PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - James Hieb, a state representative from Oregon, won’t be held accountable for his arrest in August at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds on suspicion of disorderly conduct and other offenses.

According to a memo obtained by FOX 12, the Clackamas County district attorney is choosing not to press charges because there is insufficient evidence and Oregon law has recently changed.

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Previously Canby claimed that the encounter on August 17 took place after he had drank four beers and lighted a cigarette. He claimed that a woman urged him to put it out before calling for the police.

Authorities have made available body camera footage of the interactions between Hieb and sheriff’s deputies.

“It ended with Mr. Hieb asking to be arrested and throwing himself on the ground,” Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brock wrote in the memo. “Mr. Hieb’s request was granted and he was taken to the jail.”

The sheriff’s office recommended charges of second-degree disorderly conduct, interfering with a peace officer and second-degree criminal trespass.

According to the district attorney, Hieb’s actions did not constitute disorderly conduct because they did not amount to causing a disturbance. Brock came to the conclusion that the criminal trespass charge against Hieb could not be proven since the fair board member who told him to stop smoking did not also order him to leave.

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Deputies claimed Hieb also refused to present his identification, but Brock pointed out that since the Oregon Legislature altered the law in 2021, that’s no longer a crime.

Clackamas and Marion County commissioners chose Hieb to represent Oregon House District 39 in place of House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, who resigned to run for governor.

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The Associated Press

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