Bend PD to send downtown fight report to DA
Vallejo, Calif., Police Chief Jospeh Kreins said Wednesday his department is investigating a downtown Bend incident last weekend in which Vallejo Sgt. Michael Kent Tribble pulled a gun during a fight.
“We’ve opened our own administrative investigation. I’ve spoken with the chief of police in Bend,” Kreins told TV station KTVU. “We, of course, take this matter rather seriously. We will look into all the facts and circumstances.”
Kreins said he is in close contact with Bend Police Chief Jim Porter.
“My understanding in talking to the chief is that there are very conflicting statements as to what happened and when it happened or how it happened,” he said. “So, you know, we have to sort out all the facts.”
Bend police expect to send their report to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office by early next week. DA Patrick Flaherty then will be decide if charges against Tribble will be filed.
A second California man involved in the incident, Kevin Coleho, is a retired Vallejo police sergeant.
Under the “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act,” which was passed in 2004, any qualified or retired law enforcement officer is allowed to carry a concealed weapon in any and all states. The federal law supersedes local gun laws.
Off-duty officers are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in a bar, which is legal in Oregon regardless.
However, they are not allowed to be under the influence of alcohol. At this point, NewsChannel 21 does not know if Tribble was under the influence.
Bend police have declined to comment on their ongoing investigation.
Stuart Epps of Bend, one of the men police said was involved in the incident, said in an email to NewsChannel 21 that he was upset that Tribble is making other police officers look bad.
However, he wrote, “I believe the Bend Police Department is doing their due diligence and will get to the bottom of this situation. I also have faith that the criminal justice system will make things right.”
One of the other men involved in the incident, Kevin McCarthy, 45, of Bend is also a retired Vallejo police officer.
In December 2010, Tribble was involved in a shooting that killed Guy Jarreau Jr, 34, from Vallejo who was a student at Napa Valley College.
Jarreau was filming a music video with several other students in the middle of the afternoon when he was shot. Police said Jarreau displayed a gun after they arrived and Tribble fired his gun in self-defense.
Jarreau’s family said he was never armed and had his hands up when he was fatally shot. The family sued Tribble and the Vallejo Police Department and the suit was dismissed by a judge last year.
