Interim St. Helens police chief accuses mayor of retaliation, collusion in whistleblower lawsuit

Published 4:23 pm Thursday, March 27, 2025

The interim St. Helens police chief has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city’s mayor, claiming she blocked his promotion as permanent chief after he accused her of colluding with the former police chief in mayoral election interference.

The suit, filed Monday in Columbia County and first reported by the Oregonian/OregonLive, claims the retaliation against interim Chief Joseph Hogue comes after this accusation against Mayor Jennifer Massey, as well as an investigative report into accusations of misconduct by former Chief Brian Greenway.

After Hogue reported his superior, Greenway was placed on leave in Oct. 2024, he eventually retired in January 2025 and Hogue, a lieutenant at the time, was appointed acting chief. Hogue was recently named interim chief of the St. Helens Police Department as the city council continues to look for a new chief.

“Chief Hogue stepped up during a time of turmoil when the previous chief was under investigation, and he has been incredibly successful in the position. Unfortunately, he’s been the target of a retaliation campaign for being the whistleblower,” said Hogue’s attorney Rebecca Cambreleng.

Court documents state there was a second part of the report detailing collusion allegations between Greenway and Massey, who was a mayoral candidate at the time. “Because the mayor was not the subject of the investigation, that information was not released,” Cambreleng said.

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