The state agency that licenses police officers has asked the Oregon Justice Department to investigate Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer, who met with leaders of the armed wildlife refuge occupation and then was scheduled to speak at a community meeting featuring the occupiers.

The state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training made the request after it received several citizen complaints about Palmer's conduct in recent weeks.

The complaints and details of the allegations weren't immediately available, but the licensing agency notified at least one complainant that if the allegations were true, Palmer's conduct would violate state regulations.

Palmer, sheriff in the rural county since 2000, didn't respond to requests for comment.

The licensing agency can take a range of action against Palmer's police certification, up to revocation, if it finds he violated rules or laws governing police conduct. The agency, however, has no authority to remove Palmer from office since he is an elected official. Only a recall election can remove him.

Palmer has drawn criticism for his association with the armed militants who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2. Ammon Bundy, the Idaho businessman who led the takeover, invited Palmer to visit the occupied refuge headquarters. Palmer declined, but he subsequently met twice with occupation leaders who traveled the roughly 100 miles from the refuge in Harney County north to Grant County.

Ryan Payne, a Montana militiaman who was the tactical leader of the refuge takeover, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Palmer shared the militants' views. Payne is now in jail facing federal charges for both the Oregon takeover and his role in the 2014 armed standoff in Nevada involving rancher Cliven Bundy.

One of the other militants who met with Palmer, Jon Ritzheimer of Arizona, said he and Payne autographed the sheriff's pocket copy of the Constitution at Palmer's request. Ritzheimer also is facing a federal charge for his role in the occupation.

Ammon Bundy and other occupation leaders were heading for a town hall meeting in John Day on Jan. 26 when police stopped them about 20 miles north of Burns. Bundy and the others were to address the community meeting, as was Palmer.

The meeting was organized by local residents who sympathized with Bundy's anti-government stand. Palmer was unaware that police planned to act against Bundy and others that day, according to law enforcement sources and Palmer's Facebook posts.

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, 54, of Utah, attempted to elude police after that stop, repeatedly telling officers that he had a meeting with Palmer. Shawna Cox, who was in Finicum's truck that afternoon, said the occupiers believed Palmer could protect them.

Finicum was shot and killed after he encountered a roadblock, left his truck and reached for a loaded handgun, according to the FBI.

Palmer later referred to the police operation as an "ambush," a description that drew a sharp rebuke from the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association, which represents all 36 elected sheriffs.

The appearance of the militants in Grant County and Palmer's association with them stirred concerns that the protesters intended to stake a second camp in the John Day area.

Citizens opposed to the militia presence have asked county officials to declare their own opposition. A resolution to do so has been hotly debated at recent weekly meetings of the Grant County Court, which functions as the board of commissioners. The court has scheduled a third session on the resolution for next Wednesday.

-- Les Zaitz

@leszaitz