MADRAS – At least three police supervisors with the Warm Springs Police Department were fired this week, after they had been cleared of misconduct involving their possible awareness of an alleged walkout threat.

Avex ”Stoney” Miller, a police lieutenant in charge of the jail; Norm Counts, the criminal investigations supervisor; Michael Kay, a patrol sergeant; and Chris Elliott, a Warm Springs police officer, were fired from their posts this week with the police department for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

They plan to file a civil lawsuit for wrongful termination, they said.

The three supervisors were among 11 police officers, including the police chief, who were put on paid leave three weeks ago for ”breach of public trust” by the public safety director, Raymond Tsumpti, who is in charge of the police department.

The firings are the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Tsumpti’s management practices and conduct as the public safety director, a position he’s held since January.

Tsumpti could not be reached for comment this week, but he said in an interview last week that he perceived the possibility of a walkout after the 11 officers had submitted written complaints about working conditions and management practices.

After placing the officers on paid administrative leave, Tsumpti, who is also a tribal council member, was involved in a July 14 police car chase in which he fired six shots into an occupied car, according to police.

Tsumpti has said the FBI is investigating the shooting incident because it has jurisdiction over reservations in such cases.

Elliott, a Warm Springs police officer investigating the incident, found that Tsumpti had been using a weapon he wasn’t certified to carry and that wasn’t used by the police department, said Paul Meadowbrook, Elliott’s attorney.

After filing his report, Elliott was fired Tuesday without being given a reason, Meadowbrook said.

None of the leaders from the Warm Springs tribe including the chief operating officer, Lauraina Hintsala, the secretary-treasurer, Charles ”Jody” Calica, or the tribal council chairman and vice chairman would return calls seeking comment.

The acting Police Chief Rex Huesties said he was not at liberty to discuss the matter.

Counts’ and Kay’s termination letters stated they were released from employment because they were considered probationary employees – even though both had been there longer than the probationary six-month period for new employees. Kay had been with the police department for nearly two years, he said. Counts said he was hired in December.

Miller, a 19-year veteran of the police department, was fired as a probationary employee and because his position as head of corrections was being eliminated ”as the funds can be better utilized,” his termination letter said.

Before they were let go, each one of them received a letter stating that the investigating panel had determined they had no role in a reported walkout and that they were to report to the police department for shift assignments as early as Wednesday.

”I’ve seen a lot of crazy things up there with the politics, but this is probably the worst,” said Miller, who is a member of the tribe. ”I was pretty disgusted and upset after being charged with breach of public trust after the work I had done for the people up there. I am one of the people up there.”

Several of the other 11 police officers were back at work after signing agreements that they wouldn’t sue the tribe, according to Meadowbrook, the attorney who is representing Miller, Counts, Kay and Elliott in a lawsuit.

None of them were given that option, he said.

The police officers who came back may not have returned to the same positions, Meadowbrook said.

”They were shifted around,” he said. ”Many of them suffered loss of pay and loss of supervisory power.”

Police Chief Don Courtney said Wednesday that he had not heard yet whether he will keep his job.

Courtney, the police chief for a total of six years, said there hadn’t been any complaints about management before Tsumpti had taken over the department.

The complaints given by the 11 officers centered on staffing shortages, low pay, old equipment and what Courtney called Tsumpti’s ”management by intimidation.” Courtney said he didn’t have many problems with Tsumpti himself, but he passed on the written comments on behalf of his staff.

Courtney also told Tsumpti of a rumor that had originated from the patrol staff regarding a possible walkout. Courtney said he later talked with the supervisors and some employees and found no proof it was going to happen.

”We treated it as exactly that, a rumor, and laid it to rest,” Courtney said.

Tsumpti said in an interview last week that he considered the alleged threat to be a serious violation of a police officer’s duty to protect the community.

Courtney also voiced concerns about Tsumpti’s conduct, particularly his involvement in the July 14 police chase.

According to police, the shooting occurred when at least two Warm Springs patrol cars began chasing a 1991 GMC Jimmy driven by 25-year-old Aldo Antunez.

The chase ended when an unmarked Durango – driven by Tsumpti – pulled out in front of Antunez and slammed into the GMC, pushing the car against the guard rail. Tsumpti got out and approached the car, then began firing into the engine when he saw Antunez try to pull away.

Tsumpti said in an interview last week that the police were chasing someone and they caught up with him as he was driving home.

”Someone could have gotten hurt,” Tsumpti acknowledged last week.

Courtney questioned why Tsumpti was involved since he wasn’t a police officer. Also, Tsumpti used a .357-caliber revolver, which isn’t a police-issued gun, Courtney said. Warm Springs police officers carry a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, he said.

To carry any kind of gun, a person would have to be trained and certified by the police department range master, said Courtney and Miller, one of the fired police officers. Miller had been the range master in charge of firearm instruction before he was let go. Usually only police officers are certified to carry guns, he said.

Both Miller and Courtney said that if a police officer wanted to carry any other weapon besides the standard police-issued gun, the range master and the police chief would have to sign off on it, he said.

Lastly, Courtney said Tsumpti should have automatically been placed on a three-day leave according to the Warm Springs police department policy.

These were all questions that Courtney planned to raise with the tribal council and the chief operating officer.

”Ultimately I hope the tribal council with their wisdom will see through this and make the right decision,” Courtney said.

Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at ebousquet@bendbulletin.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story.