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No more chances, Butte Falls council says in firing marshal Mayor: By drinking at academy, officer made his own trouble By JULIE SWENSEN BUTTE FALLS -- The town marshal was fired Tuesday night after a drinking episode bounced him from his required police training. Jared Brown was terminated effective Tuesday by council members at a town meeting. The vote was 2-1 for termination; two members abstained from voting. Mayor Jack Brown, no relation to the marshal, read at the meeting the state law that requires that a police officer be trained at the Oregon Police Academy in Monmouth within a year of being hired. Jared Brown, who was hired in January 1998, didn't fulfill that requirement. After he was allowed to delay training because of the birth of his baby, the drinking bout that got him kicked out of training recently meant he couldn't complete the necessary training within the year as required by law. "The bottom line is, he didn't do what he was supposed to do," Mayor Brown said after the vote. "It's something he brought on himself." Jared Brown spoke to town residents a few weeks ago, admitting he's been fighting an alcohol addiction for some time and that he used poor judgment in drinking alcohol in a car during training at the Oregon Police Academy in Monmouth. Drinking was a violation of academy rules. He asked the town to let him go through alcohol rehabilitation and keep his job, and said if he were allowed to continue to serve, he would do so with integrity and honor. While residents spoke highly of what Brown has done for the community, others said the town couldn't afford the liability risk of having an untrained marshal being the town's top cop. Mayor Brown said Tuesday night he hopes Jared Brown gets his life straightened out. "I don't like to see anyone in that situation," the mayor said. Town Councilwoman Ethel Hoppe cast the lone vote against firing the marshal. "Well, I like Jared, and I really thought he needed another chance," Hoppe said. She said the marshal "got rid of a lot of the druggers" and "he cleaned the town up a lot." "I would hire him again," she said. Mayor Brown said Tuesday night the town will start the process of getting a new marshal -- the council will hire a reserve, then send the reserve to school. He said he's hoping to find a marshal who is from Butte Falls and will stay in the community. The mayor estimated it would probably be three months before candidates would be interviewed. In the meantime, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department will fill in on patrols. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA