To have a chance to win back his job as an Oregon state trooper, James Duncan needed a judge to clear him to have a gun, but a Tillamook County judge denied his petition Monday.

Duncan was convicted of fourth-degree assault in January for slapping his 11-year-old son so hard it knocked the boy down.

After it became clear that Duncan's conviction activated state and federal laws forbidding people with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions from having a firearm, a Washington County judge allowed Duncan to change his conviction.

On Dec. 2, Judge Oscar Garcia allowed him to plead guilty to a crime that didn't trigger domestic violence gun bans.

But Duncan's new conviction, recklessly endangering another, still blocked him from receiving a gun for four years under a different state law. Oregon State Police cited that law -- ORS 166.470 -- in a Nov. 21 letter firing Duncan. The agency concluded Duncan would be unable to fulfill the core duties of a trooper without a firearm.

On Dec. 5, Duncan appealed for an exception in Tillamook County, where he now lives. In his petition, he suggested that the court could make allowances for a police officer.

Tillamook County Judge Mari Garric Trevino rejected that idea.

"Obviously that would be inappropriate," she said, "so I'm going to deny the petition."

The judge agreed with the Tillamook county district attorney, sheriff and city police chief that Duncan's petition to receive a gun was "premature" because his probation isn't scheduled to end until July.

The Tillamook police chief, Terry Wright, said Duncan's petition was the first he had received in 20 years from a person still on probation.

Wright said after the hearing that most petitions to carry a gun after a conviction are denied. The last to be granted involved a conviction that was 14 years old, he said.

"We get them all the time, but usually not from a law enforcement person," Wright said. "When you become a law enforcement officer, you say that 24 hours a day you are going to set a standard in your professional and personal life. It's a sacrifice."

Wright was skeptical that an Oregon police agency would hire Duncan if he could not lawfully receive a gun.

"I wish him well, but this request is not timely," he said.

Duncan remains certified as a police officer in the state.

Duncan told the court that his integrity and honesty weren't questioned during the investigation that led to his conviction.

He described deleting a cellphone video that his daughter recorded of him slapping his son as "parenting choices." "None of those deletions were made because I thought it was evidence," he said.

Duncan asked the court to consider a supportive letter from his ex-wife, whose viewing of the video sparked the criminal investigation.

He also pointed to a decision by a Washington County judge to give him special permission to carry a gun for work if state police reinstated him while he was on probation.

"My petition here is just to fall into line with Judge Garcia of Washington County's wish that I be permitted to support my children," Duncan said. "It's essentially just to receive a firearm to continue in my chosen profession."

Oregon State Police didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Duncan declined to answer questions after the hearing.

-- Carli Brosseau

cbrosseau@oregonian.com

503-294-5121; @carlibrosseau