A state oversight committee recommended Thursday that a former West Linn police officer fired in 2017 for racist posts on Facebook should have his police certifications revoked for 10 years.

The group ruled Tommy Newberry engaged in “gross misconduct” while employed as a West Linn officer, warranting a temporary ban from policing in Oregon.

The conclusion, made by the Police Policy Committee, will now go to the Oregon Board on Public Safety Standards and Training for a final decision in April. If the board moves forward with revocation, Newberry will have 20 days to decide whether to contest the ruling, according to Linsay Hale, professional standards division director for the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

Newberry, 66, could reapply for police certification after 10 years if the revocation takes effect.

Members of the policy committee include Oregon’s FBI Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon, Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett, Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw and Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton.

Newberry was a West Linn police officer for eight years and worked for the Portland Police Bureau before that.

West Linn placed him on leave in July 2016 after several of his comments on Facebook and shared posts were reported by the media. He was fired in February 2017.

The police department, and later an arbitrator, reviewed 131 posts Newberry made while on and off duty from February 2016 to July 2016 and found several of them showed racial bias against African Americans and other minority groups, and hostility toward the Black Lives Matter movement. Some posts included references to African Americans and Black Lives Matter supporters as “ghetto rats,” “cockroaches” and “morons,” among other insults.

The Clackamas County Peace Officers’ Association, Newberry’s police union, filed a grievance on his behalf the month after he was fired.

An arbitrator deemed Newberry’s firing justified last summer. The city was ordered to pay lost wages because the arbitrator concluded that Newberry’s social media use was common knowledge, yet nothing was done until his posts were reported by the media.

The city initially appealed the ruling, but later agreed to pay Newberry $120,000.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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