On June 26, Street Roots, an independent news publication in Oregon, published a story showing that a legal loophole is allowing ex-law enforcement officers who have received a lifetime ban from Oregon’s public safety agency to search, cite and arrest people on and around university campuses. The basis of this reporting came from public records obtained by Information for Public Use.
The lack of oversight for special campus security officers and other security staff on campus means Oregon’s Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, or DPSST, could enact a lifetime ban on a fired former law enforcement officer one day, and a university could hire them the next day as a special campus security officer with arrest and citation authority on and off campus.
For example, Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission fired law enforcement officer Matthew Roberts in 2016 for violating its use of force and dishonesty standards after he attacked someone he alleged was a minor in possession of alcohol and then was dishonest about his behavior to his superiors, according to records obtained by Information for Public Use. DPSST permanently banned Roberts from working as a public safety officer due to his behavior. In 2018, SOU hired Roberts as a special campus security officer where he is currently employed in this capacity. Pages 1-70 of the records as well as the video linked below pertain to Roberts.
SOU isn’t the only university employing special campus security officers with a lifetime ban from DPSST. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office fired corrections officer Catherine Vu, then Catherine Melgard-Stevens, in 2016 for violating a number of policies, including encouraging someone to falsify information to a fellow law enforcement officer. DPSST permanently banned Vu from working as a public safety officer due to her dishonesty, and Marion County Sheriff’s Office placed her on the Brady Index. She was hired as a special campus security officer by OSU in 2019. Pages 70-77 of the records below pertain to Vu.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office fired correction officer Amy Johnson in 2010 after she made homophobic comments about a colleague and then lied about those comments during an investigation. DPSST permanently banned Johnson from working as a public safety officer due to her dishonesty. In 2015, OSU hired Johnson as a campus safety dispatcher — a position distinct from a special campus security officer role but similar in that it is not subject to DPSST oversight despite having responsibilities that mirror those of police dispatchers who are subject to DPSST oversight. Johnson retired in 2020. Pages 78-113 of the records below pertain to Johnson.
Additional undiscovered cases of special campus security officers fired from prior law enforcement roles and banned by DPSST may exist because names in DPSST’s databases may not match university rosters, which do not always list legal names. For example, Roberts is listed as Matthew Roberts in DPSST records and Matt Roberts in SOU records. Vu is listed as Catherine Melgard-Stevens in DPSST records and as Cathy Vu in OSU records. A list of law enforcement officers with revoked, denied, or suspended public safety licenses through 2023 can be downloaded below.
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According to Street Roots’ reporting, students say they fear for their safety when disgraced law enforcement officers patrol their campuses. An SOU student pointed to a recent protest against anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQIA2S+ agitators where Roberts started chasing a student protestor. While he didn’t catch them, students connected his behavior to his attack in 2016. Records obtained by Information for Public Use show that Roberts has issued citations and taken other law enforcement actions, including ticketing a minor for possession of alcohol.
Roberts’ off-campus behavior is controversial too. In 2022, Street Roots covered his far-right campaign to further criminalize homelessness in Medford after the 2020 Almeda Fire. Recent documents obtained by Information for Public Use and a review of Roberts’ timesheets and his activity on the Greenway Recovery Project Facebook page — his primary mechanism for orchestrating the campaign — shows he frequently posted on the page during work hours at the height of the campaign, up to 11 times in one shift.
Roberts’ permits commenters on his page describing homeless residents as “walking parasites,” “druggies” and “worthless criminals” while suggesting they should be deported, removed by the National Guard, ousted by vigilante groups, left to die if overdosing and killed in the name of preserving the environment. They’ve also sent death threats to an organizer who provides safe consumption supplies to homeless residents. Roberts has engaged with the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQIA2S+ agitators who came to SOU on his Greenway Recovery Project Facebook page.
Reporting by Left Coast Right Watch shows the connections between Roberts’ primary campaign collaborators and the Three Percenters and a network of COVID-denial groups that recently took over the Jackson County GOP.
We welcome inquires from the press about these records. Contact us at info4publicuse [at] protonmail.com.
Media Generated
Banned ex-cops patrol Oregon university campuses
A legal loophole allows ex-cops with lifetime bans from law enforcement to search, cite and arrest people on and around university campuses
By Sam Becker
View and Download Records
View and Download Video of Greenway Recovery Project Post Timestamps
View and Download List of Law Enforcement Officers with Revoked, Denied, or Suspended Public Safety Licenses (updated through 2023)