Oregon State Police sergeant sues employer alleging whistleblower retaliation

A $5 million whistleblower lawsuit accuses Oregon State Police of ignoring reports of misconduct and retaliating against the sergeant who made them.

The lawsuit alleges the incident is part of a larger pattern of misconduct involving OSP leadership.

Longtime Oregon State Police employee Sgt. Ian McKay is suing the State of Oregon alleging retaliation for protected conduct and whistleblowing and negligent supervision.

Citing the pending lawsuit, Oregon State Police officials declined to comment on the allegations made against the agency.

According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court by McKay's attorney, Daniel Thenell, McKay joined OSP in 2006 and worked in patrol, as a major crimes detective and in training roles.

He was assigned to assist in training newly recruited troopers in January 2023 at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training academy in Salem.

While at the police academy, McKay reported "misconduct and credibility concerns" regarding a recruit trooper to his superiors, including OSP Deputy Superintendent Josh Brooks. The lawsuit states McKay made the report in good faith and out of concern for the public's safety.

According to the lawsuit, OSP leadership did not investigate these concerns and did not report them to the Marion County District Attorney's Office.

Law enforcement officers with documented credibility concerns present a challenge to criminal cases. Some prosecutors place these officers on a "Brady list" and will not call them as witnesses in trials.

The lawsuit accuses OSP leadership of having a pattern and practice of not reporting certain misconduct to prosecutors, in contradiction with state and federal law.

McKay said his reporting eventually led to a lost promotion. Despite finishing number one in the promotional process, he was denied being advanced to a lieutenant position.

"(McKay) was actually told part of the reason he was not promoted was because of his report on the recruit trooper," Thenell said in the lawsuit.

He accused leadership of manipulating the promotion process to deny McKay the promotion. He said in the lawsuit that McKay was threatened with a sham investigation and coerced into taking a reassignment that cost him overtime. He alleges economic losses of $2 million and $3 million in non-economic losses from humiliation, ridicule and mental distress.

According to Oregon DPSST records, McKay is still employed with Oregon State Police.

The lawsuit also accuses the state of negligent supervision.

"Brooks was a final policy maker for the department and was responsible for hiring, firing, promotion, and discipline within the department," Thenell said in the lawsuit. "The State failed to exercise proper oversight and failed to exercise due diligence over Brooks. Proper due diligence over Brooks would have prevented Brooks from illegallyretaliating against Plaintiff."

Despite knowing Brooks' conduct was contrary to Oregon law, leadership failed to take action, he said.

The lawsuit is not the only one facing the Oregon State Police this year.

In January, a fired trooper accused leadership, including Brooks, of shutting down investigations into misconduct against six state police employees. According to reporting by the Oregonian/OregonLive, the employees were accused of dishonesty, insubordination and having sex while on duty.

The lawsuit includes allegations of Brooks ordering staff to shred documents from investigations into an employee and a captain telling a sergeant to delete an email with their findings of untruthfulness against an employee.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon State Police sergeant sues employer alleging retaliation