New records indicate that Washington County Sheriff’s deputies may have ignored their own policy after arresting a corrections deputy who, hours after his release, went on to kill his teenage daughter and himself.
Nicholas Alexander, 45, had a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit when he was arrested at 3 a.m. in Beaverton on Dec. 9, 2024 and booked for driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Deputies later released Alexander to his 16-year-old daughter around 4:50 a.m.
“The Washington County Sheriff’s Office acknowledges this tragic loss of life and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the community is safe,” the agency said in a statement late Monday night.
What’s less clear is if the deputies ran afoul of their own policies about releasing intoxicated people. According to the agency’s traffic safety manual, “if a person is to be released at the conclusion of the booking process, the release must be to a sober, responsible adult.”
The sheriff’s office told OPB in a statement that since Alexander was never booked, the policy did not apply.
“We’re not trying to say this situation doesn’t warrant some review, but we also want to be clear and accurate. So that policy was never triggered,” Det. Mark Povolny, an agency spokesperson, told OPB.
Povolny said deputies have discretion over when they cite someone versus lodging them in jail. That policy does not address to whom a person may be released. According to the manual, “the driver may be released to a responsible person,” rather than jailed.
It’s entirely up to the arresting officer to decide if someone charged with a DUII should be jailed or cited and released. The agency confirmed that the jail had no intake restrictions when Alexander was in custody.
OPB obtained records of the DUII arrest through a public records request, shedding light on the events leading up to the Dec. 9, 2024, murder-suicide.
Alexander “spoke with a thick tongue, and slurred his speech,” when deputies found him standing beside his silver sedan with a detached axle and blinking hazard lights. Neighbors near the quiet, suburban intersection had called 911 to report a loud crash.
It was nearly 3 a.m. and the crash occurred less than 400 feet from Alexander’s apartment, records show.
Deputy Trever Cooley, a drug recognition expert for the agency, described Alexander as swaying, smelling of alcohol and slurring his words. Cooley placed Alexander under arrest.
As deputies waited for a tow truck, Cooley wrote, they discovered “multiple items” marked as property of the Oregon Department of Corrections.
“It was clear Nicholas was a correctional officer for DOC. Due to this, I immediately notified Sergeant Shah,” Cooley wrote in his report. Deputies took the items to his apartment and handed them to Alexander’s daughter.
According to Povolny, Alexander’s status as a corrections officer did not affect deputies’ decision to send him home. Alexander was on leave of absence from the DOC at the time of his arrest.
After being transported to the sheriff’s office’s east precinct, Alexander ultimately blew a .15 blood-alcohol level.
It was about 4:30 a.m. by the time Cooley drove Alexander back to his apartment, records show. There, he “released him to his daughter” at about 4:50 a.m. Hours later, deputies found both dead after a welfare check at the apartment.
When asked if the DUII arrest led to any internal review for Cooley or any other deputy, Povolny said the sheriff’s office cannot comment on personnel matters.
This story has been updated.
