And now a few words about candidate for sheriff, Ed Owens.

Ed Owens... Ed Owens... I thought I'd heard the name somewhere.

He was over on the democrat hate site, C3G2, looking for support.

And I thought..."where have I heard that name before?"

Then it came to me:  He was the one who tried to get his 11 year old step daughter to take the fall in his little boy's shooting.

Violations found in death of Clark County deputy’s son  

Report looks at treatment of man’s stepdaughter, 11 

By Laura McVicker, Columbian staff writer
Published: November 18, 2011, 8:56 PM 

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Police are pictured here responding to the Battle Ground home of Clark County sheriff’s Detective Ed Owens on Sept. 15, 2010, a day after an accidental shooting there. Owens’ 3-year-old son, Ryan, got ahold of his father’s gun, accidentally shooting himself. Owens was found to have violated several policies relating to the shooting, a Clark County Sheriff’s Office internal affairs investigation found. (Columbian files)    

“His selfish, shameful, and cowardly behavior has left an indelible mark on our agency and has raised serious doubts about his credibility, judgment, truthfulness and fitness for duty.”

Sgt. John Horch in internal affairs investigation report 

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Sheriff's Office Internal Investigation
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Investigation of Clark County sheriff's detectiveDownload .PDF
A Clark County sheriff’s deputy violated policies on firearms storage, off-duty conduct, ethics, competency and employee responsibilities in connection with the 2010 shooting death of his 3-year-old son, according to an internal affairs investigation.

Responding to a public disclosure request, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office and sheriff’s office released on Friday more than 150 pages of police reports and internal affairs documents relating to Detective Ed Owens, a 7-year veteran of the sheriff’s office.

Owens’ son Ryan fatally shot himself while playing with his father’s gun Sept. 14, 2010, at the family’s Battle Ground home.

Most of the allegations relate to Owens’ behavior following the shooting. Reports say he blamed his 11-year-old stepdaughter for the death — even though evidence clearly showed it was accidental — and coerced a false confession from her.

“His selfish, shameful, and cowardly behavior has left an indelible mark on our agency and has raised serious doubts about his credibility, judgment, truthfulness and fitness for duty — in addition to the policy violations that I have recommended to be sustained," Sgt. John Horch wrote in the internal affairs investigation, completed Sept. 2, 2011.

Owens has been on paid administrative leave since Dec. 28, 2010. His pay during that time wasn’t available, but a county website reporting salaries indicates full-time deputies at his level make between $52,800 and $61,800 a year.

A final decision on his employment or any discipline has not been decided. Messages to Sheriff Garry Lucas and his chief deputy, Mike Evans — who were both out of town Friday — were not returned as of press time.

Owens’ Portland attorney, Steve Myers, however, said the internal affairs report isn’t an accurate depiction of what happened. He said his client denies the allegations.

“There was no tampering with a witness. There was no criminal conduct,” Myers said. “The characterization of a coerced confession is preposterous.”

Owens and his wife were the subject of a criminal investigation for nearly a year. But prosecutors declined this fall to try the deputy because it was in Multnomah County, Ore., where he allegedly coerced his daughter, when Owens and his wife were driving the girl to the airport about a month after the shooting.

“In review of the evidence in the case, the charges we were looking at were witness-tampering allegations,” Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik said Friday. “Because of jurisdiction, we didn’t feel we had” sufficient evidence that a crime occurred in Clark County.

The case was referred to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. A deputy district attorney there declined to press charges on either Owens or his wife. A call to the spokesman for that DA’s office was not returned Friday.

As for the death of Owens’ son, Golik said: “The shooting itself clearly was a tragic accident.”

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VOTE for him?

I wouldn't put him out if he were on fire.