WEST LINN, Ore. — The West Linn Police Department (WLPD) violated some of its policies during an investigation into a former doctor accused of sexual abuse by dozens of his patients, according to a report released on Tuesday.
More than 100 women joined a civil lawsuit against former West Linn doctor David Farley, accusing him of sexual abuse while they were under his care. Prosecutors brought 23 of those cases before a Clackamas County grand jury in the fall of 2022. The grand jury declined to indict Farley on criminal charges. KGW has spoken to several of Farley's former patients who said he abused them for years. After an investigation, the Oregon Medical Board revoked Farley of his state medical license in 2020 for dishonorable and unprofessional conduct and gross or repeated negligence.
On Feb. 2 of this year, West Linn City Council reviewed the report and voted unanimously on Feb. 6 to release it to the public. The full report is available on the city's website.
The findings of the 34-page independent investigation, commissioned by the city in November 2022, found the police department didn't follow some of its internal policies and procedures. The report outlined seven main conclusions, including one in which the lead detective on the case didn't have the proper training to investigate the allegations.
One of the policies states an investigator should be familiar with the medical and legal standards involved in the case, but the lead detective "apparently did nothing to educate himself about the medical and legal issues involved," the report says. The same policy also states that a victim's advocate should be present during interviews, but 17 of the 43 cases that were reviewed for the report were conducted without a victim's advocate. The report goes on to acknowledge it's possible that victim's advocates were offered outside of recorded interviews.
Among the key findings, the report also says women who were interviewed for the independent investigation reported discrepancies between their recorded interviews with the detective and the written police report. "They were correct about the discrepancies," the report says, but adds that interviews did improve, based on recordings and police reports involving the last four survivors who were interviewed.
According to the report, some witnesses said they were "treated callously" by the lead detective. The report found that the lead detective didn't conduct trauma-informed interviewing techniques, which violates policy. It also said the lead detective "did nothing" to help one survivor who had been crying and was "clearly distraught" during an interview. The report says the law enforcement personnel were "business like" but didn't "cross the line of being unprofessional."
The city of West Linn said it has added a detective sergeant position charged with overseeing investigations. Officers will also be provided with trauma-informed training and there will be a department-wide debrief on the report.
"We could and should have done better," the city of West Linn said in a news release. "Although the report makes no conclusions regarding the sufficiency of the criminal case against Farley, the City is grateful for the opportunity to use this report to improve our internal processes."
Trial attorney Tom D'Amore, who represents more than 100 women involved in the lawsuit, also released a statement.
"This independent investigation clearly shows the West Linn Police Department grossly mishandled the David Farley criminal case, violating the rights of survivors and allowing their abuser to go free," D'Amore said. He added, "We will continue to pursue justice for the more than 100 survivors we represent against Farley and the institutions that enabled his abuse."