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McMinnville resident asks Yamhill County commissioners to investigate sheriff's office after disputed crash report
Summary
Joe Shirley told commissioners that after a April 17, 2025 crash he received an official report he says is false, that body-camera footage was withheld, and that internal complaint channels failed; he asked the board to require the sheriff's office attach his supplemental statement, order an independent review and hold supervisors accountable.
A McMinnville man told Yamhill County commissioners on Tuesday he has repeatedly tried and failed to correct the official record of a serious crash and asked the county's elected board to provide civilian oversight he says he has been denied.
"The official report is false, and they know it," Joe Shirley told the commissioners during public comment, describing a head-on collision on April 17, 2025, in which he was struck while riding his motorcycle. Shirley said the Sheriff's Office relied on incomplete witness interviews, omitted body-worn camera footage referenced in the report, and rejected his supplemental statement unless he sent it certified mail — after which, he said, it still was not attached to the file.
Shirley said he filed a citizen complaint and multiple public-records requests and that the internal complaint process ‘‘has proven to be a dead end.’’ He urged the board to formally acknowledge his complaint, require the sheriff's office to attach his supplemental statement to the official crash record, order an independent review for falsification and negligence, and hold supervisory personnel accountable.
"You, the commissioners, are the only civilian oversight authority this county has," Shirley said, asking the board to intervene.
Commissioners did not take immediate formal action during the meeting; the complaint was entered into the public record and commissioners acknowledged receiving written materials over the prior three weeks. The transcript shows Shirley filed a formal citizen complaint on 08/12/2025 and that he supplied dates and procedural details he said support his request for oversight.
The board did not hear any response from sheriff's office leadership at the meeting; Shirley's remarks will remain part of the public record for any subsequent oversight action, staff inquiry or formal request for investigation.
