‘I’ve been doing it for months’: Oregon police chief confessed immediately after worker reported missing drugs – By Maxine Bernstein (The Oregonian/OregonLive) / May 11, 2024
Tillamook Police Chief Raymond Rau had just learned someone in his department discovered drugs missing from a property storage locker.
He immediately rushed into the office and approached the desk of his evidence technician. But instead of launching an investigation, he made a remarkable confession.
“Yeah, I’ve been taking the evidence and destroying it,” Rau told the technician. “…I’ve been doing it for months.”
A state police audit and investigation obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive under a public records request include new details of Rau’s admission and revealed much more widespread instances of evidence tampering than came out in court, as well as actions by Rau to reduce oversight of the department’s evidence area.
