UPDATE: Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter said in a statement late Tuesday that he never felt threatened or in danger when riding with the sheriff towards a roadblock.

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JOHN DAY - Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer has opened a new front in his fight against allegations that he supported armed militants, notifying John Day city officials that he intends to sue over their complaints to the state about his conduct.

Palmer, 54, said in a tort claim received by city officials last week that dispatchers put his life in danger when they withheld information from him on the day that state troopers shot and killed Robert "LaVoy" Finicum. Palmer asked for information about the confrontation as he left a John Day meeting 90 minutes after the shooting, but dispatchers limited what they told him for worry he had a refuge occupier with him.

Finicum, an Arizona rancher and foster parent who was a leader of the armed occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was shot as he tried to evade arrest on the highway between Burns and John Day. He repeatedly told police at the scene that he was on his way to meet Palmer. The shooting occurred in Harney County, about 50 miles south of John Day.

Palmer claimed in his tort notice that the John Day police chief and dispatch center manager falsely accused him of supporting and consorting with militia members. Chief Richard Gray and Valerie Luttrell, the dispatch manager, are among 10 people who have filed complaints against Palmer with the state's police licensing agency, the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

The state Criminal Justice Division subsequently opened a criminal investigation of Palmer, who has been sheriff since November 2000 and is seeking re-election this year. The licensing agency is awaiting the results of that investigation before proceeding with its administrative review of Palmer's conduct.

City officials declined comment Tuesday, and Palmer didn't respond to written questions about the claim. He has said he won't answer questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Palmer has retained Hostetter Law Group of Enterprise to represent him in the criminal investigation. The firm filed the tort claim, a legally required notice to alert the city of a potential lawsuit. Palmer's three-page claim doesn't specify what money he might seek in such a suit. He names the city manager, the police chief, the dispatcher manager, five dispatchers.

Document: Sheriff Glenn Palmer's tort claim

The firm also helped Palmer win approval last week from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to create a legal defense fund. Palmer, who is paid $71,232 annually, now can raise money to pay his legal costs, but must publicly report the contributions and his expenses every quarter.

Palmer found himself in the spotlight for his dealings with the refuge militants after he met twice in John Day with leaders of the Jan. 2 takeover. He subsequently said that authorities needed to concede to some of the demands made by Idaho businessman Ammon E. Bundy, 40, and other occupation leaders.

Bundy, now in jail in Portland facing federal charges in the occupation, had invited Palmer to the refuge, an invitation Palmer declined. The sheriff said, however, that two imprisoned Harney County ranchers should be freed from prison, as Bundy was demanding, and that FBI teams in Burns for the refuge occupation should leave.

Bundy, Finicum and other occupation leaders were on their way to a community meeting in John Day when Finicum was shot. Palmer was at the meeting, waiting to address the group, when he learned from a militant supporter of the shooting. Until then, he had no idea that Oregon State Police and the FBI planned to intercept and arrest the occupation leaders, he has said in social media postings.

Luttrell, the dispatch manager, said in her complaint that Palmer notified dispatchers that evening that he was heading toward a roadblock at the south end of Grant County with one rider. The complaint said dispatchers thought the rider was a militia member. In fact, it was Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter. Luttrell's complaint said dispatchers were concerned about what information to share with the sheriff as he traveled to the roadblock.

Document: Dispatch manager's state complaint

Palmer said in his tort claim that the dispatchers falsely concluded who his rider was. Palmer said he believed dispatchers called a police command post in Burns to alert law enforcement officials that Palmer was headed toward Harney County with a militia member.

"The actions of the city of John Day's dispatchers knowingly and recklessly put Palmer and District Attorney Carpenter's lives in danger," the tort claim said.

On the day of the shooting, Palmer and Carpenter stopped at a state police roadblock in the small town of Seneca, about 27 miles north of the shooting scene. They left about 15 minutes later, and Palmer returned to the community meeting where the occupiers had been scheduled to speak.

Carpenter said in a statement late Tuesday he was "never uncomfortable or threatened" during the episode.

"At no time did I perceive that I was in danger at the roadblock," Carpenter said.

The tort claim said Luttrell and Gray, the police chief, "falsely reported" to state officials that Palmer "openly shows his support" for the militia and was "part of this group of lawbreakers."

The tort claim is Palmer's latest action involving John Day city officials.

On March 16, Palmer wrote county officials that he had an offer to shift dispatching services from the city of John Day to a dispatch center in Condon. Palmer said such a move could save Grant County money, but he hasn't yet submitted a formal proposal. Grant County commissioners are scheduled to hear Wednesday from John Day officials who oppose the idea.

On March 18, the sheriff filed a three-page request for city records including months' worth of telephone records, daily activity reports from city police officers and any record relating to Palmer and the refuge occupation. Palmer said he needed the records to "aid in my defense" against the state licensing complaints and the criminal investigation.

"These records that I am seeking are of extreme importance for potential criminal action being brought against me," Palmer wrote.

Document: Sheriff Glenn Palmer's records request

He filed the city's request form on March 24, telling the city he wanted all the material in four days.

City officials responded to Palmer that he needed to correctly fill out the city's form for requesting such records and explain why he should get the records without cost. The city has received no response yet.

-- Les Zaitz

@leszaitz