TILLAMOOK, Ore. — A chief of police on the Oregon Coast faces criminal charges amid allegations that he took drugs and money from his station's evidence lock-up.
Tillamook Police Chief Raymond Rau, a man with nearly 30 years' experience in law enforcement, has led the department since July 2021. He's now facing four misdemeanor counts in a "missing and tampered evidence" case.
Prosecutors filed charges Wednesday for two counts of first-degree official misconduct, one count of second-degree theft, and one count of third-degree theft.
The charges contend that Rau knowingly did "remove controlled substances from the Tillamook Police evidence locker room ... with intent to obtain a benefit." According to those charges, the value of the drugs was estimated at less than $100. They also allege that Rau took cash with a total value of $100 or more — the precise amount is not listed.
Court paperwork says that the offenses occurred between October 1 of 2021 and May 8 of 2023.
The Tillamook Herald Leader broke the story, reporting that Oregon State Police began an investigation in May after an audit of the police department's property room revealed that evidence had been tampered with or removed in more than 80 cases dating back to 2005, with the vast majority of those incidents occurring since 2021.
KGW reached out to the Oregon Department of Justice but did not receive a substantive reply. The Tillamook County District Attorney did respond, saying in part:
"I assigned DOJ to handle the investigation and prosecution of this case due to it being a conflict for my office. I have only received the initial audit report for purposes of evaluating the effect of the audit on cases my office is or has prosecuted."
Police Chief Rau has reportedly been on administrative leave since May.