Central Coast fire board hires investigator to examine allegations surrounding chief’s response to accident involving wife

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews

WALDPORT – The Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue board voted during a special meeting last week to hire an outside investigator to sort out chief Jamie Mason’s response to a July 2 auto accident involving his wife.

The investigation is expected to take 3-4 weeks.

Ericka Mason was pulling onto U.S. Highway 101 at North Bayview Road at 6 a.m. July 2 when she swerved into the northbound lane, forcing motorcyclist Damon Derby of Waldport to suddenly brake and lay down his bike to avoid colliding with her vehicle.

Jamie Mason was filling an open shift that morning and responded with firefighter John Townley. He ended up exchanging accusations and profanities with Derby and his wife, Tamara Derby, who arrived shortly after the incident in her own car.

The exchanges between the Derbys and Mason was witnessed by Capt. Joe Munger, the duty officer for the Seal Rock Fire District, who also responded to the crash with firefighter Neeko Gilbert. While the crash was on the north side of the Alsea Bay bridge in the Seal Rock district, Central Coast was also dispatched with Mason and Townley arriving moments before Munger and Gilbert.

In his report, Munger said he was talking with Damon Derby near his motorcycle when Tamara Derby began “directing commentary toward Mason and Mason’s wife.” That, Munger wrote “seemed to infuriate Chief Mason, who then aggressively moved toward is as if to assault Mr. Derby.”

Both Damon Derby and Mason started yelling and swearing at each other, Munger wrote, while Tamara Derby recorded the argument on her cell phone. The argument de-escalated when Townley got between the two and Mason took himself off the call and returned to his wife’s vehicle.

Derby declined medical attention at the scene. His wife’s video later showed him being treated in the emergency room of Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport.

Oregon State Police wildlife trooper Maleri Cates, a former Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy, responded to the accident, talked with both Derby and Ericka Mason, and cited Mason for failing to drive within a lane.

In a statement Monday, Mason said while a news report of the incident last week and Munger’s report contained inaccuracies “and even a few blatant untruths” he should have reacted better.

“In the beginning, tensions were high, and voices were raised,” he said. “Regretfully, I myself raised my voice when I sensed my wife was being verbally assaulted as an individual approached her in what I perceived to be an aggressive manner.

“I felt remorse for my reactions and tried to reflect on how I could have done better,” he said. “It is unfortunate to hear of claims of a cover-up involving multiple agencies. I welcome and I am confident in the board’s decision to bring in a third party to investigate this matter to uncover the facts of this incident. “

The fallout

Mason said he called COCF&R board chair Reda Eckerman later that day to notify her about the incident.

While Tamara Derby posted a short, edited video about the accident on her TikTok account, the incident did not break into full public view until Seal Rock Fire District board member Paul Rimola copied Munger’s report and gave it to former Central Coast board member Todd Holt on July 14. Holt served one year on the COCF&R board and clashed repeatedly with Mason before Holt was recalled by voters in June 2022. Rimola has also been critical of Central Coast and Mason when the two agencies were trying to sort out their relationship during the year Holt was on the Central Coast board.

Holt passed out copies of Munger’s report at the July 20 Central Coast meeting as Waldport resident Jamie Harley read a long statement about the crash and asked the board to take action against Mason. Also attending the meeting were Kathryn Menefee, who was also recalled in June 2021, and Bernice Barrett, a vocal fire district critic.

The Derbys live just across Hemlock Street from the fire station parking lot. Damon Derby did not attend the July 20 meeting. Tamara Derby left home and arrived near the end of Harley’s statement when a YouTube broadcast of the meeting malfunctioned and only intermittently picked up Harley’s comments.

Eckerman told Harley and Tamara Derby at the July 20 meeting that the board would investigate their claims if someone filed a formal complaint. No one did, but the board went ahead with an investigation Thursday on the advice of their attorney, Eckerman said.

Jamie Mason told YachatsNews that after everyone calmed down July 2, he went back to Damon Derby and apologized for his reaction.

“While all of us would like to believe that we will react at our best, we can only hope that we rise to the occasion and handle the event accordingly,” Mason said in a statement. “And while I did relieve myself of command to my partner, I offer no excuse for raising my voice. My emotions got the better of me in that minute and I have provided my apology to the parties involved.”

Damon Derby said Monday that while he is not confident in the district’s outside investigation “I hope they find something they didn’t know.”

But he also expressed disappointment that others were trying to take advantage of his situation.

“Now you have a bunch of other people trying to eat off the bone,” he told YachatsNews. “As for us, we’re pursuing litigation.”