Portland Police Association President Scott Westerman has a doozy of an editorial in this month's Rap Sheet, entitled Our Low Emotional Condition. The text is as follows:

Morale is defined by Merriam-Webster as the mental and emotional condition (as of enthusiasm, confidence, or loyalty) of an individual or group with regard to the function or tasks at hand; a sense of common purpose with respect to a group; the level of individual psychological well-being based on such factors as a sense of purpose and confidence in the future.

Many believe that a positive morale is something the PPA membership has been lacking for a while. While we have made strides in some areas, morale is clearly down in many other areas.

In recent months and weeks, more and more PPA members have expressed concern about the continued decline of morale in the bureau. In years past, low morale could typically be attributed to a single event or individual, and how we are affected by the negative impact of that event or individual. This time, it seems different. When talking with the membership, the reasons given for why they believe morale is low isn't focused on any one thing or person, but rather, a totality of circumstances.

Negative publicity from recent, and not so recent, events has also taken its toll on morale. The fact that we are still dealing with the Chasse case three years later has clearly impacted how we feel about the job we do. The media has painted our members in a very negative light while the facts of the case show they were within policy.

For now, I think one of the biggest things missing from the Chasse case is the overwhelming lack of public support these officers have received. Sure, they've gotten private phone calls expressing concern and support from friends, family and members of the Bureau, but very little in the form of public support.

To give some perspective, let's look at the recent e-mail sent by Chief Sizer to the entire Police Bureau regarding an article written about Captain Mark Kruger. She said, "I'd like to clear the record internally, especially if you get asked questions by community members." She went on to say, "I would not have promoted Mark to Captain if I felt at any time the allegations were true. I supported him then and I support him now." Any time any member of the Portland Police Bureau is unfairly targeted by the media, this is the type of response we should get from the Chief. But one can't help but wonder, where was her public support for Officer Chris Humphreys, Officer Bret Burton and Sergeant Kyle Nice? Where is the email expressing her confidence in their ability to perform the jobs they have dedicated their lives to? They have been attacked and slandered in the media in not just one article, but countless dozens. Clearly, this has had a huge impact on morale from the rank and file.

Portland Police Bureau Captain Mark Kruger probably isn't too happy with this video, posted by Robert Seaver, who claims to be a former friend of Kruger's.

Kruger has come under fire for brush-ups with Nazi images before, as reported in the Willamette Week in 2004. YouTube sent Seaver an email asking that he edit or remove the video after they received complaints that it violated Kruger's privacy.

In an email sent to the Portland Mercury, Seaver said he believes Kruger himself filed the complaint with YouTube, and that Kruger is using his position as an officer to force YouTube to act. When the Mercury reached Seaver by phone, he declined to elaborate.

Over at the Police Bureau, spokesperson Mary Wheat said she has no idea who complained to YouTube.

"Everybody's got a right to make a complaint to YouTube, just like everybody's got a right to post something," Wheat said. She also wondered how quotes in the video attributed to Kruger were obtained, and if they'd been confirmed as things Kruger actually said.

Kruger declined requests for an interview, Wheat said, because Kruger said the Mercury "was not an objective news source."

"The late civil rights leader Dr.Martin Luther King said we are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation," said the Reverend Doctor Leroy Haynes, vice president of the Albina Ministerial Alliance this morning. "James P Chasse junior, who died in police custody of blunt force trauma, cries out today from the grave for justice, justice for the weak, the voiceless, and the victims," he continued. "We stand today giving voice to the cry for justice for James P Chasse, and others who were victims of excessive force by the Portland Police Bureau."

"Our city administrators and leaders have demonstrated they lack the political will to enforce accountability on this issue," said Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Association of Portland. "We have more confidence that the officers will voluntarily resign than that the City will terminate their employment, and we hope they do."

Four mental health advocates were joined by a host of community members this morning on SW Fifth to call for the resignation of Portland Police Bureau Sergeant Kyle Nice, Officer Christopher Humphreys and Officer Bret Burton. "It's good that the Independent Police Review has ordered an outside review of the investigation into Chasse's death," said Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch, who also attended the press conference. "But where were they during the investigation?"

"We ask that these three men, who have probably contemplated their actions more than anyone, take on a new, positive, restorative role, and begin to repair the damage they did on September 17, 2006 by resigning from the Portland Police Bureau immediately," said Renaud.

"For more than three years, our city has dissected, debated, and bemoaned what happened to James Chasse, but this discussion remains inconclusive and inadequate when no one has been held responsible for his death," Renaud continued. "For the vast majority of our community, these actions and the bureau's findings are unacceptable."

Haynes called for more serious discipline for the officers who participated in the action, and the call for voluntary resignation of the officers.

"I want to ask Police Commissioner Saltzman, Mayor Sam Adams and city council, what are you going to do to repair the trust that's been broken in our community?" said Beckie Child, board president of Mental Health America of Oregon. "People who have mental health issues already have a pretty significant fear of police officers. People are afraid of law enforcement officers, and the decision that Chief Sizer came to has done nothing to help that trust. Families who are concerned about their loved ones will not want to call the police."

"He allegedly peed on the lawn," Child continued. "And he's dead because of that. I don't understand how that makes any sense, and I don't understand how we teach our children that they will be held accountable for their actions when we don't hold the people in power accountable."

"For people in the mental health community, success is living in the community," said Bob Joondeph, Executive Director of Disability Rights of Oregon. "James Chasse was a success. He participated in treatment, but unfortunately for him he did not have the protection he needed." "I'm here to talk about the pain that the mental health community has experienced as a result of what happened to James, and to ask for healing," Joondeph continued. "Not only does the mental health community need healing, but the whole community, too." "We are asking for the officers to look within themselves and do the right thing."

"The officers themselves haven't had the chance to do the right thing," said Renaud. "They can simply resign and be heroes."

City Commissioner Randy Leonard came to the rare defense of Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman during the council session this morning, with one of his classic rhetorical blow-ups. Why keep an ongoing conflict at a slow burn when you can ramp it up to boiling point with a few choice remarks?

"The bureau should be looking just as seriously into gender discrimination as well as racial profiling," said Dan Handleman of Portland Copwatch this morning, commenting on the city's vote to pay out $27,500 to an "emotionally challenged" woman who had sex with an on-duty police officer in June 2007.

Handelman said Saltzman has told him he thinks it's best to weed out pervo-cops in the recruitment phase, but that's evidently not good enough, pointing out that Officer Jason Faulk is the fifth police officer in three years to leave the bureau over alleged sexual misconduct. He also criticized the small size of the settlement, saying the case seemed to be about "the apparent rape of a mentally challenged woman by a police officer."

"Since there's 850 or so men on the police force, we hope that this council will consider directing some kind of gender bias training," said Handelman.

Fair enough, right? Well, not for Leonard, who hit back: "One of the things Chief Sizer criticized me for was that I took you seriously," he said. "I thought you came off as balanced and reasonable and rational, but today it strikes me that you have characterized the police bureau in a way that they can never win with you."

"I'm very disappointed that you sought to cast a wider net, to cast a wider pall over the bureau, and by reference Commissioner Saltzman, it disappoints me, and this didn't help our relationship," Leonard continued. "The result in this case was that the man was fired."

Handleman responded: "In the same way that we live in a culture that is steeped in racism, we live in a culture that is steeped in misogyny, and I hope that you agree with that, and that there should be some kind of training on that," he said.

Leonard didn't respond on the training issue, but did say: "Well, you should have said that."

To put Leonard's remarks in context, they may have less to do with Handelman, than the ongoing political pressure on Saltzman as police commissioner, and repairing some of the apparent undermining Leonard has been doing of Saltzman in that role over recent weeks. Saltzman recently went against the wishes of Leonard, Amanda Fritz, and Nick Fish—a majority of council—on another police oversight matter. And the police commissioner has also come under fire for his handling of the inquiry into the death in custody of James Chasse, a man suffering with schizophrenia. Oregonian columnist Anna Griffin even suggested Mayor Sam Adams should take the bureau back from Saltzman last week, over the issue. So Leonard, it seems, decided this morning to back Saltzman up for a change, rather than risk the perception that he might be siding with Griffin and risk a further fissure on council, over the handling of the police bureau.

"The facts in this case are chilling," said City Commissioner Nick Fish, about the settlement. "A comment was made about the size of the settlement, and what gives me some cause here is that the plaintiff is represented by the Steenson firm, who I believe are representing the Chasse family. So the plaintiff has had excellent counsel. No amount of money can erase the damage done by things like this. But there is no place on the police bureau for an officer who engages in behavior like this."

Press release. More soon:

Portland City Auditor to Hire Expert to Evaluate the Portland Police Bureau’s Handling of the James Chasse Investigation:

Portland City Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade has announced plans to hire a nationally-recognized expert to evaluate how the Portland Police Bureau handled the internal investigation of the 2006 in-custody death of James Chasse, including why it took nearly three years to complete. The Auditor’s Independent Police Review Division has the authority to contract for expert reviews of closed internal investigations of in-custody deaths or officer-involved shootings and will oversee the expert review of the Chasse case.

“The death of James Chasse while in police custody is a matter of ongoing concern for the community and for the Auditor’s Independent Police Review Division. Now that the investigation is closed, I want to move forward with an expert evaluation as soon as possible,” said Griffin-Valade. “It is the role and responsibility of my office to ensure an independent review of the Bureau’s investigation. The public and City officials need to know that the Chasse investigation was thorough, balanced, and unbiased,” she added.

The outside expert has yet to be selected, but the review will not be a re-investigation of the officers’ conduct or the facts surrounding Mr. Chasse’s death. Rather, the expert will evaluate the quality of the internal investigation, as well as the adequacy of the police policies that affected the actions of the officers. The Auditor’s Independent Police Review Division will release the final report to the public, elected officials, and the Chief of Police. The report will comment on improvements made by the Bureau since 2006 and will make any recommendations that emerge from the expert evaluation.

News Release from: Portland Police Bureau
PORTLAND POLICE INVOLVED IN HEAD ON COLLISION
Posted: September 30th, 2009 11:58 AM

The officer involved in this accident is Officer Jeffrey Ruppel. Officer Ruppel has been with the Portland Police Bureau for five years and is assigned to the afternoon shift at East Precinct.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in this accident has been identified as 53 year-old Robert King, (date of birth 3/13/46). Mr. King has not yet been charged or cited and this investigation is continuing.

The names of the two film crew members from the show COPS are being withheld until confirmation of family notification has been made.

On September 29, 2009 at approximately 9:00 p.m., a Portland Police Officer driving Eastbound on Southeast Stark Street near 136th was hit by an oncoming vehicle that veered into the officer's lane. Two passengers from the COPS television show were riding in the officer's vehicle as part of a COPS production that is currently being filmed with the Portland Police Bureau.

The officer and both passengers were transported to an area hospital to be treated for their non life-threatening injuries. The officer and one of the COPS passengers were released from the hospital last night, but the other passenger is still in the hospital with serious head injuries.

The driver of the other vehicle is a 53-year-old man who was driving a Subaru Outback. This driver is still at an area hospital recovering from serious injuries.

The Portland Police Bureau's Major Crash Team was called to the scene to investigate. They determined that the driver of the Subaru was driving Westbound on Southeast Stark Street when he veered into the officer's oncoming lane and hit the police car head on. Investigators believe that alcohol was a factor in this accident and this investigation is ongoing.

The Portland Police Association has hired the same public relations firm as Merritt Paulson did for Major League Soccer, just in time to deal with the fallout from the cover-up inquiry into James Chasse jr's death. Greg Peden and Shannon Berg from Gallatin Public Affairs were in council this morning with PPA boss Scott Westerman to listen to Jason Renaud from the Mental Health Association of Portland accuse the city of "impunity" related to Chasse's death in police custody back in 2006. Gallatin worked with former mayor of Portland, Vera Katz, on the MLS deal, and Westerman said he would consult with Peden and Berg before commenting on Renaud's remarks. We'll update you as soon as we have a comment from the PPA.

Update, 12:51: Westerman says the PPA "wholeheartedly agrees" with Renaud's request for better collaboration and dialog between the mental health community and the Portland Police Bureau. "It would be beneficial for all involved."

"The issue that the PPA has with Renaud's seven requests is that he is specifically focusing on the three officers. If they're going to pull those three officers from patrol, the city may as well pull all police officers from the street," Westerman says. "Because any officer on the Portland Police Bureau that was present in that situation would have likely had the same same outcome. The officers followed the bureau's policy and procedures. The simple fact is that the three officers are being singled out in this tragic situation."

Original post:

"I'm not surprised the PPA has hired a public relations firm," says Renaud, in response. "I think they're in trouble. They've made an enormous public relations mistake by siding with three guys against 900. They've lost the media, they've lost the public trust, and even the commenters on the Portland Tribune's website have turned against them."

Renaud called on city council to remove the three Police officers involved in Chasse's death from active duty this morning, along with six other actions to restore public trust. "The majority of police officers are well trained, and do an excellent job," he said. "They do not make mistakes like these officers did."

"Our organization and thousands of people in Portland believe injustice has prevailed, that a fair hearing on what happened to James Chasse has not occurred," Renaud said to council this morning. "The final opportunity for intervention was a internal review of the officer's actions, and a decision whether those actions were within the policy of the police bureau. After three years the bureau distributed a press release citing reasons their review was late. A minor technicality was found, so minor punishment may occur."

"What's occurred is impunity," he continued. "The message delivered is a brutal beating and death of a person with a mental illness, even one with caregivers, friends, family, a home, a clean record, is acceptable within the Portland Police Bureau."

Renaud called on council this morning to:

1.Release the full internal investigation of what happened to James
Chasse - not a press release;
2. Move the three officers involved with the death of James Chasse -Humphreys, Nice and Burton - off patrol duty;
3. Make a goal to reducing the use of Tasers on persons with mental illness by 50% per year for the next five years;
4. Reopen the Chief's Forum;
5. Form a joint effort by local governments and local police bureaus with mental health advocates to seek full funding for mental health services from the state legislature;
6. Open a sincere, staffed and ongoing public meeting between police senior staff and persons with mental illness;
7. Release the Crisis Intervention Team curriculum to public inspection, release data about police encounters with persons with mental illness.

City Commissioner Amanda Fritz thanked Renaud for his remarks, apologizing for Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman's "scheduled absence." "I'll be working with our human relations and police and community relations committee to continue working on this," she said.

Update, October 1, 1:55pm

"We have had a public relations firm on retainer for years and years and years, we have just switched firms," says Westerman, responding to Renaud's comments about hiring a PR firm. "This is about contract negotiations, public relations, branding—trying to differentiate the PPA from the PPB, and media response."

Police Chief Rosie Sizer has released the findings of an internal review of the 2006 death of James Chasse—a man suffering with schizophrenia—this morning, finding barely any wrongdoing by her officers apart from Sergeant Kyle Nice, at the scene, who failed to follow the bureau's directives on transporting a subject to hospital in certain situations following Taser deployment.

Sizer and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman will now co-sign a letter ordering Nice suspended for an as-yet to be determined period of time. Nice will have the opportunity to appeal the suspension if he chooses. Saltzman had no comment on the findings this morning, but told the Mercury: "We certainly regret Mr.Chasse's death."

The bureau's use of force board found that:

The initiation and termination of the foot pursuit of Chasse did not violate any bureau policy and that the force used during the struggle to stop, control and handcuff Mr.Chasse was within policy. As soon as the officers observed Mr.Chasse showing signs of medical distress, officers called for paramedics. At the time Mr.Chasse was transported to jail, officers had been told by paramedics Mr.Chasse was medically stable. There is no evidence in any report or witness statement that caused members of the Use of Force Review Board to conclude that any officer at the scene knew or should have known that Mr.Chasse had suffered a serious physical injury.

The answer to the headline question appears to be "yes."

The final version may now be two and a half years late, following the release of a draft back in January, but Police Chief Rosie Sizer finally delivered her "plan to address racial profiling" to city council this morning. The mayor cited the President's recent "beer summit" on the issue at the White House as evidence that Portland is ahead of a national trend on discussing racial profiling. Afterward, Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman commended the chief for "taking this issue on." "It would be easy not to take it on," he said.

The chief wants to improve search procedures by identifying officers who don't do meaningless searches, and learn from their success. There has been training on delivery of services with professionalism and respect, there are new hiring goals, and rules on background checks, aimed at increasing the number of officers of color in the ranks. About 40 officers have attended a new training called "tools for tolerance," and there have been numerous community meetings, too. There will be an update "next winter," Sizer told council this morning.

There are areas of contention. Officers have been trained that by handing out business cards, they display accountability and increase community trust—although it's not mandatory, yet. To give you some idea of the bureaucracy around this issue, there was a 30-minute discussion this morning about whether officers should be required to give out business cards during every interaction with community members. Council ultimately forced Sizer to commit to this policy change within two weeks, but not without a fight—after two and a half years of focus on this issue.

Not even a year into his term, Sheriff Bob Skipper may have to step down as Multnomah County Sheriff. After twice failing the police certification test, he requested temporary certification to gain more time, which the state denied yesterday.

In the State Department of Public Safety Standards and Training’s (DPSST) letter to Skipper, Deputy Director Eriks Gabliks writes, “We have confirmed our initial discussion that DPSST does not have the authority to grant a temporary certification,” according to the Oregonian’s report.

State law requires all sheriffs to obtain police certification within one year of taking office, which, for Skipper, is November 5. The state legislature passed a custom bill for Skipper in June allowing the aging sheriff to bypass the 16-week boot camp required for entry-level officers and instead participate in a two-week officers’ training course. Skipper felt he did not need the basic training since he had served in the Sheriff’s Office for 34 years before retiring in the mid-nineties. Now it looks like he needed the training.

Skipper failed the certification exam twice this summer, meaning the only way to gain certification now is to attend the 16-week basic training. At this point, there is no way he can complete boot camp to receive certification before the November 5 deadline.

Should Skipper resign, Undersheriff Tom Slyter would become interim sheriff even though he, too, lacks the law enforcement certification. According to County Attorney Agnes Sowles, Slyter would serve until the county board sets a new elections date.

The Sheriff’s Office oversees corrections and detentions for all of Multnomah County and provides law enforcement services to unincorporated Multnomah County.

Skipper does not have a comment at this time, says the Sheriff’s Office’s spokesperson, Lt. Mary Lindstrand.

-Rachael Marcus

Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman plans to attend police roll call at Northeast Precinct this afternoon, to talk with police and gang outreach workers about this morning's shooting at the KC Food Market on North Killingsworth:

Cops arrived on the scene at 10:50 this morning to discover that a 21-year-old shooting victim had already been taken to the hospital by the people he knew. Police say the victim is at an area hospital recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.

It's been a month since Saltzman launched an aggressive outreach operation after seven shootings in a week.

"It's a shooting that has the potential for more gang violence," says Saltzman. "Especially when it appears uncertain if the victim is going to live."

"I am always saddened when a young person is shot for reasons I can't identify with at all," Saltzman continues. "Our goal, right now, is that we don't let it grow."

I mean, seriously? Seriously? It's a joke. Joke. Funny joke. Ha ha ha.

IT'S A JOKE. RIGHT?

Portland Police are using their Tasers almost twice 26 percent more against people with mental illness as they were in 2006 according to a new report. A use of force report released by the city in November 2006 showed only 26% of force used against people with mental illness was Taser use, but a new use of force released yesterday puts that statistic at 52%.

Update, 1:59pm: There were 110 Taser uses against people suffering with mental illness in the most current reporting reporting period, November 2007 to November 2008, and in a previous 12-month period between October 05-September 06 there were 87 uses of Tasers against people suffering with mental illness.

Original post:

"While officers appear to be using force on fewer mentally ill suspects overall," reads the report, "reported Taser use on this population is up...Additional analysis would be needed to evaluate the possible causes of data fluctuations in this area."

The report said understanding those fluctuations would be beyond its scope. You can download the whole thing here.

"Without raw numbers, it is hard to compare one-on-one," says Portland copwatch activist Dan Handelman. "But the report explicitly states that Taser use is up against those identified as having mental illness."

That data has mental health advocates concerned.

"Having a Taser pointed is a particularly traumatizing experience for someone with a mental illness," says Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Association of Portland. "The person may not be able to respond to a police officer appropriately."

The police bureau introduced new Crisis Intervention Training for its officers in dealing with people suffering from mental illness following the death in police custody of James Chasse, a man suffering from schizophrenia, in 2006. But while the bureau says it has now trained all its officers, mental health advocates are concerned that there is no way to measure the success of that training.

"There's concern that the CIT is not sufficient," says Renaud. "There's still no measurable evidence of the success of this program."

Numbers released last year also showed cops using a disproportionate amount of force against African Americans—a trend that continues in the latest report. You can read my article about Taser use here in Portland written last November by clicking here.

The report is not all bad news. It shows a drop in most uses of force by cops between November 5, 2007 to November 4, 2008:

Complaints about uses of force are down 58% since 2004, from 118 to 50.

A police bureau spokesperson is yet to return a call for comment, but Police Chief Rosie Sizer is scheduled to present the report to the city's Citizen Review Committee this afternoon at 5:30, at city hall. Hopefully the chief will announce plans to probe this issue further.

Update, 2:07pm:

"In July 2006 Officer Paul Ware who was then in charge of the police bureau's crisis intervention program came to a citizen forum and told the group that yeah, sure, we'll talk to them for thirty minutes but if they're not complying then we'll just Taser them," says Copwatch's Handelman. "I wonder if that's what's happening here. But it's also possible that officers are better trained to recognize mental illness and are reporting it more."

Handelman would like to see more research done into the reasons behind the increase.

Handelman is also extremely concerned about police apparently using the Taser as a compliance tool. Tasers were used 61 times against people who "failed to comply," and 18 times where no resistance was indicated on the use of force form.

"For the benefit of the doubt, it could be that the officer did not write down the amount of resistance used," says Handelman. "But it also could be that there was no resistance."