Boyd Britton.JPG

The Grant County commissioner Boyd Britton listens to public input on a draft resolution calling for a peaceful end to the occupation of the refuge as well as affirmation that Grant County supports all state and federal laws.

(Thomas Boyd/2016)

The state Department of Justice said Tuesday that Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Les Zaitz didn't harass a woman by contacting her last month for a story on a recall effort in Grant County.

Julie Carr reported Zaitz to the Grant County Sheriff's Office, saying he contacted her after she asked him to stop. Zaitz called and emailed Carr because she was the chief petitioner in a recall effort of Grant County Commissioner Boyd Britton.

A Grant County sheriff's deputy spoke with Carr before asking Sheriff Glenn Palmer how to handle the complaint, according to a police report.

The sheriff instructed the deputy to write the report and forward it to the Grant County District Attorney's Office for consideration.

After receiving the report, Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter sent it to the Justice Department for review. The department recommended that Carpenter's office not file telephonic harassment charges against Zaitz.

"In order for a person to be guilty of telephonic harassment, the person must act with the intent to harass or annoy," Senior Assistant Attorney General Daniel P. Wendel wrote to Carpenter in a memo. "Mr. Zaitz, in his capacity as an investigative reporter, contacted Ms. Carr in support of a journalistic endeavor. The report contains no evidence that Mr. Zaitz acted with any intent other than to gather information for his story. Even assuming Mr. Zaitz knew that his contacts with Ms. Carr caused her to feel harassed or annoyed, a 'knowing' mental state is insufficient to support a charge of telephonic harassment."

Last week, Zaitz reported that petitioners submitted signatures to force the recall of Britton, a part-time commissioner, and that a recall vote would happen by Aug. 16.

-- Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington