2 deputy directors of Oregon's public safety certification agency fired, one training coordinator resigned

In a cryptic memo to employees, the director of the state's public safety certification agency wrote that his two deputy directors were no longer employed by the agency and should be treated “as visitors from now on.”

Brian Henson, assistant director of operations, and Staci Yutzie, assistant director of training, were both terminated effective Aug. 30 after serving several months of paid leave, according to a public records request from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Separately, the agency's defense tactics coordinator, Richard Daniel, resigned on August 15 during the investigation, the public safety agency said.

All three have been on leave since May while the investigation is ongoing.

The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training certifies the state's police officers, correctional officers, probation officers and private investigators and operates basic and leadership training academies for police officers on its 237-acre Public Safety Academy campus.

Henson previously served as acting director and has served as deputy director of human resources, budget and procurement, facilities, payroll and accounting, and student services. He has worked at the agency since March 2014. Yutzie became deputy director of training in August 2023 after previously serving as dean of the training academy. She has been with the agency since 2013. Both were placed on paid leave on May 28.

At that time, the agency's leaders were placed on administrative leave. State public safety agency spokesman Sam Tenney said the state Department of Administrative Services' human resources division was investigating the two deputy directors and the Department of Public Safety's human resources division was investigating Daniel.

After the two deputy directors were fired, the state Department of Administrative Services referred The Oregonian/OregonLive's request for the investigation reports back to the Department of Public Safety, which refused to release information about the three investigations or say what led to the two deputy directors being fired or Daniels' departure during the investigation.

The Department of Public Safety declined to release the reports, citing “disciplinary action against personnel.” The Oregonian/OregonLive is appealing the denial.

In a memo to employees last month titled “Announcing a Change in Leadership,” Phil Castle, director of the Department of Public Safety, wrote that the agency was “grateful to Brian and Staci for their service and wishes them well in the future.”

Henson earned an annual salary of $174,588. Yetzi earned $171,397. Daniel earned $117,864, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Bill Steele is currently the deputy director, chief of staff and chief of the public safety department's operations division, and Chris Enquist is the interim chief of the training division, Castle said. The director wrote that he will be making permanent leadership changes in the coming weeks.

Castle, who was hired by the governor to lead the Public Safety Agency in February 2023, wrote to staff that the agency “remains firmly committed to its mission of pursuing excellence in training and accountability for public safety professionals.”

The recent turmoil follows the sudden resignation of Director Jerry Granderson in April 2022, who had been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the Oregon Department of Justice investigation.

The state declined to release the investigation's findings when asked, but Granderson sent a scathing 21-page letter to state lawmakers a month after his resignation, denouncing an “entrenched faction” within the agency that opposed his efforts to hold people accountable and diversify the staff.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal courts and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, [email protected], follow her on X @maxoregonianor on LinkedIn.

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