PORTLAND — The Oregon Department of Justice found insufficient evidence to file a criminal case against a sheriff based on complaints that he destroyed public records and issued concealed handgun licenses to out-of-state residents.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports residents filed 11 complaints about Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer that raised alarms about Palmer’s association with leaders of the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Oregon’s Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Director Eriks Gabliks says the agency has not decided yet whether to do a broader administrative inquiry of the complaints.
Justice Department chief counsel Michael J. Slauson says investigators reviewed complaints submitted from the state public safety agency, interviewed members of the sheriff’s office and the John Day Police Department, examined Palmer’s training records and “forensically reconstructed shredded documents.”
