A former state trooper who slapped his 11-year-old son across the face should be banned from Oregon law enforcement for life, a state oversight committee recommended Thursday.

"I think that his conduct has demonstrated him unfit," said Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett, who is a member of the committee.

The sheriff said he didn't think James P. Duncan has taken full responsibility for all of the things he did wrong.

Duncan not only hit his son but also had hit his daughter in the past, according to a police report. Duncan deleted a video that his daughter captured of the slap and told his children not to mention the incident to their mother, according to the same police report.

Committee members said they found those actions unacceptable. Then they voted to recommend he lose his state certification.

It was a dramatic turn in the case of Duncan, who had come before Oregon police regulators before but walked away without any sanction.

Duncan caught a string of breaks as he fought battle after battle to remain in law enforcement over the past two years. He dodged felony charges in the incident involving his son. He initially escaped banishment from police work. And when an assault conviction from the slapping barred him from having a gun, he was allowed to swap that crime out for another -- a move that protected his career.

He's had the support of powerful allies in his efforts, including two retired Oregon Supreme Court justices.

But on Thursday, things went another way. The committee didn't think Duncan should still be a cop.

Duncan could not be reached for comment.

The Police Policy Committee, an advisory group of police chiefs, sheriffs and union officers, first heard Duncan's case in August 2016 after the trooper was convicted of fourth-degree assault for slapping his son while he was questioning the boy about homework.

Duncan pleaded guilty to the assault as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to 18 months of probation in Washington County Circuit Court. At the time of the sentencing, the prosecutor told the court that had the case been presented to a grand jury, Duncan could have faced three charges of felony first-degree criminal mistreatment and additional charges of evidence and witness tampering. Duncan requested, and the judge granted, a special probation condition allowing him to carry a gun while at work.

Duncan had spent nearly two decades with the state police, working in training, on the SWAT team and as part of the agency's honor guard. He knew the Supreme Court justices because the tactical team sometimes provided security for the court. He also was assigned for three years as the driver for former Chief Justice Paul De Muniz.

The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, which certifies police officers in Oregon, reviews cases of officers who are convicted of crimes or who are fired or quit because of an investigation.

When committee members heard Duncan's case the first time, they recommended to the department's board that Duncan should keep his certification. The department's full board agreed in October 2016.

Committee members that time described the case as one of the hardest they'd ever decided.

On Thursday, however, members did not hesitate to reverse course this time.

Duncan did not appear before the committee, but in a letter to regulators, he called the second round of review unfair and akin to double jeopardy. W. Michael Gillette, a retired Oregon Supreme Court justice, also sent regulators a letter backing Duncan up.

Duncan also told the certifying agency by email that he planned to challenge any decision by the committee that wasn't in his favor.

On Thursday, Craig Johnson, an attorney for the Oregon Department of Justice, presented the case to the committee. Johnson told members he was handling the case in place of the police oversight agency's staff because it took such an unusual path.

Regulators decided not to take action against Duncan while an internal investigation into the trooper was underway. But after they'd decided to leave his police credentials intact, Duncan was fired from Oregon State Police.

Duncan's firing required regulators to open another case, Johnson said.

Fired, But Fit for Duty

Dozens of Oregon police officers stay eligible to carry a gun and a badge even after being fired for chronically inept police work or worse, an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive has found.

Johnson told committee members not to consider the fact that Duncan was convicted of a crime as part of their review. Instead, he said, the committee should consider the underlying conduct -- the fact that Duncan slapped his son and injured him -- along with other facts that were not previously considered.

Many of the details discussed during Thursday's meeting were included in the police report that the committee reviewed the first time around. But Johnson said during the first review, committee members only weighed Duncan's conviction in deciding whether to take away his state credentials.

Committee members on Thursday considered documents from the internal state police investigation and a labor arbitrator's written decision upholding Duncan's firing.

The committee concluded that Duncan's actions involved gross misconduct and dishonesty. Members weighed mitigating and aggravating factors.

Sheriff Garrett pointed to the arbitrator's decision in favor of Duncan's firing. The arbitrator wrote that Duncan and the Oregon State Police Officers Association had argued that Duncan's slapping of his son was a reasonable use of corporal punishment under state law.

"Mr. Duncan continued to maintain that the assaultive behavior was justifiable corporal punishment," Garrett said, noting that Duncan had pleaded guilty to a crime for his behavior. "And I think that's aggravating."

Jeff Hering, a Tigard detective who chairs the committee, noted that people had sent letters in support of Duncan. Many praised Duncan for taking responsibility and suggested Duncan's ex-wife was to blame for stress in his life. One of the letters was from retired Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice De Muniz.

In the end, the committee decided Duncan's behavior warranted ending his career for good.

The department's full board will decide whether to approve the recommendation at its next meeting in April.

-- Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington