A 28-year veteran of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has filed a $2.5 million federal lawsuit against the county, the sheriff and two private investigators for alleged civil rights violations and retaliation.
In his lawsuit, Capt. Deron McMaster claims Sheriff Shane Nelson withheld evidence incriminating Nelson and his wife in an internal investigation into another deputy. The lawsuit also alleges that Nelson retaliated against McMaster for speaking out against Nelson’s improper actions.
“Defendant Sheriff Nelson acted with an improper motive or intent towards [McMaster] when Sheriff Nelson intentionally withheld prejudicial testimony given by his wife,” the lawsuit states. And in doing so, the lawsuit alleges that Nelson “acted with reckless or callous indifference to the federally protected rights of [McMaster].”
Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, right, speaks during a news conference in Portland, Ore., June 28, 2017.
Don Ryan/AP
The lawsuit, which claims McMaster’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated, stems from a series of incidents involving a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy, his romantic partner and a subordinate with whom he was having an affair. . An internal investigation found that McMaster failed to report the deputy’s alleged domestic and sexual abuse of his resident romantic partner and that McMaster lied during the investigation.
McMaster contends the allegations are false and said he reported the alleged abuse to the deputy’s supervisor and the Redmond Police Department. Nelson lives across the street from the deputy in question, and McMaster said Nelson’s wife – a former Bend police officer – was interviewed at some point during the three abuse investigations. McMaster claims Nelson tried to conceal his and his wife’s knowledge of domestic violence. When McMaster spoke about the cover-up, he said Nelson fired back at him.
“The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the complaint filed by Mr. McMaster’s attorney,” DCSO spokesman Sgt. Jayson Janes told OPB in an email. “Sheriff Nelson disputes the allegations made in this complaint and plans to vigorously defend the Sheriff’s Office against these allegations. No further information will be released due to ongoing litigation.
Two private investigators, Timothy Moore and Matthew Ellington, are also named in the lawsuit. Nelson has relied heavily on the two investigators to conduct internal investigations, spending more than $430,000 for their services since taking office. But people familiar with the investigations, including several lawyers who sued the agency, say their work was unreliable and incomplete.
Text messages reviewed by OPB suggest that Moore and Nelson have a close friendship.
The lawsuit alleges that the two investigators violated Oregon state law by failing to provide all relevant information to McMaster before questioning him. McMaster also alleges that Moore and Ellington were involved in withholding the interview with Nelson’s wife and evidence that she and Nelson knew of the possible abuse.
The lawsuit comes after years of internal turmoil under Nelson’s leadership. Since 2015, when Nelson was named sheriff, agency employees have filed at least 25 complaints against the sheriff and the agency.
During the same period, the county paid nearly $3.5 million to defend and settle claims against Nelson and the sheriff’s office.
In August 2021, a federal jury awarded former Deputy Eric Kozowski more than $1 million after finding that Nelson had retaliated against Kozowski for running against him for sheriff in 2016. The following month, the county settled a $527,000 federal lawsuit with former congressman Crystal Jansen, who alleged multiple instances of discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
In depositions for the Jansen case, Nelson claimed that his agency’s policies did not apply to him.
“Sheriff’s office policies do not apply to the sheriff,” Nelson told Jansen’s attorneys. “I am neither a member of the sheriff’s office nor an employee. I am the elected sheriff and therefore work for the 190,000 citizens who live in this county.
McMaster spent his entire 28-year law enforcement career in the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, rising through the agency’s ranks alongside Sheriff Shane Nelson. As captain in charge of the detective division, McMaster was initially a member of Nelson’s inner circle of trust until the incidents leading to this lawsuit.
This trial could set itself apart from previous trials involving lower-ranking MPs if it goes to trial. As a former captain, McMaster has intimate knowledge of a command team and a sheriff who for years have been at the center of controversy.
“McMaster knows where Nelson buried all the bodies,” McMaster attorney Randy Harvey told the OPB last year after filing a tort complaint.
In September 2021, citing McMaster’s “questionable judgement”, Nelson demoted him to lieutenant. McMaster resigned shortly thereafter.
In his resignation letter, McMaster directly called Nelson, Moore and Ellington.
“As long as this sheriff is in place and employing the services of Tim Moore and Matt Ellington, no Deschutes County Sheriff’s Deputy is safe from their unsavory investigative practices and willingness to conceal and misrepresent evidence and witness testimony,” McMaster wrote in his resignation letter. “I refuse to work for an executive who is dishonest and unethical.”
