NEWBERG, Ore. (KOIN) — The circumstances that prompted an investigation into the suspension of Newberg City Manager Jacque Betz centered around an alleged inappropriate relationship she was having with a city police officer.
Documents obtained by KOIN 6 News reveal the internal department report, letters from officers to police supervisors and memos from senior staff to police and city employees.
Newberg city officials announced they will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the situation.
Betz placed Newberg-Dundee Police Chief Brian Casey on administrative leave July 17. The report indicates she may have suspended him to keep him from investigating that officer, which would have led to the disclosure of her relationship with the officer.
Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry said in a July 19 release his office asked OSP to “conduct a complete investigation” into the allegations regarding City Manager Jacque Betz.
“To my knowledge, there have been no allegations related to Chief Casey that would involve criminal issues,” Berry told KOIN 6 News that day.
He was subsequently placed back on the job on July 24 but no explanation of why Betz placed him on leave was given.
On July 31, Betz was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing — but it was never known what she allegedly did or the reasons why Chief Casey was suspended.Internal documents
Following Betz’s decision to suspend Casey, a number of different Newberg-Dundee police officers wrote letters given to Capt. Chris Bolek. Those letters reveal one officer — referred to as “Officer A” throughout the documents — was having an inappropriate sexual relationship with Betz, a relationship that continued over the course of some time and included alcohol.
“I have had several conversation with Officer A and I know him to be one of the most disgruntled patrol officers in the department,” one letter said.
Another letter said, in part: “In early April of 2015 I was in the locker room preparing for my shift when I overheard a loud, jovial conversation between several officers and Officer A. I am uncertain of the names of the other officers present. During their conversation, the officers were ribbing Officer A about having sex with the city manager. I heard comments like “you better perform well, I need a raise” and “don’t go premature” I heard Officer A respond “I do the best I can” and “I won’t let you down boys”.
After the letters, the report states: “It appears that some relationship between Officer A and the City Manager exists, and that Officer A has ignored the chain of command and communicated his personal grievances and concerns outside the department to the City Manager.”
The investigation into Betz was then launched because she may have been involved in situations of using too much alcohol and having an inappropriate relationship with an employee, and that Officer A may have violted department policies.
Further, the report said: “It is possible that the actions of the City Manager in suspending and stripping the Chief of all authority constitutes her attempt to prevent an investigation of Officer A’s conduct including off duty alcohol abuse which would lead to the disclosure of facts concerning him and her.”
The DA asked the OSP to investigate potential criminal conduct by Betz. Their investigation found none.
Casey is back on the job. Betz remains on paid adminstrative leave. The next city council meeting is set for August 17.On August 4, Jacque Betz’ lawyer Judy Snyder released the statement below: