A Washington County sheriff's deputy read Miranda rights so fast that three Oregon appellate judges couldn't understand the words on body camera footage. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, those judges threw out the resulting DUII conviction.
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that Deputy Trever M. Cooley's eight-second recitation of Miranda warnings during a July 2, 2022, arrest on U.S. 26 was constitutionally inadequate, according to OregonLive. Cooley rattled off all four warnings at more than 400 words per minute without pausing, without enunciating and without looking at the person he'd arrested.
The defendant, Vancouver resident Alex Gerkin, responded "Huh?" after the recitation. Only when Cooley repeated "I said, do you understand your rights?" did Gerkin answer "Yes, sir."
"It was like they were almost provided in a different language, and that language was Mumble," Judge Anna M. Joyce said during oral arguments in May.
Judge Kristina Hellman told the state's lawyer she "could not understand about half of what was said" despite knowing what she was listening for. Presiding Judge Darleen Ortega said she "couldn't understand most of what was said."
The ruling suppressed all statements Gerkin made to officers, his field sobriety tests and a drug-recognition expert's findings. His reckless driving conviction was not overturned.
Local implications
Cooley is no obscure deputy. The Washington County Sheriff's Office named him its 2025 DUII Enforcement Officer of the Year in an April Instagram post, noting he made more than 2,000 traffic stops that year. He also won Oregon's DUII Enforcement Officer of the Year award in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
In 2022, he set an agency record with six DUII arrests in a single shift.
The appellate court established that Miranda warnings given by any Oregon law enforcement officer "must also be coherent such that a suspect could understand what is being said to them." A suspect's "yes, sir" response to an unintelligible warning does not make the warning constitutional, the court wrote.
For residents of Tigard, Tualatin, Bull Mountain and Durham who encounter Washington County deputies during traffic stops, the ruling establishes a binding standard: Miranda warnings must be coherent enough for a suspect to understand what is being said.
No response from the sheriff's office
The Washington County Sheriff's Office has not responded to requests for comment on the ruling as of Thursday, Aug. 13. Cooley also did not return messages seeking comment, according to OregonLive.
The sheriff's office has not said whether it will review other Cooley arrests for similar Miranda issues or update training protocols. The Washington County District Attorney's office has not announced whether it will retry Gerkin on the DUII charge or whether the state will appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court.
Cooley, hired by the sheriff's office in 2018, is due for a promotion to corporal at the end of August, according to state records.
Anyone who believes their rights were not properly communicated during an arrest can contact the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-2700 or consult with a criminal defense attorney.
