A standards board for police in Oregon revoked for life the certification of a former Lane County jailer who resigned in March 2022 while under investigation for falling asleep while on duty.

The state Board on Public Safety Standards and Training voted July 24 to revoke the certification of Phillip Barrier, hired in November 2019 by the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.

The board cited dishonesty and misconduct in revoking Barrier’s certification, according to online records. Under state law, the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training has the authority to revoke certification if someone “does not meet the “moral fitness standards” required of a public safety professional.”

The state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training found that Barrier falsified records to say he had checked on inmates when he had been asleep. The department’s report also said Barrier pleaded no contest in June 2022 to a reckless driving charge and in January 2024 pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and reckless driving.

The board’s Corrections Policy Committee discussed Barrier in a May meeting.

Mike Hartford, with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and on the committee representing the Oregon Association of Community Corrections Directors, referred to “the suicide watch checks that he missed, the intoxication watches that he missed” in saying that Barrier put those in jail at risk.

“As a corrections deputy, the things he lied about are quite literally the most important core responsibility a corrections deputy has,” said Ted Langley, with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and on the committee representing the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association Jail Command Council.

“In lying about something that is at the core of his job, it’s a violation of the trust that’s put in us by the public,” Langley said.

A social media message Lookout sent to Barrier seeking comment was not immediately returned.