CANYON CITY — Grant County is offering Tyler Smith his old job back, but it may be awhile before he can get back to work.

Smith, a former Grant County sheriff’s deputy, was fired in December 2019 after being arrested and charged with attempted rape, attempted sex abuse and fourth-degree assault.

On Nov. 3 of this year, Smith was found not guilty on all counts by a Grant County jury.

Before the trial, Smith had filed a labor grievance for wrongful termination and asked to be reinstated. That request was put on hold pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings against him, but his acquittal restarted the process.

On Wednesday, Dec. 21, after consulting with legal counsel in executive session, the Grant County Court voted unanimously in open session to send Smith a letter offering him his old position with the sheriff’s office back.

If Smith accepts the offer, he would not have to wait for a deputy’s job to open up. According to Sheriff Todd McKinley, seniority rules would automatically give him preference over any newer hires.

It’s not that simple, however.

When Smith was arrested, he lost his law enforcement certification pending an investigation by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Even though he was acquitted of all charges, the DPSST investigation has to run its course before Smith’s law enforcement certification can be restored, and it’s not done yet.

The offer by the county court to reinstate Smith to his old job as a deputy is contingent on him having valid law enforcement credentials.

“We’ll wait and see what happens,” McKinley said. “It’s out of our hands. It’s in the hands of the DPSST at this point.”

Smith also has a lawsuit pending against the county in U.S. District Court in Pendleton for wrongful termination and whistleblower retaliation. Like his reinstatement request, the lawsuit was put on hold while Smith was facing criminal charges but can now proceed.

During the trial, Smith’s attorneys claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy involving former Sheriff Glenn Palmer and other law enforcement officials because he had given investigators information damaging to Abigail Mobley during a probe of the “sex talk” jail scandal.

The original version of this story gave the wrong year for Tyler Smith’s termination. The error has been corrected.