TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (226)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of the Associated Press (from Wednesday, July 1; link good at time of posting):

The sheriff of Oregon's most populous county has flunked his police certification course.

A passing score is an average of 75 on three written tests; Multnomah County Sheriff Bob Skipper got a 66, said Eriks Gabliks, deputy director of the state agency that certifies police officers.

Skipper, 70, will get another shot at the course in late August. If he fails a second time, he'll have to go through a 16-week cadet training program he had been trying to avoid.

. . . .

Skipper tried to get a waiver allowing him to take shorter refresher courses. When that failed, it appeared Skipper would have to head to the Salem academy to become perhaps the oldest police cadet in state history.

But the state Legislature rescued him last month, with an amendment narrowly tailored to Skipper's qualifications. The amendment allows the certification of a sheriff who has served at least 25 years as a police officer in Oregon, retired from law enforcement under honorable conditions, held state executive-level certification, served as elected sheriff for at least four years and is elected in a county where the sheriff's chief role is as an administrator.

But that waiver only applies if Skipper passes the written tests. Skipper said Wednesday he did not adequately prepare. "It's just a matter of me dropping the ball," he told The Oregonian.

Gabliks said about 40 people take the course each year, and Skipper is one of only a handful of people he can remember failing.

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