Resultant to a landmark 1963 US Supreme Court case Brady vs Maryland, prosecutors are required to notify defense counsel of any evidence that may exonerate a defendant.
A so-called Brady List is a compilation district attorneys may keep of law enforcement officers and other government officials who compromised their integrity or judgment resulting in an irreparable loss of public trust and may not be credible in a court of law.
According to a story by the Statesman Journal, Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier maintains a Brady List. A copy of this purported list is posted on social media by Ashley Simington-Rains who claims to have obtained the copy via a public records request. (Frasier has not responded to an email request for verification of this list.)
The list includes individuals from eight separate agencies and is comprised of twelve individuals.
A. Witnesses we will not use under any conditions
Robert McBride, formerly Chief of Police for Bandon
Daniel Brenden, formerly Coquille PD
Sean Sullivan, formerly Coquille PD
Mike Giffin, formerly NBPD and MPPD
James Bryant, formerly Coquille PD
Charles Orchard, formerly DHS Child Protective Services
Yost Espilien, formerly MPPD
Jon Bohanan, formerly NBPD
B. Witnesses that we may use with proper disclosure
Randy Ulmer, formerly Coquille PD
Kip Oswald, formerly CCSO and NBPD
Jo Gardiner, formerly OSP
Doug Miller, Coquille PD
Notable about this list, assuming it is valid, is that out of eight agencies fully forty percent of these “Brady Cops” are or have been associated with the Coquille Police Department. Two of these Coquille PD officers, Sean Sullivan and James Bryant were fired for inappropriate behavior with underage girls.
Randy Ulmer struggled with a gambling addiction and was caught stealing from the Coquille PD evidence locker. Ulmer was placed on the “B” list above because his evidence was necessary in the Leah Freeman murder trial, and I was in attendance when he disclosed his offenses to the jury in advance of his testimony.
Most Brady cops lose their jobs either owing to the original offense or simply because they cannot testify in court. Some, however, go on to obtain jobs within other agencies. Former Coquille PD officer Sullivan, for example, went on to be hired as a police chief in another state before doing a stint in a Washington State prison.
At least three of the Coquille Brady cops were employed during the infamous reign of Chief Mike Reaves. Reaves was less concerned with crime solving and prevention and more focused on revenue generation through officer initiated stops for petty offenses like jaywalking, seat belt violations and minor traffic offenses. He set unofficial quotas, (quotas are illegal), putting extreme pressure on the officers. The city manager at the time was Terrence O’Connor who went on to work for North Bend before retiring and it is generally accepted that he approved Reave’s heavy-handed approach.
Reaves’ incompetence or indifference are a major reason the Leah Freeman murder went cold for a decade.
We wrote extensively on this blog during that time and city council meetings were overrun by unhappy citizens complaining about the treatment received by officers and the most complained about officer was James Bryant. The Coquille City Council was unmoved and ignored the entreaties of their electorate. It took criminal prosecutions against these officers for any changes in the department and even Reaves was not replaced until he was forced into a medical retirement.
Of all the individuals on this list only one is still an active law enforcement officer in Coos County, Coquille PD’s Doug Miller. Like Sullivan, he appears to have moved from the Coos County Sheriff’s Office to the Coquille Police Department and like Sullivan, he is in a position of leadership. Coquille Police Chief Scott Sanders is filling in as interim city manager after Sam Baugh was fired and Miller is unofficially filling in at the chief’s desk.
Coquille citizens deserve and indeed pay for honest and well-trained and credible law enforcement. Why is the council tolerating a Brady cop on our police force?
