Tigard Police Officer James Teeny is set to appear in court Friday on criminal charges. Prosecutors say he lied in a search warrant affidavit last year.
Courtesy of Tigard Police Department
A Tigard Police Officer is set to appear in court Friday on criminal charges after prosecutors say he lied in a search warrant affidavit last year, and may have cost Washington County prosecutors the chance to convict a known drug dealer.
Officer Jacob Teeny, 27, was cited with official misconduct in the first and second degrees, as well as false swearing, a misdemeanor alleging he “unlawfully and knowingly” failed to tell the truth.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Teeny hung up after an OPB reporter asked for comment on the charges and did not return a voicemail message.
The specific allegations against Teeny aren’t detailed in court records. However, they do reference a drug case in which Teeny was the investigating officer. Combined, the two cases are illustrative.
On Aug. 17, Teeny was involved in the arrest where the defendant faced numerous felony drug counts, including dealing “substantial quantities” of methamphetamine.
Two months later, defense attorney Rachael Wilson asked a judge in Washington County to toss out “all evidence obtained as a result of law enforcement’s unlawful seizure and warrantless search” of her client’s cell phone.
Wilson declined to comment, but her Oct. 29, filing refers to a stop that law enforcement extended “without independent constitutional jurisdiction.” Wilson argues, since the initial cell phone search was unlawful, “evidence obtained in the subsequent warranted search” of her client’s property “is fruit of the poisonous tree” and should also be tossed out.
Prosecutors said in charging documents that in addition to the drugs police found, Wilson’s client unlawfully possessed a firearm, had more than $300 in cash, materials used for packaging controlled substances and had previously been convicted in Multnomah County of delivering methamphetamine, a felony.
On Nov. 1, Teeny was placed on leave, according to records from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which certifies police officers in Oregon.
That same day, court records note Wilson and prosecutors held a settlement conference.
On Nov. 4, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office dismissed charges against Wilson’s client.
Tigard Police Chief James McDonald requested a criminal investigation that same day, spokesperson Maddie Bauer said in a statement Thursday.
“Now that the outside criminal investigation is complete, the Tigard Police Department is also conducting its own internal review of the case,” Bauer wrote.
On Friday, a DPSST spokesperson confirmed the agency has opened a professional standards case to determine if Teeny “violated moral fitness standards” and said his certifications are under review.
Teeny joined the department in 2021, state records show. He graduated from Portland State University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Teeny was cited by an officer with the Hillsboro Police Department on April 14. It’s being prosecuted by the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office, which also declined to comment.
