A few years back, a friend of mine (female) received a large settlement to a suit she brought after she was sexually harassed by a cop during a traffic stop.

This is not a recent phenomena.

My friend's dad is a retired cop. He fucked SOOOOO many people on the job during his career. Traffic stops, women who called the cops from their homes, etc. He also pulled a gun on my friend's mom when she said she was leaving him for being unfaithful.

Guilty: I'd like to hear from that person.

And Louise: Get your friend's dad to call me, would you? 503 294 0840. I'll keep his name out of it.

My thoughts are as follows:

1. The Portland Police harbor an environment that considers corrupt activity normal (i.e. What happens in the bureau stays in the bureau)

2. This kind of covert sexual power mongering is yet another example of the brutal mindset of so many Portland Police Officers. In other cases it takes the form of violence, but it's the same thing.

3. What can be done to stop this?
Well for starters we should demand a college degree from all Police officers (and not just Criminal Justice classes, but some Humanities).
We need to have accountability. I am surprised these complaints got as far they have. There is little oversight, and when these guys do get caught Internal Affairs does nothing but internal damage control, and the unions won't let us fire them (I'm pro union but this is rediculous). I'd say some housecleaning is in order!

Thanks for commenting, EJ.

1.I think the police bureau is trying to foster a change in its internal environment, but it seems there's an element of truth to (at least sexual) corruption feeling tolerated.

http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/2007/10/onion_cop_story_close_to_the_b.php

2.Not all cops are brutal. Or power-mongering. In my experience.

3.All cops need two years of college, although that was recently dropped from four.

4.Accountability: You're RIGHT. To quote a local civil rights activist: "the so called independent police review is not independent, and it doesn't review." The IPR's investigations are conducted by internal affairs detectives, and only then can the IPR "review" those. They're currently the subject of a review of their own, by an independent consultant. That review has been four years in coming (which is three years too late) and let's hope it makes the recommendation to hire independent investigators, in future.

There's also the issue of the cop union's contract with the mayor's office, which is up for renegotiation in 2009. It needs to be tougher and allow for the city to fire cops who are out of line more easily.

I bet if you really investigate these 3
creep-cops you'd find that they share a
common feature...membership in a rogue
organization called THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE
STRONG...all the creep-cops that have made
the headlines here from Scott McCollister
to Kyle Nice and now these mentioned have
been accused of having been members and
in so, having gained their perverse sense
of entitlements from shared groupthink!
Check it out and lay the matter before the
public for them to decide.

I wasn't aware Nice or McCollister had been linked anywhere to that organization.

But certainly, if you've got proof otherwise, I'd be interested to hear it.

503 294 0840.

But what if we did require a four year liberal arts degree from our police? I know that there are many hard working and decent officers in police bureau, but would that up the ante and weed out some of the bad ones? They get paid pretty good, and my guess is that most of the bad ones come right out of community college with a Community Justice degree. I took several of those classes for electives in junior college and they were the easiest classes I've ever taken.

Okay, Matt, I got your next headline:

Portland Cops, Bad--Hipster Journalists, Good.

Come on! Are Portland cops really that bad, or is it just that high-quality-of-life Portland has lots of hyped-up-anti-establishment folks who have to find something to complain about?

How do are cops rate in comparision to other cities? That's what I want to know, journalist-boy!

PS: Don't you like my use of hyphens?

As for Brotherhood of the Strong being an
element in this rash of bad cops, I very
much recall that McCollister was linked to
them, as was Nice to lesser degree. I do
very much remember that Chris Humpreheys
was seriously linked to this vile group of
bad cops. Saw discussion at the times at
PIMC, Mayor's blog, and other local blogs.
You'd have to research it if serious.

Jimbo, trust me. The problem with bad apple police officers has nothing to do with how much college they've taken. Likewise I can name you hundreds of mass murderers with phDs.

What the bureau is after is people with the right qualities to do the job—much of the time, that's ex-military, or someone who's got experience doing something community based. In my experience, how much "liberal arts education" somebody has had only makes a difference to how much of a cock they are in conversation. With apologies to my wife, who bucks the trend.

Now. Kungfu: I don't think all Portland cops ARE bad. In fact, I think 99% of our police bureau are heroic. If that makes me a hipster journalist, well then, fine. But I try to get out of the office occasionally. For example, by going to the citizens' police academy, as I am, currently. Or on ride-alongs with various officers. But yes, your use of hyphens is exemplary.

Lastly, LB, I am serious, I have researched it, and last time I checked, hearsay doesn't count as proof.

99%.

Okay, my apologies for name-calling.

Don't worry, I thrive on abuse.

Although while not a term frequently hurled in my direction, thanks to Chas, I don't consider the term "hipster" a name-call, per se:

http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=339392&category=34029

Must try harder!

"The problem with bad apple police officers has nothing to do with how much college they've taken".
Why? If the beuro is looking for community based involvement such as the military, doesn't it create a militant police force? Can we not afford to make sure police officers have a greater sense of world view than that? Yes many mass murderers are educated, but could educated police officers be more aware of the broader social implications in regard to the power they yield? I don't think it "cockish" to think about this.

If one examines the situation, one is faced with a choice: either reject posttextual desituationism or conclude that education, surprisingly, has theoretical significance. The subject is contextualised into a dialectic narrative that includes consciousness as a paradox. Many theories concerning neoconstructivist Marxism exist. But the main theme of the discussion is the common ground between culture and class. In a sense, the primary theme of the positive critique of cultural subtextual theory is the role of the writer as observer. As Lacan frames the conversation, he uses ‘posttextual desituationism’ to denote the bridge between educational status and society.

Matt's Wife (@15), I, too, have heard of the Postmodern Generator (follow that link and reload the page a few times).

Mmmm...salt!

Ej: I think you might be a knee-jerk liberal. There's nothing wrong with a good sound military education. University of life. Eat a steak, vegan. Etcetera.

I don't care if our cops are conservative, I don't care if they can't quote Lacan. I just want them to be trustworthy. And the army will usually do that for a chap.

Here is what the army teaches about honesty (and i am not making this up):

a lock keeps an honest man honest

what does that mean "knee jerk liberal"?

2 PoPiggies flagged as perverts in 2 weeks
and no comment from Robert King in defense
of them. Is he on vacation? On Sick Leave?

tODD, I LOVE the post modern generator. How do you think I made it through liberal arts college?

So what have you done with Matt Davis, BILL O'Reilly?

How does not wanting uneducated ex-military (guys who love guns and are trained killing machines) to be responsible for my civil rights -make me a knee jerk liberal?

From my experience, I know just the type of guys who become bad cops like this. They get off on the badge and gun and power trip of it all, but these same guys lack the tenacity it takes to get a real education. They are like water, they take the easiest route down.
You ask "Do we have a problem?" and if the answer is yes, than we should consider viable solutions (with or without Lacan).

I find it very sad when a bunch of internet junkies such as you all waste your time to trash police officers that have done something wrong. There are over a thousand Portland Police officers and you guys have decided based on a few officers moral characters that ALL officers are bad. Have any of you ever bothered to look into the couragous stories of police officers....I doubt it. Who do you call when you need help...I sure hope it isn't 911 because then you would all be a bunch of hypocrites.