adam and denise keesee.jpg

Adam Keesee was taken off patrol duties in June 2013 pending a criminal case into his wife, Denise Keesee. The officer's administrative leave ended Wednesday, after an internal inquiry determined he did not violate any Sherwood Police Department policies.

(The Oregonian )

Adam Keesee, a Sherwood police officer who has been on paid administrative leave for more than a year pending criminal and internal investigations, has returned to duty, the city announced Wednesday.

Keesee was taken off administrative leave Wednesday after an internal inquiry, conducted by an outside investigator, concluded he did not violate policy, according to Sherwood police.

"On August 18, 2014 the internal investigation was completed and found no violations of Sherwood Police Department policies by Officer Adam Keesee," the department said in a news release. "The internal investigator found the allegations against Officer Adam Keesee to be unfounded."

Dan Thenell, a Tigard-based attorney who represents Keesee, said he and his client were not surprised by the findings.

"Based on the evidence, this resolution is exactly what we expected," Thenell said in a statement. "Adam is grateful that the city conducted a very thorough investigation that showed these allegations were false. Unfortunately, over the past 14 months, at least two other public agencies had an opportunity to thoroughly investigate these allegations and didn't do it. We feel that had the complaints that were made by this young man been discovered to be false earlier, it would have allowed Adam to go back to work a lot sooner and not have to withstand these false accusations for as long as he did."

Thenell declined to name the public agencies he was referring to in his statement.

On June 25, 2013, Sherwood police announced Keesee had been removed from patrol duties pending a criminal case into his wife. Denise Keesee, a former Sherwood High School teacher, was facing sex abuse allegations related to two past students.

When one of the students filed a lawsuit against Denise Keesee, his complaint made multiple allegations against her police officer husband. Adam Keesee was put on leave shortly thereafter. By June, he'd earned more than $70,000.

Washington County sheriff's deputies arrested the cop's wife last June on accusations that she sexually abused two former students.

Soon afterward, one of the students filed a $5.1 million lawsuit against Denise Keesee and the Sherwood School District . That civil case is still pending.

Denise Keesee in February pleaded guilty in Washington County to second-degree sex abuse against the victim who is not suing her. In a plea agreement, her other charges were dismissed.

After the plaintiff filed suit against Denise Keesee, he sent a tort claim notice to her husband and the city of Sherwood. Because of the allegations in the notice, Sherwood requested that Oregon State Police investigate the cop.

Keesee was investigated on allegations that included harassment, intimidation and official misconduct.

Once completed, the case was sent to the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office, which declined to prosecute Adam Keesee in February.

In his charging decision, Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brock wrote that there was "bad blood" between the officer and the teenage boy, who claimed to have had sex with the cop's wife. In his memo, Brock said it was clear that Adam Keesee wanted "to get back at" the teen.

"Officer Keesee's conduct was motivated by personal gain and designed to harm (the teen)," the decision says.

Two months after Adam Keesee was cleared of criminal wrongdoing, the plaintiff who is suing his wife also filed suit against the officer.

The $1.5 million claim alleges that after Adam Keesee discovered that his wife had molested one of her students, he reported it to his coworkers. But instead of investigating Denise Keesee, her husband and five other officers set out to intimidate, harass and coerce the boy into not taking any action against her, records show.

The lawsuit, also filed against five unnamed Sherwood officers and the city, claims civil rights violations, assault and battery, false arrest and imprisonment and intentional infliction of severe emotional distress.

Adam Keesee's answer to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, casts the allegations as untrue or unfounded within the law.

Here is the full statement the department released Wednesday.

* On June 25, 2013 Officer Adam Keesee is placed on administrative leave based on allegations of possible criminal conduct stemming from a tort claim filed against the City of Sherwood and Officer Adam Keesee.

* On July 19, 2013 the Sherwood Police Department requested that Oregon State Police (OSP) conduct a criminal investigation of Officer Adam Keesee. As a matter of policy the Sherwood Police Department does not conduct criminal investigations of its own members. The criminal investigation was forwarded to the Clackamas County DA's Office which declined to prosecute.

* On or around February 20, 2014 immediately following the completion of the criminal investigation, an internal investigation was initiated by the City Attorney's Office and Officer Adam Keesee remained on leave. The internal investigation was conducted by a third-party investigator to ensure a fair, unbiased, and transparent investigation.

* On August 18, 2014 the internal investigation was completed and found no violations of Sherwood Police Department policies by Officer Adam Keesee. The internal investigator found the allegations against Officer Adam Keesee to be unfounded.

* On August 20, 2014 Officer Adam Keesee was removed from administrative leave and returned to full-duty.

The City of Sherwood and the Sherwood Police Department take all allegations of misconduct seriously and is dedicated to providing professional law enforcement services and preserving the quality of life for its citizens and community.

The Sherwood Police Department wishes to thank the community for their patience in this matter.

The City of Sherwood and the Sherwood Police Department is also grateful for the assistance of the various professional investigators involved in this matter.

In light of state law restrictions and pending civil litigation, the Sherwood Police Department is unable to comment any further and will not answer any questions regarding this matter.

-- Rebecca Woolington