State officials are seeking to revoke the police certification of a former Salem police officer after finding he used the agency’s computers and confidential databases to stalk his ex-wife. Steven Mayberry used police databases to look up details about his ex-wife and filed a false claim against her to her employer, according to an Oct. 24 report by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, the state agency tasked with certifying officers and reviewing complaints of misconduct. “He thought he would never get caught,” the state report said. “This conduct adversely reflects on the public safety profession.” The Oregon State Police also investigated accusations of domestic violence the woman made against Mayberry. He has not been charged with a crime, according to state court records. “Had the complainant reported the incidents of alleged domestic abuse sooner, a timely investigation may have resulted in criminal charges,” the state police investigator concluded, according to the report. Wayne Mackeson, an attorney representing Mayberry, said he was placed on paid administrative leave in August 2019 “without being told why.” Mayberry retired from the Salem Police Department in October 2019 while under investigation for misconduct.  Oregon’s Police Policy Committee on Aug. 22 recommended that Mayberry’s certifications be revoked for 10 years. DPSST’s board approved that recommendation on Oct. 24. Mayberry five days later submitted a request for a hearing with the state Office of Administrative Hearings to contest his revocation. A hearing date has not been scheduled, according to Sam Tenney, spokesman for the certification agency. Mayberry also has the right to request a court review of any final order within 60 days.  If his certification is revoked, he can’t apply for any job requiring a public safety certification in Oregon, including as a police officer, corrections officer or emergency dispatcher. His 10-year ineligibility period would begin in October 2019, when he retired. “No effort has ever been made to interview Mr. Mayberry,” Mackeson said. “At this stage of the proceedings, I have not been provided with access to any of the underlying investigative reports. Accordingly, I am not in a position to comment on this matter.” DPSST doesn’t interview officers accused of misconduct, according to Tenney. He said the agency relies on employers’ investigations as well as other materials such as police and court records.  Officers whose certifications are under review can submit a written response with supporting documentation to the policy committee and can also speak during committee meetings. “Mr. Mayberry did not offer written or verbal mitigation on his behalf,” Tenney said. Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick declined to confirm if the agency ever tried to interview Mayberry, saying its investigation was “a confidential personnel matter of a former employee.” Cpt. Kyle Kennedy, spokesman for the Oregon State Police, did not respond to an email seeking to confirm if the state agency tried to interview Mayberry. Salem police hired Mayberry in 1990 as a dispatcher, and he became a police officer in 1995. DPSST’s report provided an account of the events that led up to the proposed revocation. In August 2019, Mayberry’s ex-wife filed a complaint with Salem police alleging that since their divorce eight months earlier, he had harassed her as well as her family and friends. The woman is not named in the state report and Salem Reporter does not typically identify victims of domestic abuse or stalking. She described Mayberry as “stalker-like” and believed he was using his police resources to conduct background checks and “check-up” on her, according to the state report. She said Mayberry would drive by her house, show up at locations unexpectedly and confront her, contact friends and family to discredit her and file false complaints against her at her workplace. When the woman was waiting at the front counter in the lobby of the Salem police station to file her complaint, Mayberry confronted her while leaving his shift, asking, “What are you doing here?” His ex-wife said she left the lobby and told him that she didn’t want to talk to him. The Salem agency contacted the Oregon State Police to conduct the investigation because “the allegations reported included potential crimes,” the state report said.  An OSP investigator ordered Mayberry in August 2019 to have no contact with the woman. Investigators checked Salem police’s databases and found that Mayberry had searched for information about his stepson, the woman’s ex-husbands and other relatives from her past marriages “with no official investigative reason,” according to the report. State police later closed their investigation and noted “multiple instances that could be construed as ‘concerning’ with regard to Mayberry and his relationships.” “The OSP investigator said those instances could be challenged as lacking an ethical constraint, while others may have warranted criminal charges, had they been reported within the statute of limitations,” the report said. State police forwarded their investigation to Salem police. Hedrick declined to say what action Salem police took, saying, “We are unable to comment on issues related to personnel matters.” Angela Hedrick, spokeswoman for the Salem agency, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on Friday. Meantime, the same woman reported that Mayberry had tried to contact her boyfriend’s ex-wife.  “Mayberry had no known association with either person,” the report said. “However, he lied about who he was and why he wanted to speak with her to get the complainant to call him to discuss” his ex-wife. The woman also reported an incident of domestic violence to investigators. She said Mayberry once held her down on the ground during an argument, blocked her movement and “caused blood vessels in her eyes to rupture,” the agency said in its proposed order. She also told investigators that Mayberry’s son was in the house, which could have elevated the crime to a felony, the report said. After Mayberry’s retirement in October 2019, Salem police continued their investigation and found that he used city computers and confidential police databases to show “stalking-like behavior,” according to DPSST’s report. In November 2019, the state police investigator told Salem police that Mayberry had filed a complaint against the woman at her work. The state investigator was concerned that the complaint “could have a criminal nexus” and asked Salem police if they wanted to reopen their criminal investigation,” according to the report. “The SPD decided it did want to have OSP investigate the new incident.” Mayberry had alleged that his ex-wife was “drug skimming” and stealing medical supplies, the report said. State police concluded that the evidence didn’t warrant a criminal investigation. DPSST opened its review of Mayberry in December 2019.  Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053. 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