TASER
<<While scuffling with a suspected shoplifter in late May, Vancouver Police Department Officer Andrea Mendoza allegedly pulled a man’s pants down and threatened to charge a Taser onto his exposed penis.
The man had already said he was “done” resisting by that point, body camera footage shows. But she threatened him again and held the Taser against his skin for 24 seconds.
The incident has landed Mendoza in court.
On Tuesday, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office filed fourth-degree assault charges against the officer. The charge is a gross misdemeanor, placing it on the level of a DUI or a reckless driving charge in Washington state.
Gross misdemeanors are punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and less than a year in prison.
Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori on Thursday described Mendoza’s actions as “disturbing.” Mori also ordered the agency to release video footage of the incident captured by body cameras worn by Mendoza and Officer Gabriel Patterson.
In the 11-minute video, Mendoza and Patterson are shown fighting with a man in a dark parking lot. The two had responded on May 21 to a 911 call of shoplifters at a Walmart in east Vancouver. A female suspect had reportedly run away.
The two officers, according to court records, pinned the man to the ground. Footage shows Patterson using sheers to cut off the man’s backpack. Mendoza, meanwhile, pinned the man’s legs to the ground. At one point the man asks, “Did you punch me in the balls?”
The footage shows the man wrestling free as officers attempt to roll him over. After a short chase, Patterson grapples with the man and attempts to pull him to the ground. Mendoza then pulls out a Taser and discharges it onto the man’s exposed back.
The man then said “I’m done, I’m done,” according to an affidavit written by Clark County Detective Jared Stevens. Mendoza threatened to use the Taser on the man’s genitals. The two officers then rolled him onto his back.
“As he rolled onto his back, Officer Mendoza pulled down the front of (the man’s) pants and underwear, exposing his penis, and then appears to press the Taser contacts against his exposed penis,” Stevens wrote.
Mendoza reportedly pressed the Taser there without activating it for 24 seconds, Stevens wrote.
The man then reportedly asked twice for officers to pull his pants back up. Stevens noted in his report that it took nearly two minutes before Mendoza did so.
“I want to emphasize to the community that my expectation is that at all times our personnel serve the public with professionalism, compassion and respect,” Mori said in a statement.
According to spokesperson Kim Kapp, a supervisor forwarded the body-worn camera footage to Mori for review.
Three days after the incident, Mori placed Mendoza on administrative leave. She remains on leave, Kapp said.
Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik declined to comment, saying he won’t comment on an open case.>>
<<A Vancouver police officer is facing fourth-degree assault charges after a use of force incident in a Walmart parking lot in May during which a video caught the officer threatening to use a Taser against a suspect’s genitals, authorities announced Thursday.
Vancouver police say that the officer, identified as Andrea Mendoza, who has been with the department for seven years, was placed on administrative leave three days after the incident.>>
<<“The actions of the officer who deployed the Taser in the video are disturbing,” said Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori. “I want to emphasize to the community that my expectation is that at all times our personnel serve the public with professionalism, compassion and respect. Our department process includes supervisor review of all use of force incidents. Upon review of this incident, the involved officer was placed on administrative leave, an internal investigation was opened, and the case was referred to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for independent investigation.”
According to authorities, officers responded to a call from a Walmart loss prevention employee on May 21, who said that they saw two individuals, a man named Elijah Jaden Guffey-Prejean and an unidentified woman, steal merchandise and leave the store.
The two suspects were contacted by a pair of officers, who told them they were not free to leave, police said. One of the officers grabbed Guffey-Prejean’s arm after he took multiple steps away, while the woman ran away and wasn’t found, police said.
“The two VPD officers were able to get the male to the ground. However, before he could be handcuffed, he jumped up, punched one of the officers in the face and kicked the other officer in the chest. Both officers began struggling with him to gain control. One of the officers deployed a Taser to the subject’s back to gain compliance, which was not effective enough to get him handcuffed. During the struggle, one of the officers exposed the subject’s genital area and threatened to activate the Taser if he did not stop resisting,” Vancouver police said in a press release.
In the body cam video, Guffey-Prejean can be heard saying, “Did you just punch me in the b—-?” Mendoza can also be heard in the video threatening to use a Taser on his genitals.
Police said Guffey-Prejean eventually complied and was handcuffed. As more responders arrived, he can be heard asking the officers to cover up his genitals, which investigators say were revealed by Mendoza and left exposed for nearly a minute during his arrest. He was then taken to the hospital.
Court documents show Guffey-Prejean was found with $103 worth of stolen merchandise during the arrest and was later booked in the Clark County Jail for third-degree theft as well as two counts of third-degree assault — for injuring both officers.
The incident reports and body cam footage was later filed by the responding officers, according to authorities.
“All use of force incidents are reviewed by a supervisor. Based on the supervisor’s review, this incident was brought to the attention of the office of the chief on May 24 and the officer who deployed the Taser was immediately placed on administrative leave. The case was referred to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office on May 24 for independent investigation.
Additionally, an internal VPD investigation was also opened,” Vancouver police said.
According to authorities, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigation was completed on July 20 and then forwarded to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review. Mendoza was officially charged with fourth-degree assault five days later.
A statement from the Vancouver Police Officer’s Guild issued Thursday night said, in part:
“Officer Andrea Mendoza is a decorated member of the Vancouver Police Department and a veteran of our Armed Forces. She has spent years selflessly protecting our country and our city.
Officer Mendoza is also a mother of two young children and a member of our diverse Hispanic community. Her dedication to our city is overshadowed only by her love for her family and community…… We ask much of our police officers. And our officers respond with utmost professionalism in often violent interactions with criminals. No officer should fear being charged with a crime for faithfully doing their job. Yet that is the new norm that the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has now announced with this tortured, baseless criminal charge against Officer Mendoza.
We are confident that after all the facts are presented to a jury, Officer Mendoza will be exonerated.”>>
<<A Vancouver police officer was placed on administrative leave after being charged with assault.
On Tuesday, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed fourth-degree assault charges against a Vancouver police officer following an incident involving force that happened on May 21. The arrest was recorded on the officer’s body cameras as well as a surveillance camera.
“The actions of the officer who deployed the Taser in the video are disturbing”, said Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori. “I want to emphasize to the community that my expectation is that at all times our personnel serve the public with professionalism, compassion and respect. Our department process includes supervisor review of all use of force incidents. Upon review of this incident, the involved officer was placed on administrative leave, an internal investigation was opened, and the case was referred to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for independent investigation. In order to maintain the integrity of the criminal justice process and the internal investigation, at this time, we will not be commenting further”.
On May 21, Vancouver police officers responded to a call from a Walmart loss prevention employee who was asking for law enforcement to trespass two people, a man and a woman, who they had allegedly seen hide merchandise and leave the store.
Two officers arrived at the store and found the two people in the parking lot and told them not to leave. The man took several steps away and was grabbed on the arm to keep him from fleeing. The woman took off running and was not found.
Body camera footage released by Vancouver police on Thursday shows the incident.
The two officers put the man on the ground and tried to handcuff him when he jumped up, shoved them away, and tried to run away. The officers struggled with him to gain control of the situation.
During the struggle one of the officers tased the man and then pulled his pants down, exposing his genital area. The officer threatened to tase him if he did not stop resisting.
The officer said, “knock it off or I’ll do it in your nuts” while holding the taser towards his groin.
The man responded, “I’m done, I promise I’m done.” While the officer said, “I’ll do it.”
He then cooperated and was handcuffed.
The man was given medical aid at the scene before being taken to the hospital and booked into Clark County Jail for third-degree assault and third-degree theft.
The officer with the taser, identified as Andrea Mendoza, was immediately placed on leave on May 24 following an initial review, according to Vancouver police. She has been with the department for a little over six years.
The case has been referred to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for independent investigation and an internal VPD investigation was opened.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigation was completed on July 20 and forwarded to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review. On July 25, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed fourth-degree assault charges on the officer that deployed the Taser.
On Friday, the Vancouver Police Officers Guild released a statement about the incident, saying:
“Officer Andrea Mendoza is a decorated member of the Vancouver Police Department and a veteran of our Armed Forces. She has spent years selflessly protecting our country and our city.
Officer Mendoza is also a mother of two young children and a member of our diverse Hispanic community. Her dedication to our city is overshadowed only by her love for her family and community.
On May 25, 2023, Officer Mendoza and her partner faced a dire situation.
A noncompliant male suspect began fighting with her and her partner, as they attempted a variety of deescalation and low-level force options to safely place the suspect in custody for Assault and Theft. Undeterred, the suspect repeatedly assaulted Officer Mendoza and her partner. Left with few reasonable options short of much higher levels of force, Officer Mendoza warned the suspect that he may be Tased in his groin.
The suspect immediately complied and was taken into custody.
In response, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has lost sight of its core obligation to hold criminals accountable. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office withdrew criminal charges against the combative suspect and has instead baselessly charged Officer Mendoza with misdemeanor assault. That shocks the conscience. Officer Mendoza did not commit a crime. She did her job. Even the suspect in this case did not consider himself a victim, nor did he want Officer Mendoza charged.
We ask much of our police officers. And our officers respond with utmost professionalism in often violent interactions with criminals. No officer should fear being charged with a crime for faithfully doing their job.
Yet that is the new norm that the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has now announced with this tortured, baseless criminal charge against Officer Mendoza.
We are confident that after all the facts are presented to a jury, Officer Mendoza will be exonerated.”>>
<<A Vancouver police officer has been charged with assault related to a “use of force incident” that occurred in May.
According to the Vancouver Police Department, Officer Andrea Mendoza is being charged with fourth-degree assault for her use of a Taser against a shoplifting suspect in a Walmart parking lot.>>
<<On May 21, officers responded to a call from a Walmart loss prevention employee who reported seeing two individuals, a man and a woman, take merchandise and leave the store without paying. Police said the two suspects were verbally contacted by two officers who told them they were not free to leave. The male suspect took several steps away but one of the officers grabbed his arm to prevent him from running. The female suspect fled running and was not located, police said.
The officers wrestled the man to the ground, but he tried to get away when they attempted to get him on his stomach in order to put him in handcuffs. The man punched one officer in the face and another in the chest during the struggle, police said. Once they got him back on the ground, Mendoza deployed a Taser on the suspect’s back then pulled down his pants and threatened to use the taser on his genitals, VPD said.
The suspect then complied and was taken into custody, according to a police report. He was provided medical aid at the scene and was later transported to a hospital before being booked into the Clark County Jail for third-degree assault and third-degree theft charges. The suspect’s name has not been released. >>
<<“The actions of the officer who deployed the Taser in the video are disturbing,” said Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori. “I want to emphasize to the community that my expectation is that at all times our personnel serve the public with professionalism, compassion and respect.”
Mori said a supervisor flagged the incident after reviewing the video shortly after it happened on May 24, and VPD placed the officer on administrative leave. Vancouver police opened an internal investigation and referred the case to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for an independent investigation.
The case was referred to county prosecutors last Thursday and the assault charges were filed on Tuesday. Mendoza has been on administrative leave since May. >>
NOT COPS
<<Robyn Burek left her position as the city’s first manager of Portland Street Response in early July with little explanation. Members of the public speculated that her unexpected resignation from the alternative first response program had something to do with growing morale and leadership issues.
A copy of Burek’s exit interview with the city, obtained by OPB through public records law, reveals those assumptions weren’t far from the truth.
“I thought I would manage [Portland Street Response] until I retired — that’s how committed I was to the program,” Burek wrote in the exit interview with Portland Fire & Rescue, the bureau that oversees Portland Street Response. Burek completed the interview on July 18, two weeks after her last day on the job. She has since taken an administrative job in the City Auditor’s office.
Burek explained that she left due to a lack of support and poor transparency by the Fire Bureau’s top brass.
“I felt intentionally set up and politically scapegoated, all while Fire leadership continued to lack accountability in their failure to adequately support the buildout of this program over the past 2.5 years,” Burek wrote.
Burek was hired to serve as Portland Street Response’s inaugural manager in November 2020, a year after Portland City Council adopted the program. Former City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who oversaw Portland Fire & Rescue at the time, brought the program to City Hall as a way to send mental health workers to behavioral health emergencies instead of police officers.
Burek led the program through a period of quick growth, expanding from a small pilot project to a citywide response team in just over a year.
Now, over a year into citywide operations, Portland Street Response is showing measured success: A recent report by Portland State University found that the program has both lightened police workloads and helped keep hundreds of people in crisis out of costly jail beds and crowded hospital emergency departments.
Yet, the future of the program has become uncertain in recent months. In January, Hardesty lost a reelection bid to City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, who now oversees the Fire Bureau. Gonzalez quickly imposed a hiring freeze on the bureau, keeping Portland Street Response from its planned expansion to 24-7 operations, and introduced a ban on staff distributing tents to Portland Street Response clients, many of whom are experiencing homelessness.
According to Gonzalez’s office, the hiring freeze lifted within the past week. The tent ban remains in place.
These changes hurt staff morale, according to Burek and others in the program.
Burek’s unexpected resignation only added to growing unease, leaving both employees and the public concerned for Portland Street Response’s future. Last week, a group of businesses, nonprofits and elected officials began circulating a petition to urge Portland City Council to expand the program and keep it out of camping policy enforcement. The petition has since collected 10,000 signatures.
Burek underscored uncertainties about Portland Street Response’s future in her interview. She said that, in the prior six months, Fire Bureau leadership hadn’t shown the type of support needed to ensure the young program’s continued success.
She said this became most evident after the unexpected departure of Division Chief Tim Matthews, who oversaw Portland Street Response’s work within the bureau. Fire Chief Sara Boone placed Matthews on leave in December 2022. In a legal filing, Matthews claims he was cast off in retribution for penalizing a Fire Bureau employee who was close friends with Boone. Boone has denied this allegation.
Gonzalez entered City Hall a month after this decision. According to Gonzalez’s chief of staff, Shah Smith, the city’s human resources department told them it would be “problematic” to immediately fill Matthews’ position at the time.
Either way, Matthews’ departure left a leadership vacuum in Portland Street Response. In March, when Matthews’ position remained vacant, Burek said her team reached out to Fire Bureau leadership for guidance.
“We learned that the current leadership’s approach to helping is one of two responses: either ‘you’re on your own’ or they will completely take it over and out of the hands of those working on the program,” she wrote.
A month later, Boone appointed longtime Division Chief Ryan Gillespie to oversee Portland Street Response. He quickly asserted his authority, announcing a freeze on the program’s purchases, like food and warm clothing, and curtailing communications between Portland Street Response and Portland City Council.
Gillespie has previously explained the purchasing freeze was due to Portland Street Response not getting the correct approval from the city before buying goods. That freeze lifted at the end of June.
This transition in leadership did little to bolster the program’s needed support, according to Burek.
“Current leadership made no effort to share in decision-making or make efforts to mentor and bring us into the fold when I and the other two managers asked for support,” Burek wrote. “I knew that there were areas where the program and myself could have improved, and I was open to feedback and growth. However, core leadership’s approach to the problems we were facing felt punitive, lacking in transparency and disingenuous.”
She said that core leadership, which includes Boone and Gillespie, didn’t support Portland Street Response during a critical period of time, during which the public and local politicians accused the program of being led by police abolitionists and enabling homelessness.
In short, Burek said she felt that bureau leadership wanted little to do with Portland Street Response. It’s a theme echoed in the recent Portland State University report, which described frequent clashes between firefighters and Portland Street Response staff. Staff interviewed by researchers say this was rooted in the significant differences in expected workplace culture and communication styles between the two factions.
Burek suggested the city move Portland Street Response into another bureau to resolve these issues and others. She proposed the program relocate to the Community Safety Division, a relatively new department that oversees gun violence prevention and homeless outreach programs.
Portland State University researchers — and former Commissioner Hardesty — have made the same recommendation in the past month.
Gillespie dismissed this recommendation in a formal response to the Portland State University report, stating that the program’s “current liabilities and weaknesses” won’t disappear if Portland Street Response simply switches bureaus.
Burek’s exit interview is notably missing one prominent player in Portland Street Response’s oversight body: Commissioner Gonzalez. While Gonzalez was responsible for placing a hiring freeze across the entire bureau and banning tent distribution, Burek centers her criticism on Fire Bureau leadership.
Fire Bureau representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Burek said she was driven to step down from the job after seeing its impact on her mental health, sleep and “overall ability to have a healthy balance in life.”
Burek’s letter comes amid another leadership change: Boone retired as fire chief in early July, and Gillespie succeeded her.
Burek remained hopeful that the new division chief selected to oversee Portland Street Response, Stephanie Sullivan, will better serve the program. She has also expressed support for the program’s new manager, former Portland Street Response mental health clinician Lielah Leighton.
“I care a lot about this program,” Burek wrote. “But I also believe there’s a benefit to handing the program over to someone with fresh eyes, vision, and hope.”>>
https://www.opb.org/article/2023/07/27/portland-street-response-team-manager-resignation/
NO-RESPONDERS
<<In the heart of downtown Portland on the morning of July 3, investigators say Jett Thomas came close to killing a U.S. Marshals Service deputy who was working as a Pioneer Federal Courthouse security officer.
Minutes later, after the bloodied officer escaped a chokehold and shot Thomas twice, emergency dispatchers tried to send an ambulance to the scene — but there wasn’t an ambulance available.
The details, revealed in an affidavit filed by an FBI agent and confirmed by KGW through Bureau of Emergency Communications records, represent the latest connection between a high-profile emergency and Multnomah County’s persistent problems with ambulance staffing and response.
The federal officer was taken to a hospital by USMS agents while complaining of head and neck pain and bleeding from his mouth and ear, FBI special agent Joseph Youngblood wrote in the affidavit filed in federal court.
Youngblood said Thomas climbed the courthouse gate, choked and punched the officer in the head near the security area, put the officer in a chokehold outside the courthouse, and then hit the officer in the head with the officer’s radio.
“Oh yeah they were tussling pretty aggressively, and the suspect was getting the best of the security guard because he was bigger,” said Jason Roark, a man who told KGW he witnessed the assault and subsequent shooting.
According to the affidavit, a witness told investigators that the officer’s face was turning “purplish-blue” before someone distracted Thomas and the officer shot him twice in the stomach.
Both Thomas and the officer survived their injuries, and Thomas is now charged with assaulting a federal employee.
KGW asked Aaron Schmautz, Portland Police Association president, if the incident and lack of available ambulances should raise concerns — both for law enforcement and for the public.
“At the end of the day, if someone is experiencing a medical crisis in this city when they call 911, it’s our moral responsibility to have an ambulance available,” Schmautz said. “It’s very concerning.”
To verify the affidavit statement, KGW requested “Level Zero” data from BOEC — showing the times and locations of 911 calls in which Multnomah County ambulance provider AMR did not have an available ambulance crew to respond on July 3.
That data shows AMR was at Level Zero for an emergency call at 6:31 a.m. at 701 SW 6th Avenue, the block of the Pioneer Federal Courthouse and within 5 to 10 minutes of the reported assault.
AMR’s issues with ambulance response are nothing new. The dataset shows AMR was unable to immediately send an ambulance to 28 other 911 calls on July 3.
In Multnomah County, more than 6,300 emergency calls received the Level Zero treatment between January and June of 2023.
“Our entire woven web of public safety needs help, we need more firefighters, we need more paramedics,” Schmautz said. “We’re dealing with a public safety crisis in this city, it’s hitting every different piece of our infrastructure, we have to continue thinking about what those solutions look like.”
The company said it’s working to increase paramedic staffing and solve issues by triaging ambulance response.
Multnomah County leaders have called AMR’s performance “incredibly disturbing” and frustrating – but have so far declined to fine the company or force changes based on AMR’s missed standards.>>
ANTI-TERRORISM
<< Millions of federal dollars are coming to Oregon to guard against terrorism and deal with natural disasters, according to Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, who announced the investments on Thursday.
It adds up to $20 million, in the form of grants awarded to public and tribal agencies where most of the money goes. But there are a few dozen smaller grants going to non-profit organizations that are at higher risk of terrorist attack.
In the Portland metro area, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants were awarded to eight Jewish organizations, mostly synagogues, like Congregation Beth Israel in Northwest Portland.>>
<<Here is a list of all recipients of the Homeland Security grant awards as reported in the Merkley/Wyden press release:
$4,847,500 from the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) to address identified planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs to prevent, protect against, prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism.
$3,800,000 to the Portland area from the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) to assist in building an enhanced and sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism.
$5,343,682 under the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management agencies in obtaining the resources required to support the National Preparedness Goal’s associated mission areas and core capabilities to build a culture of preparedness.
$2,137,693 under the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) to the Lane Transit District for enhancement of security measures at critical transit infrastructure including bus, ferry, and rail systems.
$1,202,632 under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program – Urban Area (NSGP-UA) to nonprofits in the Portland area to support the security of local nonprofits and help integrate preparedness activities of nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a terrorist attack with broader state and local preparedness efforts.
Individual recipients under this grant program can be found below:
$150,000 for Chabad of NE Portland $150,000 for Congregation Ahavath Achim
$150,000 for Congregation Beth Israel
$150,000 for Congregation Kesser Israel
$150,000 for Congregation Neveh Shalom
$150,000 for Congregation Shir Tikvah
$150,000 for Portland Jewish Academy
$92,500 for Havurah Shalom
$2,404,231 under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program – State (NSGP-S) to nonprofits outside the Portland area to support the security of local nonprofits and help integrate preparedness activities of nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a terrorist attack with broader state and local preparedness efforts.
Individual recipients under this grant program can be found below:
$150,000 for B’nai B’rith Men’s Camp Association
$150,000 for the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum and The Captain Michael King Smith Educational Institute
$150,000 for the Jewish Community Havurah of Southern Oregon
$150,000 for Providence Newberg Medical Center
$150,000 for Providence Seaside Hospital
$150,000 for St. Mary’s Academy – The Dalles
$150,000 for St. Mary’s Academy – The Dalles
$150,000 for Temple Beth Israel of Eugene
$149,625 for Linfield University
$148,500 the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
$147, 020 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend
$129,148 for the Jewish Community of Central Oregon
$96,000 for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry – Coastal Discovery Center at Camp Gray
$87,474 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend
$74,935 for Santiam Hospital & Clinics
$72,473 for Santiam Medical Clinic
$72,473 for Sublimity Medical Clinic
$65,000 for Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital
$41,372 for the Salem Jewish Congregation>>
HOSPITAL SHOOTING
<<Five days after an incident that left a security guard gunned down at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, and the suspect shot by police, names of the officers involved in the shooting have yet to be released.
That’s largely because of a major policy decision made last year by Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell. In December 2022, Lovell announced the bureau would no longer release names of officers involved in the use of deadly force within 24 hours. Instead, PPB now waits 15 days, if not longer, before releasing employee names to the public.
At the time, Lovell noted the bureau had already been doing that since July 2022. The chief said his policy of withholding information, “strikes the right balance between transparency and the security concerns of our PPB members.”
Lovell cited incidents from earlier that year that presented “credible security threats” to officers, who were subject to threats and doxing–the act of searching for and releasing private personal information about someone else–after their names were released following an officer-involved shooting. The bureau’s published policy directives still call for the release of names within 24 hours, but police and the mayor note that particular directive is “under review,” and an executive order dictates standing policy, for now.
Police have yet to clarify what threats justified the delayed release of names back in 2022, and despite state legislation that already protects police from doxing, have instead moved to use the 15-day rule as blanket policy, rather than in cases where it’s needed.>>
<<“Last summer, there were three shootings over the course of a week… and the chief said they wouldn’t release [officer names] at all because officers were getting threats and whatnot,” Handelman said, noting PPB’s settlement agreement with the DOJ includes a stipulation that all bureau policies will be posted for public review, prior to adoption, but that never happened in this case.
Under the new practice, Handelman notes, there is no way for the public to know whether an officer who just shot someone is back on duty, where the same thing could happen again.
PPB’s staffing shortage throws more doubt into the process. In 2022, PPB reported nine instances involving the use of deadly force by an officer.
Of those incidents, five were fatal.
“It’s just an absolute outrage, in my opinion,” Handelman said of the delay in identifying police. “We don’t know of anybody else who has a specific policy like that.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner, noted Portland’s policy “isn’t unique to officer-involved cases,” and noted other instances where the names of crime suspects aren’t released while investigations are ongoing.
“Balancing transparency with safety is challenging, particularly in the early stages of investigation in high-profile public safety incidents,” Cody Bowman, Wheeler’s communications director, said on behalf of the mayor’s office. “We will continue striving to strike that balance and release information as quickly as possible.”>>
OFFICER DOWN
<<Police have identified the man who allegedly shot and critically injured a Washington County deputy during an eviction Wednesday.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says, 34-year-old Kristafer James Graves, who died during the incident, lived at the Timbers at Tualatin Apartments. When deputies arrived Wednesday to serve a court-ordered eviction notice, he reportedly opened fire on deputies, striking one multiple times around 10:21 a.m.
According to the WCSO, one deputy returned fire. The department adds initial information was indicating a possible physical confrontation between the deputies and Graves, however, this has been disproven, authorities say. Instead, Graves began firing from inside his apartment before deputies could speak with him.
After the exchange of gunfire, Graves retreated inside his apartment, allegedly barricading himself.
Tactical teams eventually made entry into the apartment where Graves was found dead inside the bathroom with a gunshot wound. According to WCSO, it’s unclear at this time if “Graves was shot by law enforcement or if his gunshot wound was self-inflicted.” An autopsy will be done to determine his cause of death.
The injured deputy remains in critical condition at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.>>