowingly and/or recklessly” withheld information from Palmer that had been relayed previously to a variety of other law enforcement agencies. Palmer and Carpenter’s lives were in danger, Boyd said, as they proceeded to the police roadblock with officers believing Palmer was traveling with a militia member ...

http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Local_News/20160411/sheriff-palmer-intends-to-sue-city-of-john-day-employees

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1. 'Constitutional’ Oregon Sheriff Under Investigation

David Neiwert
March 23, 2016

... Apparently, there had been warning signs even before the Malheur occupation. For example: Why exactly had Sheriff Palmer, in the summer and fall of 2015, hired over 70 “special deputies” to serve as adjuncts to his regular force? ... Palmer praised the occupiers as “patriots” in the local press, and met with with some of them in a local café. He agreed to help organize a gathering of the Malheur militants, including leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy and others, in the town of John Day (the county seat) on the evening of Jan. 26. It was as those people were en route to that gathering that afternoon that they were arrested by an FBI-led law-enforcement operation ... The John Day police chief, Richard Gray, subsequently filed a complaint with the state’s Department of Public Safety Standards and Training ... "I have a great public safety concern when the Grant County sheriff is allowed to openly meet with and be part of this group of lawbreakers ...

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/03/23/constitutional%E2%80%99-oregon-sheriff-under-investigation-malheur-role-hired-70-%E2%80%98special-deputies%E2%80%99

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2. SP moved fatal traffic stop to avoid Grant County sheriff

Amanda Peacher
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Published on March 10, 2016 5:58PM

... Law enforcement designed the Jan. 26 stop to arrest leaders of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation. “I knew going into it that there was a sheriff in Grant County that was supporting the movement or the ideology behind what [the occupiers] were pushing,” Officer No. 1 told investigators. “I knew that there was a large amount of community members in Grant County that supported their beliefs ... for a very simple way to put it, they were not friendly to law enforcement conducting any enforcement actions, and mainly the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal agencies,” the officer said.

The change of plan, which was coordinated by the FBI and OSP, is noteworthy because the militant group was reportedly planning to meet with Palmer ...

http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Local_News/20160310/documents-osp-moved-fatal-traffic-stop-to-avoid-grant-county-sheriff

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3. Council says complaints against sheriff not solicited by city

By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Published on February 23, 2016 12:01AM
Last changed on February 23, 2016 9:14PM

The John Day City Council has issued a statement clarifying that complaints filed against Sheriff Glenn Palmer by the city’s police chief and dispatch manager were not filed at the direction of city leaders.

Before the council approved it at the regular meeting Tuesday, Mayor Ron Lundbom read the statement, which says the council is aware of the complaints but did not solicit them.

“To be clear, neither the council nor city manager directed or tasked the subject employees to file the DPSST complaints,” he said. “Notwithstanding that the complaints may have been filed on the city letterhead, the employees filed the complaints as individuals, citizens, and not in their official employee capacity.”

Lundbom said the city has no further comment about the complaints or the employees who filed them ...

http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Local_News/20160223/council-says-complaints-against-sheriff-not-solicited-by-city

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4. A tale of two sheriffs

By Steve Forrester
Published on February 5, 2016 3:37PM
Last changed on February 5, 2016 4:16PM

... It was Palmer’s invitation to Ammon Bundy that drew Bundy and his leadership core to John Day on the fateful afternoon of Jan. 26 ...

Sheriff Palmer aligns himself with the so-called “constitutional sheriff” movement, in which mainly rural sheriffs and others like the Bundys designate themselves as the ultimate authorities on what is and is not “constitutional.” Seldom possessing any actual training in constitutional law, they presume to interpret it for their counties. This arrogance flies in the face of everything that makes our nation great ...

http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/columnists/20160206/forrester-a-tale-of-two-sheriffs

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5. Local collaborative awarded $4 million in federal forest restoration funding

By Sean HartBlue Mountain Eagle
Published on April 5, 2016 7:40PM
Last changed on April 6, 2016 4:58PM

... Not everyone is pleased with the collaborative ...

Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer deputized 11 people to create an independent natural resources plan for Grant County in September 2015. The sheriff introduced the plan to the Grant County Court during an opportunity for public comment and attempted to invoke coordination with the Forest Service. Coordination is a law that requires the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to work with local governments on how public lands are managed.

“I want a seat at the table,” Palmer told the commissioners. “The people I represent are not getting heard. I’m not getting heard.”

Ultimately, the commissioners did not adopt the sheriff’s natural resources plan, and Palmer did not attend a work session with Beverlin and the commissioners about the issue. The commissioners ruled the sheriff had no authority to invoke coordination and told Forest Service officials the County Court was the official government agency with which to coordinate ...

http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Local_News/20160405/local-collaborative-awarded-4-million-in-federal-forest-restoration-funding

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6. Refuge occupier arrested in Mt. Vernon indicted for stealing federal property

By Sean HartBlue Mountain Eagle
Published on March 23, 2016 2:02PM
Last changed on March 24, 2016 1:19PM

... Dan Perry, an owner of the Blue Mountain Lodge in Mt. Vernon, said Willingham showed up at the motel office that evening, though he had not been staying there.

“He walked into the motel, into the front desk, and asked me to call 9-1-1 and have a sheriff deputy come out,” Perry said. “I asked him what it was about, and he said, ‘Well, I talked to Sheriff (Glenn) Palmer the other day. Tell them my name is Scott (Willingham), and they’ll know what it’s about.’”

After Perry called 9-1-1, he said, Willingham walked outside to the corner of Highway 395 and Highway 26 to wait for a deputy ...

http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Local_News/20160323/refuge-occupier-arrested-in-mt-vernon-taken-into-federal-custody

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7. Grant County Sheriff Deputizes Man Facing Felony Theft Charges

Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle | March 26, 2016 9:33 a.m.

One of Grant County’s newest deputies is awaiting trial on felony charges ... On March 1, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer deputized Roy Peterson, who was set to begin trial March 28 in Grant County Circuit Court on theft charges stemming from the acquisition of equipment for a fire district ...

http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/grant-county-sheriff-glenn-palmer-deputy-felony-theft/