To the Editor:
Deputy Brown advertises himself as an honest and knowledgeable officer. However, this is not my experience with him. As a defense attorney in Tillamook County my office has had many contacts with Deputy Brown. On numerous occasions my clients have reported facts quite different than Deputy Brown. When Deputy Brown’s honesty was challenged, the court system has generally come down on the side of Deputy Brown suggesting that the accused had a vested interest, or their memory was impaired.
However, with the arrival of video evidence we have been able to document Deputy Brown’s misrepresentations. In one case Deputy Brown testified that he had observed a defendant for 15 minutes prior to conducting a breath test. The video from the jail revealed that he had left the room for several minutes while he was supposedly observing the defendant. It was not until he was confronted with the video that he “remembered” leaving. In my opinion, Deputy Brown’s testimony was not honest.
In another case, Deputy Brown testified that a defendant was driving when he was sitting behind the steering wheel of an auto with the motor running but the vehicle not moving. Oregon law requires some movement of the vehicle. Deputy Brown testified and argued to the hearing’s officer that movement of the vehicle was not necessary. Thank goodness for my client that the hearing’s officer knew the law and did not buy Deputy Brown’s argument. This is an example of Deputy Brown not knowing the law and attempting to bully his way around it.
Tillamook County deserves a sheriff that is honest and knowledgeable. Deputy Brown is neither.
JOHN H. TUTHILL, Attorney
Tillamook, OR
