Oregon Police Chief Resigns Position After Demotion for Iraq, Afghanistan Service
Two months before he was scheduled to return to Sherwood, former Police Chief Bill Middleton says the city’s manager, Ross Schultz, flew to the East Coast to ask him to become deputy police chief and allow former Oregon State Police Superintendent Ron Ruecker — who had taken over as interim police chief in Middleton’s absence — to take over as the chief of police.
In 2005, Police Chief Bill Middleton was called to serve active duty with the U.S. Army Reserves. For 18 months, the Sherwood, Ore., police chief served as a lead interrogator in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
Two months before he was scheduled to return to Sherwood, Middleton says the city’s manager, Ross Schultz, flew to the East Coast to ask Middleton to become deputy police chief and allow former Oregon State Police Superintendent Ron Ruecker — who had taken over as interim police chief in Middleton’s absence — to take over as the chief of police. Middleton says he refused this offer and was convinced that, when he returned to Sherwood in May 2006, his job as police chief would be secure.
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