Portland Police Chief Larry O'Dea never told a deputy that his .22-caliber rifle went off during a hunting trip and struck his friend in the back, instead suggesting that the wounded man accidentally shot himself, Harney County's sheriff said Monday.

O'Dea didn't identify himself as Portland's chief or even as a police officer when he was questioned by the deputy who responded April 21 to a 911 call outside Fields, Sheriff Dave Ward said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

O'Dea and some of his companions at the scene steered the deputy into believing the shooting was a "self-inflicted'' accident, Ward said.

"I do know it didn't happen the way it was originally portrayed,'' he said.

The deputy didn't learn O'Dea was involved until he was able to interview the wounded man last Monday, May 16, Ward said.

The injured 54-year-old man set the record straight, the sheriff said.

"The victim made it pretty clear he didn't shoot himself,'' Ward said. "The victim knew who shot him.''

That's when the Sheriff's Office called state police to step in, he said.

"As soon as we found out who was involved, and the victim's statement was different than the statements that had been made at the scene, I contacted Oregon State Police for help in investigating it,'' Ward said. "We are in no way willing to participate in, or have been involved in any type of cover-up.''

The sheriff said he learned only through recent news reports that O'Dea told his boss, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, four days after the shooting that he was responsible for wounding his friend.

"If he called the mayor and said he had shot his friend, he should have called me as well. I was irritated about that,'' Ward said. "He should have picked up the phone and called our office and said this is what happened.''

"If an accident happens, you raise your hand and say here's what happened,'' he said.

The Sheriff's Office hasn't heard from O'Dea since the day of the shooting, Ward said. State police and the Oregon Department of Justice have taken over the criminal investigation.

If negligence was involved in the shooting, charges of fourth-degree assault or negligent wounding could apply, should the victim wish to prosecute, legal experts say.

Neither O'Dea nor Hales, who also serves as the city's police commissioner, would comment on the latest development in what is unfolding as a serious threat to the chief's career. Officers found to be untruthful face firing or sometimes resign instead. Retired and current officers have criticized O'Dea for the nearly monthlong delay in acknowledging the shooting.

O'Dea went public only last Friday when reporters asked him about it. He said in a statement then that he had "negligently discharged" his rifle and wounded a "close friend.''

The shooting happened in the Catlow Valley area of Harney County, about 80 miles south of Burns. O'Dea was one of about six people hunting ground squirrels called "sage rats."

Another friend of O'Dea's -- retired Portland police Sgt. Steve Buchtel, a former head of firearms training at the Police Bureau -- reported the shooting at 4:37 p.m. A county deputy and a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officer responded, as well as emergency paramedics.

The wounded man was described as "alert and breathing," according to dispatch records. He was driven to the Fields Station restaurant in Fields, where he was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to the closest trauma hospital, St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Portland police said he was treated and released.

He didn't require surgery for the wound to the lower left side of his back, the sheriff said. The victim has not been identified by authorities.

The deputy talked to those who were at the scene, capturing the interviews on his body camera. Those videos have been turned over to state police. Some members of the group told the deputy they didn't see what happened, but O'Dea and others gave the misleading "self-inflicted" account, Ward said.

The deputy didn't inspect the rifles or seize any of the firearms or conduct any sobriety tests, Ward said. It's unclear if alcohol was a factor in the shooting, he said.

He doesn't have details about how O'Dea's rifle discharged, Ward said.

O'Dea can't talk about the case, Portland police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

"Chief O'Dea is unable to offer any comments on the ongoing investigation by the Oregon State Police or the internal investigation," Simpson said in an email. "Chief O'Dea has been given a Communication Restriction Order by the Bureau's Professional Standards Division, which is a written order that restricts the Chief from discussing the facts of the case. The issuing of a CRO is standard procedure during any internal investigation."

The mayor is awaiting the outcome of the investigations "before reaching any conclusions about what happened," said his spokeswoman Sara Hottman. O'Dea, 53, rose through the Police Bureau's ranks before he was appointed chief by Hales and took the job in January 2015.

Last week, Hales said he supported O'Dea and sympathized with the chief's angst at hurting a "close friend.''

The city auditor's Independent Review Division announced earlier Monday that it had opened an administrative investigation of O'Dea. The division conducts internal investigations of high-ranking command staff.

The bureau's manual of directives says: "The integrity of police service is based on honesty and truthfulness. No member shall knowingly or willfully be dishonest or untruthful in giving testimony, in rendering a report, in any official oral or written communication, or in giving any statement about actions taken that relate to the member's own or another member's employment or position. Being dishonest or untruthful includes knowingly or willfully making false statements, knowingly or willfully falsifying work-related records or official documents, omitting material facts or material information, or answering questions or providing information in a manner that is evasive, deceptive, or misleading.''

Eriks Gabliks, director of the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training that certifies law enforcement officers, said the state agency "will standby on any next steps'' until the state's investigation has been completed.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian