By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
August 2, 2007

The City of Hood River’s undercover narcotics detective is back on the job.

The officer had been suspended from MINT and given another assignment in February over a $17.34 accounting error.

Chief Bruce Ludwig returned the officer to duty with the Mid-Columbia Interagency Narcotics Task Force on Monday. Ludwig acted upon a “strong recommendation” by Bob Francis, city manager, that an experienced detective be put on MINT to jump-start investigations.

Francis is hopeful that the concerns of public safety raised by District Attorney John Sewell will now be alleviated. The prosecutor recently expressed frustration that no new MINT cases had crossed his desk for five months.

“It was a natural fit to put this detective back on the job immediately,” said Francis. “I think having someone on MINT who did a really good job before is going to benefit the community now.”

Ludwig chose not to follow Sewell’s suggestion that the detective regain lost time in the position. The officer will be allowed to serve out the remainder of 2007, the end of his original three-year tenure in undercover work.

“Between now and the end of the year, we’re going to open up discussions within our department and revamp the process for all special assignment positions,” said Ludwig, who declined further comment.

The city detective was taken off MINT after the chief and Oregon State Police Lt. Pat Ashmore, former chair of the MINT board, initiated a Department of Justice probe into his bookkeeping practices.

The officer and his partner from the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office were cleared of any wrongdoing by that investigation.

Ludwig still chose to replace the narcotics detective with Officer Erin Mason. That action evoked the following ripple of consequences:

n The chief agreed to resolve the HRPOA grievance by advertising the MINT opening. He then re-appointed Mason to the team.

n Tiffany Hicks, a more experienced officer, subsequently filed a gender discrimination complaint.

n A consultant from Public Safety Liability Management, Inc., was hired to determine the validity of her claim. The scope of that investigation widened as other problems surfaced within the department.

n Mason made a drunken call while off duty to the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center in mid-June. He revealed his status with MINT over a recorded line available to the public. He also named the OSP detective that he had been working with.

Francis said this series of events had led to a change in the way the city police department does business.

Mason was removed from MINT and disciplined for making racial slurs and derogatory comments about homosexuals to the dispatcher. He was also chastised for requesting the telephone number of a woman that he wanted to contact for personal reasons.

Lt. David Thompson was reprimanded for “off-color” jokes and other remarks that validated Hicks’ complaint.

Chief Ludwig was directed to avoid future “selective decisions” by instituting a new set of criteria and procedures.

n

Francis said a previous report in the Hood River News that Ludwig was given a letter of reprimand in his personnel file was erroneous. He said the letter contains only “strict guidance” about changes that need to be made.