Washington County deputy suspended for bragging about killing Somalis, blamed it on Dave Dahl encounter, records show
A Washington County deputy was placed on leave, then suspended over the course of four months this year for unprofessional conduct after an investigation found that he told a suspect of Somali descent that he killed several Somalis while in the military and engaged in other misconduct during a December 2013 arrest, according to records released by the county sheriff’s office Monday.
Deputy Chris Gilderson, 48, was placed on administrative leave March 4 after the suspect filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office the previous month. An investigation later found the deputy violated 10 county sheriff’s policies during the incident. Gilderson was suspended without pay on May 24 and was initially set to last until June 17. But it was reduced by a week after a grievance was filed by Gilderson and the police labor union, records show.
The police report said that as Gilderson was driving the suspect, Abdiwali Hussein, to the county jail on suspicion of theft and alcohol-related charges, he made statements to the Hussein, including that he “shot…Somalis left and right,” while serving in the Air Force. At one point earlier, Gilderson accelerated his patrol car, then braked suddenly so Hussein would hit his head on the metal screen barrier between the front and back seats, according to the report.
During an interview for the misconduct investigation, Gilderson blamed his behavior on the lingering effects of his encounter with Dave Dahl, the co-founder of Dave’s Killer Bread, during an arrest in November 2013. Dahl is accused of ramming county deputy patrol vehicles as he led authorities on a half-mile chase through a Cedar Hills neighborhood.
Gilderson, who was one of three deputies whose vehicles were crashed, claimed he was knocked unconscious by the collisions and that he viewed the encounter as traumatic as a shooting, records show.
Dahl’s attorney alleges in court documents that Gilderson exaggerated or made up several details in his account of the incident, including the severity of his injuries. The attorney noted in court documents that Hussein’s arrest was “another disturbing and illuminating incident” involving Gilderson.
Gilderson, a 13-year member of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, was cleared of criminal charges related to the December 2013 incident by the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office. He claimed he later met with Hussein and apologized to him.
Hussein, 24, of Beaverton, was arrested on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to a minor and second-degree attempted theft after he and two teens were accused of trying to steal a bike in Beaverton in December 2013. A police report said Hussein got into a fight with someone trying to stop them and later bought the boys beer.
READ: Police report and interviews (warning: explicit language)
Gilderson was among the deputies who responded to the scene near Southwest Allen Boulevard and Scholls Ferry Road and arrested Hussein, the report said. Hussein reported that Gilderson soon got his passport and said “Oh Somalia huh? Boy was it fun killing you guys,” and laughed, according to the report.
Both Gilderson and Hussein claimed the other made derogatory and threatening comments. Gilderson said he accelerated and braked suddenly while Hussein was handcuffed in the back of his patrol car to quiet him, the report said. Gilderson told authorities the brake check attempt was “unsuccessful,” because the patrol vehicle’s anti-lock brakes prevented him from coming to a quick stop, according to the report.
Hussein claimed Gilderson punched him in the face while he was still handcuffed and the deputy was smoking outside the patrol vehicle, the report said. On the way to the county jail, Hussein managed to use an iPod to record an exchange between him and Gilderson, which includes the deputy claiming to have fired an M60 rifle into a crowd of Somalis, according to the report.
The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office announced in an April 2014 memo that Hussein was not injured during the brake check and likely not punched by Gilderson, but that recordings and the deputy’s own admissions proved that he did make inappropriate and unprofessional remarks toward Hussein.
READ: Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office memo
Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett wrote he found Gilderson’s behavior during the December incident to be “egregious” and concluded that Gilderson violated 10 agency policies, including professional conduct, respect for diversity and use of force principles.
Garrett added that although the incident shook his confidence in Gilderson, he ultimately decided to retain him “by the narrowest of margins,” and announced that he would serve a 160-hour unpaid suspension starting May 24. Gilderson was also ordered to undergo an independent medical examination to determine if he is fit to continue working as a deputy.
READ: Washington County Sheriff’s Office discipline letter
An attorney on behalf of Gilderson filed a grievance against the sheriff’s office in May, alleging there was not enough cause to require the deputy to take an independent medical examination in order to keep working and requested his suspension be cut by half because of his work history.
READ: Grievance filing on behalf of Washington County Deputy Chris Gilderson
The sheriff’s office announced in June that it was reducing Gilderson’s suspension to 120 hours and that he would have to complete three mandatory assessments between June and November 2015 in lieu of the independent medical examination.
READ: Washington County Sheriff’s Office grievance response
In exchange for the revised conditions, the grievance was dropped.
Hussein was convicted of attempted theft in January 2014 and sentenced to 18 months probation, court records show.
— Everton Bailey Jr.
Note: A previous version of this article misstated the length of the suspension and the official in the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office who authored an April 2014 memo related to the investigation.