Judge to dismiss negligent wounding charge against ex-Portland Police Chief Larry O'Dea

A Harney County judge said Friday he'll dismiss a negligent wounding charge against former Portland Police Chief Larry O'Dea as part of a civil compromise, but not before O'Dea comes to the county jail to get fingerprinted, booked and released.

Circuit Judge William D. Cramer accepted the arrangement over the state's objection.

Assistant Attorney General Colin Benson said the state opposed dropping the charge, primarily because someone got shot and the compromise doesn't suspend O'Dea's hunting license -- one of the sanctions if he had been convicted of the misdemeanor.

"The state has an independent interest in the safe handling of firearms,'' Benson told the judge in a brief hearing in Burns.

Oregon law allows people to resolve most misdemeanor and class C felonies through a process called a civil compromise. So long as the victim agrees in writing that he or she has received "satisfaction for the injury," the court can dismiss the case.

"Satisfaction for the injury,'' can mean anything, including simply an apology, or a payment, according to the law.

Defense lawyer Derek Ashton, representing O'Dea, argued that O'Dea's April 21 shooting was an accident and that the man wounded, Robert Dempsey, never wanted the police chief to face criminal charges.

Though Ashton's motion for a civil compromise said Dempsey has been compensated fully for the injury and costs incurred, Ashton said Friday that O'Dea didn't pay any of Dempsey's medical costs.

Asked what the satisfaction for the injury was in this case, Ashton replied, "You're correct, it could be simply an apology. Larry O'Dea did not pay any money.''

"This was not a criminal act by any means by my client,'' Ashton said in court.

O'Dea was accused of "failing to use ordinary care'' in shooting Dempsey, the indictment said. The men were part of a group camping and shooting at ground squirrels when O'Dea shot Dempsey in the back with his .22-caliber rifle. Dempsey was airlifted to a trauma hospital in Boise, Idaho, where he was treated and released, according to dispatch and sheriff's reports.

Dempsey, who testified before the grand jury that returned an indictment against O'Dea, wrote in a statement submitted to the court that he doesn't wish his friend to be prosecuted for the shooting. Dempsey also wrote that he's "received full satisfaction for my damages and injuries.''

"Larry O'Dea has long been a friend of mine,'' Dempsey's declaration says. "Larry O'Dea was not intoxicated nor was he impaired by alcohol on April 21, 2016. I have told the prosecuting attorneys this. I have also told the prosecuting attorneys that I do not want to be part of this prosecution.''

After the state said it opposed the civil compromise, Ashton told the judge about what he called a "different wrinkle to this case,'' noting that O'Dea was unaware of a December 2014 product warning on the Model 94 .22-caliber Winchester rifle he was using.

The defense attorney argued that O'Dea's rifle was defective. The model has been implicated in more than 54 unintentional discharges when "dropped, bumped or jarred,'' he said.

In accepting the compromise, the judge said he relied heavily on the wishes of the victim and that O'Dea has no prior criminal record.

"I think Mr. O'Dea is appropriate for civil compromise,'' Cramer said.

Cramer said he was applying the law the same way he would with any case, though he noted that the public expects police officers "would have a higher regard for the use of and safety for firearms."

O'Dea, who retired in late June while under criminal investigation for the off-duty shooting, hasn't attended any of the Harney County court hearings in his case.

The judge said he won't sign off on the civil compromise until O'Dea comes to the county jail to be booked, fingerprinted and released, per county policy.

"He will come out here. He'll be out here next week,''Ashton told the court. "My client has a lot of fun in this part of the state so I'm sure he'll find a way.''

After the hearing, Ashton said he spoke with O'Dea by phone. "He's relieved and happy that we have a system of checks and balances.''

When a Harney County deputy responded to the April 911 call after the shooting, O'Dea suggested that the injury had been self-inflicted, according to sheriff's office reports. O'Dea told the deputy that Dempsey may have accidentally shot himself while putting his pistol in his shoulder holster while they were shooting squirrels, the reports show. He didn't identify himself as Portland's police chief.

The deputy, according to his report, said he smelled alcohol on O'Dea's breath. O'Dea told the deputy that he didn't have his rifle in his hand at the time but was reaching for a drink out of a cooler and heard his friend scream.

But O'Dea sometime later called Dempsey to apologize for shooting him.

After his release from the hospital, Dempsey was interviewed by the deputy and disclosed for the first time that it was O'Dea who had shot him. He told the sheriff's office that O'Dea had been having trouble with his rifle all day, that it was jamming and misfiring. Dempsey told the deputy that O'Dea said he went back to his chair and when he picked up his rifle, it accidentally went off, according to the deputy's report.

On May 20, in response to reporters' questions, O'Dea first acknowledged publicly through a Portland police spokesman that he had a "negligent discharge" of his rifle and shot his friend. At that time, O'Dea hadn't told the agency investigating the shooting that he was the shooter, according to the Harney County sheriff.

"Mr. O'Dea did not knowingly discharge his weapon, and was unaware until some time after the accident that the shot came from his firearm,'' Ashton wrote in his motion for a civil compromise.

With the criminal investigation concluded and the case resolved, Portland's Independent Police Review Division is expected to continue its internal inquiry. The administrative investigators are looking into why then-Mayor Charlie Hales, who served as police commissioner, and high-ranking members of the Police Bureau failed to alert the oversight division of O'Dea's off-duty shooting at the time it occurred to began an administrative investigation.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.