Former police officer Jeffrey Kienlen to sue over wrongful termination

The decision to add Kienlen to the Brady list followed Ellis’ discovery of a disciplinary letter from 2011 in his desk, just a few days after taking over the position as Wasco County District Attorney.

The letter was a Notice of Discipline from the Chief of Police detailing an incident in which Kienlen was to attend a training in Eugene, Ore., with another officer. Kienlen requested a separate room, which the Chief of Police denied. Kienlen then requested to take his city car in order to visit his cousin who lived in Eugene, which was approved.

However, according to the letter, Kienlen told the other officer he would be staying with a cousin near Salem, Ore. When questioned about where he had stayed, Kienlen told the Chief of Police he had stayed at the Riverview Inn on Monday and Thursday, but would not initially disclose where he stayed on Tuesday or Wednesday.

After further discussion, Kienlen admitted he spent these nights at the Comfort Suites in Salem with a partner. He also admitted his cousin lives in Hubbard and he didn’t have a cousin in Eugene.

The letter stated that this was a violation of policy W.1.1.100.040 - Truthfulness. It also mentioned an incident from 2010 in which he was found in possession of a Stinger.22 pen gun that had been entered into evidence. After this incident, Kienlen was disciplined and told “any further violations of Policy and Procedures may result in further discipline up to and including termination.”

On the back of these two incidents, Kienlen was demoted from Sergeant to Officer, according to the letter.

Following the discovery of the letter, Kienlen was placed on administrative leave in January 2021, as the district attorney’s office began an investigation into the matter. The letter had not been disclosed to defense attorneys in cases where Kienlen testified, which could’ve called into question his reliability as a witness. Upon reviewing cases Kienlen was a state witness in, many open misdemeanor cases were dismissed.

The office found that Kienlen should be placed onto the Brady list at Tier 1 for “intentional and malicious deceptive conduct,” rather than Tier 2, which would indicate an intention to deceive that wasn’t malicious in nature.

Tier 2 would’ve required the Notice of Discipline to always be presented at court, but would not have prevented Kienlen from testifying. Because Kienlen was placed on Tier 1, he was thereby unable to testify in court, prohibiting him from being able to do his job. For this reason, he was terminated.

Kienlen is currently being represented by Thenell Law Group in the pending suit for wrongful termination. The law group announced both the suit and their request for all department material regarding Kienlen from January 1991 to present, so they can compile their case.

City Attorney Jonathan Kara said the city does not comment on pending litigation or litigation expected to be filed, but confirmed they did receive a Tort Claims Notice and Preservation and Public Records Request related to the matter on July 15.