More Trouble for Sheriff Staton

Two of the the three chief deputies to Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton say they will cooperate with an ongoing investigation into the sheriff but they fear retaliation.

That's according to a new report in Willamette Week by the paper's Pulitzer Prize winning reports Nigel Jaquiss, who quotes a letter sent on behalf of Deputies Tim Moore and Jason Gates to Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury.

"Moore and Gates have direct knowledge of Sheriff Staton's workplace conduct," the letter, obtained by Jaquiss, says. "Sheriff Staton has engaged in increasingly erratic behavior, has threatened loss of employment to each member of his Command Staff on multiple occasions, and has also personally threatened to personally sue each member."

Sheriff Staton is being investigated by the county, which is trying to determine, among other things, if he created a hostile work environment.

Meanwhile, a third union has come forward, calling for Staton to resign.

The Oregon chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees called on him to resign.

"Oregon AFSCME nows what corrupt governance looks like and Sheriff Staton is embodiment of it in tis community," the union's executive director, Ken Allen, said.

Last week, Willamette Week reported how Staton ignored county policy to buy a fill-loaded, new Dodge Charger.

Staton eventually said he would give the car to another employee.