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A lot of people in Oregon鈥檚 Grant County weren鈥檛 particularly surprised last week when it was opening an investigation into the聽county鈥檚 chief law聽enforcement officer, self-proclaimed 鈥渃onstitutional鈥� Sheriff Glenn Palmer. A聽lot of them had seen trouble coming.

It extended even beyond Palmer鈥檚 involvement in the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, located in neighboring Harney County, in January by an armed contingent of fellow 鈥渃onstitutionalists鈥� 鈥� including concerns that he had become viewed as in the days leading up to the arrests of 11 of the extremists on Jan. 26.

Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer

Apparently, there had been warning signs even before the Malheur occupation. For example: Why exactly had Sheriff Palmer, in the summer and fall of 2015, hired over 70 鈥渟pecial deputies鈥� to serve as adjuncts to his regular force?

Those and other questions 鈥� including the police powers of those 鈥渟pecial deputies,鈥� who鈥檚 paying for them, and what criteria Palmer is using in selecting them 鈥� apparently will be included in the Oregon DOJ鈥檚 investigation, at the behest of the state鈥檚 police-standards agency, which had been alerted to concerns about the deputies by other local law-enforcement officers.

Even before the investigation was announced, Palmer had told a number of reporters, including the Oregonian鈥檚 Les Zaitz, that he would not be responding to their questions, and the office completely shut down any queries afterward, including those by Hatewatch.

The investigation was initiated in part because of Palmer鈥檚 behavior during the Malheur standoff. Due to his long history of involvement with the antigovernment 鈥渃onstitutional sheriff鈥� movement -- Palmer was for Richard Mack鈥檚 Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and made numerous speeches and appearances on CSPOA鈥檚 behalf in ensuing years 鈥� he was approached by leaders of the Malheur takeover about becoming involved, but he initially declined.

However, Palmer praised the occupiers as 鈥減atriots鈥� in the local press, and met with with some of them in a local caf茅. He agreed to help organize a gathering of the Malheur militants, including leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy and others, in the town of John Day (the county seat) on the evening of Jan. 26. It was that afternoon that they were arrested by an FBI-led law-enforcement operation, and militant LaVoy Finicum was shot to death while resisting arrest.

Palmer鈥檚 role 鈥� or lack thereof 鈥� in that operation first raised attention to his behavior: The John Day city dispatcher handling Palmer鈥檚 radioed request for information about the Malheur arrests hesitated initially, because Palmer was considered 鈥渁 security leak, not only by local law enforcement including his own staff, but by the Oregon State Police and the FBI.鈥�

"I felt uncomfortable knowing that I had to relay vital and confidential information to someone who may not be trustworthy," the dispatch manager, Valerie Luttrell, later explained to her supervisor.

In fact, it shortly emerged that Oregon State Police had originally planned to make the arrest in Grant County, but to Harney County to avoid dealing with Palmer.

The sheriff faced a flood of criticism from around the state, including several editorials that condemned his behavior. However, Richard Mack defended Palmer, saying he was being singled out for his 鈥渃onstitutionalist鈥� beliefs.

The John Day police chief, Richard Gray, with the state鈥檚 Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which oversees law-enforcement officers鈥� adherence to standards. Gray detailed the extensive associations Palmer had with the Malheur militants.

"I have a great public safety concern when the Grant County sheriff is allowed to openly meet with and be part of this group of lawbreakers," he wrote.

Luttrell, too, but in addition to the concerns about Palmer鈥檚 handling of the Malheur militants, she pointed out that Palmer was hiring a lot of 鈥渟pecial deputies鈥� who were not officially cleared to receive secure law-enforcement information from the dispatch system.

鈥淚 sent a copy of a memo to Sheriff Palmer on October 15, 2015, regarding who is authorized to have access to LEDS through our dispatch center, clarifying that only personnel on our list would be authorized,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淪heriff Palmer wrote a scribbled note back to me on October 19, 2015, that said 鈥榓nyone that I deputize鈥� should be given access to LEDS information.鈥�

Lutrell noted Palmer鈥檚 political affiliations, too: 鈥淕iven the sheriff鈥檚 sympathy for the militia and their cause as well as his involvement in the Constitutional Sheriffs Association, we should all be concerned in his ability to deputize individuals and give them full arrest and use-of-force powers without accountability as to whom they are.鈥�

Sean Hart, a reporter for the local Blue Mountain Eagle, searched local records and found that Palmer had hired about 70 such 鈥渟pecial deputies.鈥�

that public records showed Palmer had deputized seven people as deputies, seven as reserve, five as search and rescue, six as corrections, one as chaplain, nine as special deputies, three as land use deputies, 11 as public lands patrol, nine as public lands deputies, one as limited to concealed handgun license and 11 as a natural resource committee.

Palmer has so far refused to explain exactly what kind of arrest and other police powers all these deputies will possess, not to mention where the money to pay for all these positions will be coming from.

An incident involving a U.S. Forest Service ranger on Oct. 15 of last year sparked the initial concern. A fire in the Canyon Meadows area had led USFS officials to shut down the area, and the ranger encountered two men in a vehicle in the critical area, so he pulled them over and prepared to write them tickets for trespassing. At first he was concerned because the men were armed and he radioed in for help from Sheriff Palmer.

However, Palmer 鈥� whose with the Forest Service is the source of hero status among the antigovernment 鈥渃onstitutionalists鈥� 鈥� replied that he wanted the ranger to stand down and let the men go, as they were two of his 鈥渟pecial deputies.鈥�

A Forest Service official confirmed that the trespassing tickets were not rescinded and the fines were eventually paid.

Linsay Hale, spokesperson for the Oregon DPSST, told Hatewatch that the complaints forwarded by Gray and Luttrell were essentially confirmed in substance, and for potential criminal investigation. Her department, she explained, could not determine whether or not any standards had been violated by Palmer鈥檚 mass deputization efforts on its own, but would wait until the DOJ had completed its investigation to make any determination.