By Maxine Bernstein
oregonlive.com
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — Washington County has agreed to pay a former sheriff’s deputy $950,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging she faced retaliation for reporting that a fellow deputy ignored a homeless man’s sexual assault claim.
The county Board of Commissioners approved the settlement for Melissa Canning on its consent agenda Tuesday night.
Jose Klein, Canning’s attorney, said the substantial payment should send a clear message that “retaliation against those who report misconduct is unacceptable.”
Canning filed a complaint in March 2021 saying her patrol partner, Deputy Brett Winders , had dismissed a homeless man as “crazy” and omitted any information about the man’s alleged sexual assault in his report of the call, according to her suit.
Canning said she was then ostracized, denied promotions and became the subject of a bogus criminal investigation dubbed “salsa gate,” according to the suit.
She was accused of theft for putting a plastic cup of bean dip in a to-go box at a local restaurant during an off-duty dinner with a sergeant and his domestic partner, she said.
Canning, who is of Filipino and Native American descent, also claimed the sheriff’s office discriminated against her by unfairly investigating her while not holding white men in the office accountable for more serious misconduct.
Karen M. Vickers, Washington County’s attorney, disputed Canning’s account in court papers, saying Canning wasn’t promoted to be a detective, a field training officer or crisis negotiator because others scored higher on sheriff’s office exams and evaluations. Vickers also said there was no connection between the salsa bowl theft allegation and Canning’s reporting of Winders.
After Canning’s original complaint, a sergeant confronted Winders and directed Winders simply to supplement his report with what he left out. Not satisfied, Canning then reported her complaint to internal affairs, which opened an investigation. Winders was allowed to remain on duty and Canning had to work the same shift as him, having just accused him of serious misconduct. By August 2021, the internal affairs inquiry found the dishonesty allegation unfounded but gave Winders an oral reprimand for failing to investigate a serious criminal allegation, according to court records.
Canning then took her complaint to the undersheriff in August 2021 and to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office the next month.
The prosecutor’s office found Winders had omitted key information in his police report, failed to document the alleged sexual assault and claimed he wasn’t aware of the sexual assault accusation even though the victim and the victim’s supervisor both said they had informed Winders, according to Canning’s lawsuit.
The DA’s office put Winders on its Brady list of unreliable witnesses not to be called in criminal cases in January 2022 , according to court records.
The next month, Canning was stripped of her gun and badge as the sheriff’s office asked a Beaverton major crimes detective to investigate her alleged theft from the Si Senor Family Mexican Restaurant in Cedar Hills , according to her lawyer’s trial brief.
Canning’s sergeant, who had dined with her on Feb. 22, 2022 , days later accused her of stealing what he described as a “mortar salsa container.”
In her suit, Canning said the condiment-sized cup was valued at $1.91. A server at the restaurant told an investigator that Canning was a regular who often borrowed the small bowl for leftovers but returned it after washing it, according to the suit.
The district attorney’s office declined to pursue the case for prosecution but the sheriff’s office gave Canning an oral reprimand for violating the county’s policies on professional conduct and prohibited conduct.
Canning returned to the job she said she loved at the end of June 2022 . Her father is a retired San Francisco police lieutenant and her two brothers are San Francisco police officers.
But she ended up taking medical leave for stress in December 2022 and was laid off by the county in January 2023 .
According to the county, after a six-month medical leave from work, Canning was medically laid off, meaning she was permitted to return any time in the following 18 months provided she submitted a note from her doctor clearing her for work. Canning never attempted to return to work, according to the county’s lawyer.
“The hostility and retaliation that she experienced from supervisors, and the shunning she experienced from colleagues, all of whom tended to close ranks around Winders, left her with feelings of panic, hypervigilance, sleeplessness, anxiety and depression,” Klein wrote in court records.
Winders resigned in lieu of firing in May 2023 after being stopped while off duty by Newberg-Dundee police the month before on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants. Police video showed him vomiting and falling to the ground but he was never charged.
His police certification is under review by the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training .
The nearly $1 million settlement of Canning’s case falls short of a larger Washington County jury award of $2.5 million from the wrongful death case involving 18-year-old Lukus Glenn who was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies outside his Metzger home in 2006.
“While the County disagrees with the overall characterization of Ms. Canning’s experiences during her tenure, we wish her well in her future endeavors,” said Philip Bransford , a county spokesperson. “Washington County is committed to providing a fair work environment that is respectful of each person’s dignity and free from all forms of discrimination.”
Canning, in a statement, said no settlement can “fully undo the damage done.”
“This case began with me following those core values and reporting a colleague for dishonesty,” she said. “After I reported that dishonesty, the Sheriff’s Office pushed me out of the organization because I would not compromise on those core values. I can’t express how painful that experience was.”
— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn.
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