Continue to Stand in the Gap: Wheeler County

Highway 207-Wheeler County Oregon

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; Isaiah 35:1

The population of Wheeler County, just south of Gilliam County, hovers around 1400 making it the least populated county in the state. In addition to that, it has an aging population with the young folks leaving the area for better opportunities elsewhere. It is, however, a popular tourist destination with fossil beds and national forests for recreation. The county seat is the town of Fossil. We’ve talked about Wheeler’s beautiful high desert areas here, here, and here.

Wheeler County, Oregon

Wheeler County is governed by the County Court system. The current Judge is N. Lynn Morley who serves with commissioners Clinton Dyer and Ben Logan.

Sherrif Mike Smith was elected in 2020 and his term ends in 2024. Three deputies and some reserve officers make up the law enforcement in Wheeler County.

Back in 2012, Wheeler County elected Chris Humphreys as the sheriff. He served until 2018 when he left law enforcement. Chris had moved back to Wheeler County, where he was raised and where his family has been for six generations, after a couple of incidents in Portland where he was on the police force. In 2006 he was one of the officers involved in the death of James Chasse, a Portland man who had paranoid schizophrenia. Three years later he was investigated when he shot a 12-year-old girl on a MAX train (who was resisting and fighting) with a bean-bag shotgun. While he was investigated and reinstated by the police department, he filed for stress disability and moved back to his hometown of Fossil in 2012.

In 2018 Sherrif Humphreys resigned as Wheeler County Sherrif due to job burnout. When he did, his three deputies did as well, leaving the county without law enforcement as none of the towns had police departments. The stress in Wheeler County was somewhat different than the pressures of Portland. It is a huge county with a small population, but a growing number of tourists who get lost, injured, or have medical emergencies in the backcountry. “For Humphreys, the years of shoestring budgets, hand-me-downs and lack of time away from the job led to burnout and a need to find a new career.” (the East Oregonian, January 17, 2019).

In looking back on his law enforcement career, Chris noted the lack of access to mental health care in the field as well as a stigma against seeking professional help. While the stresses are more obvious in the urban centers, in Wheeler County the vast, sparsely populated high desert creates a situation that is emotionally exhausting for officers, along with the lack of resources for the department and the stress of being “on call” all the time due to the staff shortages.

While Chris’s next career move surprised some, it makes sense in light of his insight into the lack of mental health care for over-stressed officers, and the gaps in training for officers encountering citizens with mental health issues. In 2019 Chris became the law enforcement liaison for Community Counseling Solutions. This is a Heppner-based non-profit organization that oversees mental health care across several counties in eastern Oregon, including Wheeler. Hopefully, Chris’s experiences – good and bad – and insight will improve the dealings between the police and the mentally ill in eastern Oregon.

Meanwhile, the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office continues to do its best for the citizens and tourists of eastern Oregon. Pray for law enforcement.