By Bennett Hall
The Corvallis Police Department still isn't talking about exactly what led to the resignation last month of one of its most celebrated and controversial patrol officers. But documents obtained by the Gazette-Times shed new light on the brief yet eventful law enforcement career of Dave Cox.
He wore the uniform of the CPD for a little more than six years and became known for his enforcement of the laws against driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Cox was the undisputed DUII king of Corvallis. He had nearly 900 impaired-driving stops to his credit - far more than any other patrol officer in that span and more than seven times the departmental average.
His name became a watchword at every bar in town. "Be careful driving home," people warned their friends, "or Officer Cox will get you."
He racked up a number of awards for his work in getting drunken drivers off the road, including statewide Enforcement Officer of the Year honors for 2003, his third year as a cop. His performance reviews are filled with praise from his superiors for his DUII record and encouragement to keep up the good work.
But there were problems as well, including several questionable DUII arrests by Cox that resulted in formal complaints and at least two lawsuits against the city.
Those problems culminated in his resignation Nov. 1 after an internal affairs investigation upheld a complaint by Brian J. Noakes, who was arrested by Cox for driving under the influence but later tested clean for both alcohol and drugs. Cox remains under investigation for undisclosed reasons by the state Department of Justice, which is evaluating possible criminal charges.
How did it come to this? Neither Cox nor his supervisors are saying, but documents obtained through public records requests paint a picture of a dedicated young officer who quickly made a name for himself by putting up dazzling DUII numbers - but who sometimes pushed a little too hard.
Setting the tone
According to his personnel file, Dave Cox graduated from high school in Logan, Utah. He studied finance at Utah State University for three years. He spent seven years as a commodities trader before joining the Corvallis police force in March 2001, at the age of 28.
Almost from the beginning, the rookie got high marks on performance evaluations for his productivity on the beat. In August 2002, in his final probationary review before being designated a career officer, Sgt. Jerry Turre sings Cox's praises for making high numbers of traffic stops while still handling his share of calls from dispatch and getting all his reports filed on time.
Another Cox hallmark makes its first appearance in the same report: his desire to make more DUII busts. Here again, Turre encourages the young officer.
"You have already proven you have the ability to make this kind of case," Turre writes in his review.
Then the veteran gives the newcomer a piece of advice on DUII enforcement:
"It used to be that you could be alert for drivers who appeared impaired based on erratic driving. Over the years this has become less productive as drivers are becoming smarter and more careful. Basically, it means stopping more vehicles during the most likely hours there are intoxicated drivers on the road. Primarily between the hours of 2200 and 0300. As you do this you need to ensure that you have a sound basis for the stop for a good violation of law. We will also look for training that could help you hone your skills in this area."
Oregon judges have held that roadblocks to screen for drunken drivers are illegal. But they have also followed the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding the validity of "pretext stops," which can use the smallest traffic infraction or equipment violation as the basis to pull someone over.
Once a traffic stop is made, an officer can check for signs of impairment - slurred speech, glassy eyes, the odor of liquor or marijuana. Based on visible signs of intoxication, the officer can administer field sobriety tests - the walk-and-turn, the one-leg stand - and possibly initiate a DUII arrest.
The DUII king
During his stint with the police department, Cox made more DUII arrests than any other officer. The nominating letter for Cox's statewide DUII award notes that he made 137 arrests for driving under the influence during calendar year 2003. That was nearly one-fifth of the 714 totaled by the entire 35-officer patrol division, which averaged about 20 DUII cases per officer. In a Gazette-Times check of the division's DUII arrests for May of this year, the final tally showed 27 arrests for Cox and a grand total of eight for everyone else.
Cox developed a reputation in the community as a master of the pretext stop, and a look at some of his arrest reports bears that out, with drivers pulled over for such minor infractions as failing to signal at least 100 feet before a turn.
His DUII arrest numbers soared to dizzying heights, topping 300 in his last full year on the force. He won praise for creative thinking after he began tacking on the charge of reckless endangering when an impaired driver had passengers on board.
"The DA's Office liked this approach and has been charging this crime as well," Cox's 2004 annual review notes.
The accolades kept piling up. In addition to the statewide award for DUII enforcement in 2003, Cox received a CPD Challenge Coin, a top in-house honor. In 2006 he won another Challenge Coin and the department's Medal of Valor for entering a burning house to rescue an elderly woman from her smoke-filled bedroom. He was also nominated for other awards, including employee of the year.
Cox's personnel file contains a number of "attaboy" notes from superiors and colleagues, including an October 2006 e-mail from Capt. Dan Hendrickson, manager of the community services division. Using the department's numerical code for drunken driving, Hendrickson tells Cox: "Sustain your great work keeping our streets free of 12-31's!"
There are also about a dozen letters of appreciation from citizens, including some he'd popped for driving under the influence.
Signs of trouble
Not everyone, however, was so appreciative.
While Officer Cox was collecting kudos for his record of DUII enforcement, he also was leaving a trail of citizen complaints - 14 formal complaints in his six-year tour of duty with CPD, including six in a single year.
In at least two cases, civil suits were filed against the city stemming from DUII arrests by Cox.
His superiors were not pleased.
"One or both of these lawsuits may have been avoided if you had asked for help either in the field or at the jail," Sgt. Jeffrey Marr scolds Cox in his 2005 review.
In a sharp departure from most of Cox's annual performance evaluations, this one starts out with words of warning. Noting that four citizens had filed complaints and others had voiced concerns about him during the review period, Marr tells Cox:
"It is imperative for you to recognize the best solution to any given incident may not be to arrest the subject and take them to jail. … You tend to be a one-dimensional thinker and see things in black and white."
Marr notes that Cox received counseling regarding his DUII investigations.
"You must work within the framework of formal and documented training you have received," he writes. "To stray from these boundaries is problematic in nature."
Marr suggests that Cox's emphasis on arresting large numbers of impaired drivers rather than looking for ways to deter the crime in the first place has tarnished CPD's reputation.
"Many citizens of this community have lost confidence in this department because of your actions," Marr writes. "I believe becoming more proactive will help restore community confidence not only in this department but also in you as an officer."
At the department's suggestion, Cox began videotaping his DUII arrests. Later he started audiotaping as well, to better document his traffic stops.
He also began doing walk-throughs of local bars during his patrol shifts, one of Marr's suggestions for a prevention-based DUII enforcement strategy.
Cox's next two annual reviews were more positive, noting improvement in his attitude at work and his demeanor in the field while he continued to put up stellar numbers of arrests for driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs.
Things were starting to look up again for Dave Cox.
But then disaster struck.
Beginning of the end
On June 17, Cox made his arrest of Brian J. Noakes for driving under the influence (see related story), even though tests later revealed Noakes was stone cold sober at the time.
For Officer Cox, it all went downhill from there.
• On June 18, Noakes filed a complaint that led to an internal affairs investigation.
• On Aug. 30, Noakes' attorney served notice of intent to sue the city.
• On Sept. 14, Cox was placed on paid administrative leave and ordered to surrender his badge and his gun.
• On Oct. 29, Police Chief Gary Boldizsar approved a one-day suspension for Cox for mishandling the Noakes arrest.
• On Nov. 1, Cox submitted his resignation.
The story doesn't end there. Cox remains under investigation by the state Department of Justice, which is considering whether grounds exist for criminal charges against the former police officer. Neither Justice Department nor CPD officials will say whether that investigation extends beyond the Noakes arrest.
There's also still the possibility of a lawsuit. Noakes has declined to comment, but his attorney, Dan Rayfield, told the Gazette-Times he would aggressively pursue a settlement for his client, who is stuck with a DUII arrest on his record.
Benton County prosecutors are still dealing with the ripple effects of Cox's fall from grace. According to District Attorney John Haroldson, a substantial number of cases that relied on Cox's testimony have been put on hold or dismissed pending the outcome of the state probe.
"I'm anxious to have them reach a decision so we can have something more definitive," Haroldson said last month.
Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.