Bend police officer files to unseat Deschutes Sheriff Nelson

Scott Schaier fatally shot motorist in downtown Bend in 2016

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend police officer who shot and killed a suspected drunken driver in downtown Bend more than three years ago filed to run Friday against Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson in this year's election.

Scott Schaier filed the requisite paperwork on Friday with county Clerk Nancy Blankenship.

Schaier told NewsChannel 21 his bid for sheriff, his first run for political office, has been “on my mind for a little bit, probably a year or so. The timing had to be right, when it made sense for me and my family."

Nelson, appointed by county commissioners in 2015 to replace retiring Sheriff Larry Blanton, won election to his first full four-year term the following year.

Nelson defeated Deputy Eric Kozowski in his last re-election bid four years ago. The sheriff did not immediately respond to NewsChannel 21's request for comment on Schaier's candidacy.

Schaier said in his filing he has been with the Bend Police Department since November 2013 and previously was an officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department from June 2009 to October 2013. He was a sales manager with Schaier’s Auto Center from 2003-09.

Schaier studied criminal justice at Central Oregon Community College and public policy/political science at Oregon State University. He also said on his filing form he he has “over 2,000 hours of law enforcement and leadership training,” and holds an intermediate certificate from the state Department of Public Safety, Standards and Training.

Schaier shot and killed motorist Michael Jacques, 31, of Bend, on Dec. 23, 2016 in downtown Bend after pulling him over due to reports he was driving his minivan erratically. 

Schaier and a fellow officer told investigators Jacques had been trying to escape in his minivan, risking the safety of pedestrians and both officers.

Oregon Department of Justice investigators later said they found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Schaier.  An autopsy found that Jacques’ blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit.

A civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jacques' family, and the city's insurance company agreed in 2018 to an $800,000 settlement, while not admitting liability or fault.

March 10 is the candidate filing deadline for the May 19 primary. If there are only the two candidates, the race for the nonpartisan position would take place in November.

If there are more than two candidates, the race takes place in May. If one candidate then receives at least 50% of the votes, he or she advances alone to the November ballot. If no one earns 50%, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a November run-off election.

Here's Schaier's full news release on why he's running:

“News of the recent tragic death at the Deschutes County Jail reminds us we need leadership that will provide adequate staffing and resources to ensure the community is safe. Deschutes County residents deserve better,” said Mr. Schaier in announcing his entry into the race. “It is time for a change.”

Scott Schaier will bring over a decade of public law enforcement experience to the position, serving the last six years with the Bend Police Department as a patrol officer, training officer, member of the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team and currently as a School Resource Officer. Prior to entering public service, Scott worked in the private sector, managing multi-million dollar budgets and many employees.

“Law enforcement has become more complicated in the face of unprecedented problems like the opioid crisis, high levels of houselessness and a broken mental health system. This requires innovative and collaborative responses,” stated Schaier, “Deschutes County needs a Sheriff’s office that works effectively to keep our communities safe and works hand in hand with community partners.”

Mr. Schaier’s three main goals as Sheriff would be to rebuild the public trust, focus on school safety, and build collaborative and innovative responses to deal with our current opioid, houselessness and mental health crises.

Modernization and Collaboration: Many new technologies can help keep communities safer. Using criminal analytics and implementing new technology in all aspects of our profession can increase public safety as well as our ability to communicate vital information internally and externally. We need to be more effective in dealing with people facing a mental health crisis which means better training for our employees and building stronger relationships with our community partners.

School Safety: School safety will be a top priority for our agency. Working with the different school districts, Deschutes County Behavioral Health, High Desert ESD and the Student Threat Assessment Teams, we will develop a strategy to ensure we are protecting the children in our community and providing our schools with the most state of the art equipment and best practices.

Public Trust: Ending the dysfunction in the Sheriff’s office is priority number one. The lawsuits, harassment, firings, lack of interagency cooperation and understaffing that are the hallmark of the current Sheriff undermines the effectiveness of law enforcement in the County, leaving us all less safe and less trusting of law enforcement.

More information can be found at his website: https://schaierforsheriff.com/