Ex-Klamath Falls detective accused of using drugs in evidence before crash

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A former Klamath Falls police detective was arrested Tuesday on drugged and reckless driving, official misconduct and other charges, accused of causing a crash while under the influence of fentanyl that was being held as evidence in unrelated cases.

Thomas Dwayne Reif was driving his assigned vehicle when the multiple-vehicle crash occurred on Nov. 27, Oregon State Police said. Just before, Klamath County dispatchers got a call describing a reckless driver on South Sixth Street.

Medics found Reif unresponsive and not breathing, but he was quickly stabilized at Sky Lake Medical Center. No one else was hurt in the crash.

Klamath Falls police asked OSP to lead the investigation. They developed probable cause that Reif illegally obtained and used drug evidence from an unrelated case.

The Klamath Falls Herald and News reported that Reif, who had been with the department for six years, was placed on administrative leave three days after the crash and resigned after an internal affairs investigator concluded he violated several policies and recommended his firing..