07/01/2009

Associated Press

The sheriff of Oregon's most populous county has flunked his police certification course.

A passing score is an average of 75 on three written tests; Multnomah County Sheriff Bob Skipper got a 66, said Eriks Gabliks, deputy director of the state agency that certifies police officers.

Skipper, 70, will get another shot at the course in late August. If he fails a second time, he'll have to go through a 16-week cadet training program he had been trying to avoid.

Skipper's certification saga began when the state Department of Public Safety Standards decided his 34 years in the sheriff's office — including five as sheriff — didn't outweigh the years he had been away from the job. He had been retired for 13 years when he returned last year following Bernie Giusto's resignation amid an ethics scandal.

Because Skipper had been away so long, the agency decided he must go through the four-month cadet training.

Skipper tried to get a waiver allowing him to take shorter refresher courses. When that failed, it appeared Skipper would have to head to the Salem academy to become perhaps the oldest police cadet in state history.

But the state Legislature rescued him last month, with an amendment narrowly tailored to Skipper's qualifications. The amendment allows the certification of a sheriff who has served at least 25 years as a police officer in Oregon, retired from law enforcement under honorable conditions, held state executive-level certification, served as elected sheriff for at least four years and is elected in a county where the sheriff's chief role is as an administrator.

But that waiver only applies if Skipper passes the written tests. Skipper said Wednesday he did not adequately prepare. "It's just a matter of me dropping the ball," he told The Oregonian.

Gabliks said about 40 people take the course each year, and Skipper is one of only a handful of people he can remember failing. He said the course is designed for officers coming to Oregon from other states, and those who are returning to the profession after a 2 1/2-to-5-year break.