A scary encounter in the county assessor’s office, where a man silently filmed employees, ended with the film crew — known for filming police — praising Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill for his professionalism.
On July 14, when a man entered the assessor’s office with commercial film equipment and began filming staff at work.
Assessor Jill Amery said of the clerk at the counter, “he had the camera in her face and it scared her to death.”
Amery approached him when she realized what was going on and he wouldn’t speak to her.
She said, “’Can we step outside and have a chat?’ And he wouldn’t move.”
Then she saw his black t-shirt, with the logo “filmthepolice.com” on it. “I kind of laughed and said, ‘We do taxes.’ And he didn’t get it.”
When he still wouldn’t move, Amery called police dispatchers. By then, the clerk had also pushed a panic button.
The man was in the office for several minutes, and the only sound he made was when “he grunted a few times,” Amery said.
Amery learned later the film crew had also gone to another office in the courthouse and asked where the courts were.
“So he did speak with other departments, and after the fact, that’s what I found so strange, is he wouldn’t speak to me,” she said.
As she was on the phone with a dispatcher, the man left the office. That’s when Magill found the man and two others outside in the alleyway north of the courthouse.
Magill met the men in the alley, and their roughly five-minute conversation was posted on YouTube by the men. In it, the men, who said they were from Portland, ask some questions about Wasco County, and Magill answered.
He said the group’s purpose is to provoke police responses and film them.
Magill said it wasn’t illegal for the man to film in the assessor’s office since it is a public area. “They didn’t do anything illegal and my conversation with them was very cordial and professional.”
Magill did tell the men that their conduct had scared the assessor’s office staff.
“We go around and film cops and stuff,” a man said. “We post good and bad videos.”
The video is on a YouTube channel called Oregon Cop Block. It had a little over 8,000 views Tuesday afternoon. Oregon Cop Block says it films police to hold them accountable.
Another man in the group identified himself as being a member of the media, called West Coast Auditors News Network.
“One thing I would ask, you kind of freak the clerk’s office out there dude,” said Magill. Det. Scott Williams, who was also outside with the men, said, “like I said, let’s try not to be disruptive.”
Magill asked that they show “a little courtesy” for the courthouse staff. “Let’s not try to work them up,” then added, “talk to me anytime you want.”
One of the men said, “we try not to be disruptive.”
Then, when Magill walked into the building to get them a business card, one man said to another, “Bob, did you ruffle some feathers in there?” And the man replies with a laugh, “I guess.”
Waiting in the alley, one man panned to the courthouse and said, “this is a very cool building.”
One of the men asked for directions to south county, and said, “so how do you get out there from here?” And Magill quipped, “Drive a car.”
Then he joked, “I’m just a south county redneck.”
After discussing directions a bit, one of the men said to Magill, “Well hey, have a good day. Can I shake your hand?” Magill replied, “sure.”
After he shook hands with the men, one of them said, “That’s one cool sheriff right there. Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, take note. Wasco County Sheriff’s Office is ... you’re an embarrassment, Portland.”
In the video description, it states, “This was one polite cop.”
One poster on the YouTube video, who has the handle “Eric the Fathead,” said “cameras should not upset anyone, especially government workers.”
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