JOHN DAY — A theft complaint against Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer has been dismissed.

The Police Policy Committee of the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which licenses police officers in Oregon, unanimously voted Thursday, Aug. 20, to administratively close a complaint submitted by Gordon Larson that Palmer knowingly possessed, or knew the whereabouts of, an engraved fishing pole Larson lost and “failed to take the ethical and lawful appropriate action of retrieving and returning the pole.”

The complaint was submitted in 2019, and Palmer said at the time the allegations were false and he intended to fight them. When asked for comment about the dismissal, Palmer said he had reached out to his attorney for advice and had not heard back.

The Police Policy Committee reviewed the complaint at its February meeting and requested DPSST staff to request further information from the Grant County District Attorney’s Office, the Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon State Police. The committee did not review the case at its last meeting in September 2019 because it lacked a quorum.

At the meeting Aug. 20, DPSST staff reported the DOJ declined to investigate the missing fishing pole, and OSP conducted an investigation and prepared an incident report but did not uncover the location of the fishing pole.

DPSST staff said Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter indicated “there were no concerns at his office with the veracity of Sheriff Palmer.”

Committee Chair John Teague from the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police said the outstanding allegation of dishonesty is why the committee asked DPSST staff for more information, but the district attorney “met and refuted” that allegation.

“The district attorney came back and said he never said that and does not question Palmer’s honesty,” Teague said. “I don’t think we have enough here to investigate.”

Teague added that the DOJ “saw no merit” in the fishing pole complaint.

Larson, who retired from the Oregon State Police in 2014, said in the complaint the pole was a retirement gift worth $500 without the reel. He said he lost it in the John Day River and later heard Palmer had it.

Larson said Palmer told him he did not have the pole, but it was in the possession of a friend from Spray. Larson asked OSP to investigate.

Larson told the Eagle there were several parts of his complaint that were unanswered. He declined to comment further until a complaint he filed with the Oregon state bar against Carpenter is resolved.

Palmer, who had announced his pending resignation in 2019, withdrew his plans to retire after the complaint was filed, stating he would continue through the end of his term and continue to seek reelection “as long as this behavior continues.” He is running for reelection in November against Todd McKinley, the head of Grant County Community Corrections.