Law Enforcement Looking for Reimbursement for Oregon Standoff Costs

Forty-one days of occupation. Thirty-eight law enforcement agencies. Patrols. Command post security. Public Relations. Investigative services. Roadblocks, Jail operations. Special operation team services. Crime analysis. Forensic analysis. More than 450 state and local law enforcement officers.

The armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and subsequent occupation cost law enforcement agencies in Oregon approximately $2.5 million.

There were costs for overtime, for gas, for food, for gas.

It all added up.

“The significant resource commitment in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge policing event, including associated staffing backfill at statewide offices, created a significant funding gap for the Department of Oregon State Police, local law enforcement partners, and other government agencies,” State Police Superintendent Richard Evans wrote in a letter last week to Senator Peter Courtney and Representative Tina Kotek.

The two legislators are the co-chairs of the State Emergency Board, which has the power to spend state funds when the legislature is not in session.

On Monday morning, a subcommittee of the board will hear a request from the state police to “appropriate $2,487,914 million of General Fund to pay costs incurred by the State Police, Sheriffs Offices, Police Departments, 911 centers, Harney County, and other agencies related” to the occcupation.

Among the reimbursements being sought:

• Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office - $81,927
• Gresham Police Department - $5,463
• Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office - $84,122
• Portland Police Bureau - $8,376
• Washington County Sheriff’s Office - $68.807

The state police request was examined by the Legislative Fiscal Office and the Department of Administrative Services’s Chief Financial Office.

The two made separate recommendations on what should be reimbursed.

DAS suggested reimbursing $1,899,095 while the Legislative Office recommends reimbursing $2,874,188.

Before the legislature ended their session earlier this year, they did allocate $2 million to reimburse law enforcement agencies for expenses incurred during the occupation. That was done before a full accounting had been completed.

After the hearing, the subcommittee will likely make a recommendation to the full board, which meets on Wednesday morning.