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Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer has been in the spotlight lately over the shooting of Aaron Campbell, but there's a lot more on the Chief's plate than this one incident. She's been focused on difficult issues such as police use of force and racial profiling since she took office in 2006 and she's seen a lot in her career with the Bureau, which spans a quarter of a century.
She's not the first female chief Portland has seen, but she is the first in recent memory and perhaps the only one to admit publicly (and proudly) that she's been called "the B-word" more times than she can count.
What would you like to hear from Chief Sizer?
GUESTS:
- Rosie Sizer: Chief of Portland Police
Tagged as: police · portland · shooting
Photo credit: Portland Police Bureau
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I believe Chief Sizer has done a remarkable job of improving the responsiveness of the Portland Police Bureau during her tenure at the top. Nevertheless, she stills faces considerable resistance to reform within her organization at almost every level. As a Portland resident, I am concerned with the apparent disconnect between the values of police officers and those of the community they police.
The Portland Police Bureau's hiring process has been cited by some people within the agency as a bottleneck. Efforts to streamline the recruitment and vetting process while promoting diversity have emphasized efforts to weed out unsuitable candidates. What assurances can Chief Sizer or Commissioner Saltzman give that the bureau's hiring practices are attracting the "right" candidates as opposed to simply excluding the "wrong" candidates? How does the bureau's hiring process assess the values of candidates and align those with the bureau's values and those of Portland residents, especially as they relate to promoting justice as opposed to simply ensuring integrity and encouraging loyalty?
In the face of evidence that the values of many police officers are inconsistent with those of the communities they police, can Chief Sizer or Commissioner Saltzman advise what percentage of Portland officers live in the city? Do Chief Sizer or Commissioner Saltzman believe requiring officers (at least new hires) to live in the city would improve sensitivity to the concerns of city residents or encourage public accountability? If not, why not?
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Thanks for posing both of my questions to Chief Sizer. Although I was disappointed with her responses, I appreciated hearing answers from her directly.
Portland police officers are better paid than the average Portlander. They have stressful jobs, but considerably more job security and better benefits than most workers, especially when it comes to retirement security.
I am not prepared to applaud police for shooting fewer people or using force less frequently, particularly when the evidence suggests they use force too frequently. Interpreting noncompliance as a threat to officers suggests a propensity to overreact. Failure to curb this conduct suggests it is not only condoned but encouraged.
The chief's conclusion that a small minority of officers live in the city because they want to escape the stress of their jobs and avoid off-duty confrontations with citizens suggests they fear the people they police. Maybe they should. Both sides have ratcheted up their responses to one another in recent years, which is producing fewer and fewer opportunities for positive, constructive interactions.
When I tuned in, I was favorably impressed with Chief Sizer. After this interview, I am reconsidering that position. After hearing her spend most of the hour making excuses for her officers rather than confronting the very real issues affecting public confidence in her officers, I am more convinced than ever that Portland Police Bureau needs comprehensive reform. Sadly, I don't think Chief Sizer is still up to the job.
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I, too, am disappointed by Chief Sizer's responses, which sound like bureaucratic backpedaling.
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I would like to know why Portland police in these situations always shoot to kill. Why not shoot to disable (for example, by shooting the presumed "bad guy" in an arm, leg, hand, or foot? If these men and women are highly skilled marksmen, I don't see why this would be a problem.
I would hope that Chief Sizer will consider this a top priority question to ask herself as she tries to improve police responses to requests for help.
In my own case, while I appreciate all the good things the police do, I -- who am white -- would hesitate to call the police if, for example, someone broke into my house. I fear things would get out of hand and somebody would be killed -- perhaps me. It's happened before, and if the policy on firearms use doesn't change, it could happen again.
Many years ago, when I lived in Norway, the police didn't carry guns, and they seemed to do a fine job of protecting the public. It's naive to think that could happen now, but it would be a good exercise to consider what -- besides guns -- could be used to diffuse dangerous situations.
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To see a situation in which a police officer waited too long to shoot, go to www.ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com/2010/01/18/ignatius-piazza-stop-screaming-start-shooting/#video. I am not writing in support of nor against the Portland Police Situation. I think I need more information. I do see this video as very chilling, and informative for me. Perhaps it will be for others as well.
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I am a regular protester of Nicholas Ungár Furs. In July I (along with three others) was served a restraining order from the owner, Horst Grimm.
When I attended my first court date regarding this restraining order, Mr. Grimm was personally escorted by Detective J.A. Luiz to Clackamas County Circuit Court. Luiz apparently had been instructed to find something that would quiet our protest (since no laws have been broken), so he tipped Mr. Grimm off to the Elderly Abuse Prevention Act. He then proceeded to conduct investigations into our lives to access personal information and then leaked it to Horst Grimm. At this point Grimm could have filed for restraining orders himself, but instead he had Detective Luiz do it for him. Ironically, Grimm signed the orders guaranteeing that he filled them out himself and and without assistance or a guardian. If that wasn't enough paid assistance on the part of Detective Luiz, he even offered (to no avail) to illegally represent Mr. Grimm in court (without a license). Our lawyer learned from Luiz that he was currently on duty (thus getting paid).
Even though no arrests have been made (excepting one where all charges were dropped), we routinely encounter police harassment in the form of threats, lies, and surveillance. If we did not keep and updated copy of the Portland Police Manual of Policy and Procedure, we would have experienced far worse. I personally have been threatened with arrest over things as ludicrous as not giving my name or refusing to speak (violation of Fifth Amendment rights) and chanting too loud (violation of First Amendment rights).
The latest and most disturbing news comes in the form of surveillance. Last week, protesters were informed that the police had installed a hidden camera across the street from Nicholas Ungár Furs in order to monitor protest activity. More can be read and video and photos of the camera can be found at these links: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/02/397425.shtml, http://media.portland.indymedia.org/media/2010/02/397446.mov
With the obvious budget problems that the PPB is experiencing, how can Chief Sizer justify this waste of money? How can so much time, paperwork, and money be wasted on animal rights activists? What about the repercussions for constitutional rights? This seems like an obvious case of political repression that the PPB has a facilitating hand in.
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I purposely go into fur stores when there are 'protesters' outside, even though I would probably never buy fur, just because the idea of the protest seems so hysterical and, well, oddly offensive. It is kind of sad, because it definitely makes people not care. With steak houses on every corner---the hipster-gourmand return to game, and high-brow meats with low-brow preparations. But, oh no, to fur! Let's shut the Schumacher's down. Meanwhile everyone in the city seems to be eating more and more meat. I am not surprised you are repeatedly surveilled---you are an aesthetic (and perhaps other kinds of) nuisance. You certainly have a right to be a nuisance, but, I suppose, so do the police and the business owners.
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Portland police officer Thomas Brennan reported his concerns about the behavior of his sergeant to the precint commander and was effectively disciplined for speaking out. His concern was for the safety of the public. Does the Police Bureau demand loyalty to the organization or can a whistle blower speak out without retaliation?
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A whole lot of questions for Chief Sizer:
-- Has Chief Sizer asked Sgt. Liani Reyna and Capt. Bob Day why they didn't call SERT officers to the apartment complex where Aaron Campbell was shot?
-- When is it standard procedure to call SERT to a hostage/standoff situation? When are officers expected to handle an armed suspect in a building without calling SERT?
-- Does Sizer think Sgt. Reyna should have testified before the Grand Jury to give a fuller account of her decisions at the scene? Why wouldn't the officer in charge of a deadly standoff scene be called to testify?
-- In Chief Sizer's experience, how often does firing a bean bag round at a mentally unstable subject result in compliance, and how often does a bean bag lead to an escalation of the sitution?
-- Outside of her experience, is there any research demonstrating which less-lethal methods are most effective gaining compliance with mentally unstable suspects?
-- Is it standard procedure for a "lethal force" officer (Ron Frashour in this case) to not be in communication with a negotiator and commander at the scene of a standoff?
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I would like Chief Sizer to talk about the problem with the culture of the Portland Police Dept and how she is going to turn around the noisy faction of paranoid, defensive and psychologically ignorant staff (whom I know do not speak for the whole dept).
Also, what programs is she open to for combining mental health and policing.
Lastly, please comment on stronger sanctions, evaluations and follow up on acting out police officers.
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A shoplifter stealing to feed a hungry family has graver consequences than a cop killing an unarmed, non-threatening fellow human being. It has happened again and again and again. It is stunning how much the citizens have put up with. Someday this all will change.
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I would love an explanation of what happened AFTER Aaron Campbell was shot. It is my understanding that he didn't die right away, but Ican find litle information about what actaully happened.
Also, I second the question about shooting to kill. If someone has a gun, isn't shooting him in the shoulder a more reasonable goal?
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The problem police response has been the escalation of tension when police respond to calls. A generation ago police officer used power of persuasion to deescalate a situation. Today. police\department roll out every avalable care and the swat team when a gentel calmijng voice can diffuse thesituation.
There is to much firepower when alternative solutions that could be found. The shooting of the mentally distraught women with a knife at the US Bank tower several years ago is an example. Instead of shooting her disarming her could have been easily accomplised with barriers such as plexiglass or even a mattress.
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Exactly. The 'band of brothers' attitude that works so well for the military is what's endangering every citizen. The entire police culture shows that it's become an 'us and them' job to be a police officer. You can hear it in almost every comment of Ms Sizer. What needs to be brought back is the police being part of the community, not policing the community.
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Yes! When did it become okay for our police to become paramilitary militias who fear their own populace? When will PPB become less defensive about their own roles in this terrible turn of events, and perhaps "relax" again into the constabulary force we trust to keep us and our neighbors safe?
PPB, as it is right now, is very scary to ordinary citizens.
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Why did they not wait and see how the dog handled the suspect before using lethal force? A dog could attack the man even if he had "hard cover." Our expectation is that police will use non-lethal force before resorting to killing someone.
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We see the same officers in high profile use of force and involved in lawsuits again and again. What are you doing to monitor officer's behavior? Why has it taken so long to implement the early warning system? Is the union a barrier?
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Come on, Sizer! The police are supposed to be very highly trained professionals. Citizens have the full right to expect conduct of a very high standard. We pay them to take risk and mitigate threats with every possible means before they blow them away with lethal force.
We have still not gone beyond "smoke'm, don't choke'm." Have we?
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What trainging is required to be a portland cop. Also what on going training is required?
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Police union spokesman Sgt. Scott Westerman has claimed officers are trained, in essence, "once you see the gun, it's too late." Officer Ron Frashour testified as much to the Grand Jury, telling jurors he fired his AR-15 because he believed Aaron Campbell was reaching for a weapon.
First, Sgt. Westerman's summary an accurate portrayal of deadly force training and policy?
Second, under that training, is a police officer justified in shooting anyone they legitimately believe to have a firearm?
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This is so ridiculous! So we need to lower our expections as a community and the police need more training to be able to coordinate an operation. Come on Emily, ask some tough questions for once!
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Amen. Come on TOL. You have been on a roll with great shows, don't back down. I know the PDX police will harass Emily and Dave if they ask the tough questions, but take one for the team!
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I think that the police department suffers from a lack of customer service. While it sounds strange at first if you think about it, the people who the police are dealing with every day are their customers. From my (good) interactions with the police I am often struck at how despondent and disinterested the police officer seems to be in whatever I am talking about. If the police interacted with people the way business professionals are expected to every day it is possible that there would not be such a divide in people who feel that the police are there to help them and those who feel that the police are out to get them. While this seems like a small aspect of the issue I think it could act as the seed that then expands into the great divide between some of the public and the police that we see today.
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does chief sizer think, based on her comments about the increasing number of firearms in the hands of citizens, that we would all be safer with stricter gun control laws.
mary
portland
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While I believe that it is approprate to expect of the Police that they make every effort to eliminate from their ranks beligerant, unprofessional, or racially biased officers and they must have a Zero Tolerance for this behavior.
Having said this, as the community raises these expectations of the officers and the police force, it is incombent on the "community" to be self correcting as well. It is the community responsibility to conduct parenting and education such that the members of the community do not have "rap" sheets nor threaten others with guns.
When the police respond to situations involving individuals with "rap sheets" or "use of gun" threats, it is unreasonable to believe that they do not enter these situations with a much higher level of tension. This increases the probability of unexpected or unacceptable results.
The responsibility to reduce these chances rest with BOTH the Force and the "Community". We should expect reaction plans and improvement strategies from BOTH groups.
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I don't buy the argument about assault rifles, and the statistics do not bear that argument out. Saying handguns were probably cheap and inaccurate...or even less prevalent...in the 70's is, at best, weak and, at worst, most likely not true.
The facts are: policing has become a commuter job, the police are most concerned with their own safety (as Sizer constantly refers to 'officer safety'), and officers are absurdly better armed than any criminal they will most likely ever encounter.
Those three things are really starting to come to a head.
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I'm a retired PPD officer and Detective and I just want to tell Chief Sizer that I am very proud of her and the job she is doing. She is a terrific leader and asset to the Bureau and the city. Hi Rosie. Marilyn Schulz
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I think it is people's nature to dislike their police force.
I have had very positive experiences with Portland Police. So much so that I brag about them when I visit friends and family in Texas and Washington.
They have a tough job, putting their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. They deserve our support and a raise.
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Dave Miller - come on man, ask the Chief some of the questions being asked on here. Don't chicken out, ask the tough questions.
What is she doing about the overwhelming perception in the community that Portland Police are bullies and brutes and return them back to public servants rather than militaristic egomaniacs?
How does the Chief feel about officers need to be held to a HIGHER standard?
When will she stop denying and start addressing it isn't the bad apples, it is the majority of the force?
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For Chief Rosie Sizer:
Three years to release the James Chasse Jr report?
The connecting thread concerning the Stevenson choking death (Off Barbour); the death of Gwerder (Off Besner- the million dollar man), James Chasse (Sgt Nice and Off Humphrey) and now Campbell Off Frashour): the unconscionable delay or avoidance of getting on scene CPR, First Aid, Emergency Care to the dying individuals while officers sit around for critical periods of time/ Comment?
Sometimes the Police Chief and the Police Commissioner have to fire an Officer for doing wrong even though they not THEY WILL LOSE IN ARBITRATION. Sometimes you have to seize the higher ethical gound to send a clear message to the community, the union and the offending cops.
Do you ever want to take on the union?
Comment: Has the PPA ever lost a case in arbitration? What do you think about that?
When are you retiring?
St grippen
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It seems like the Aaron Campbell situation spiraled out of control. Officers had tactical superiority - the suspect was under the crosshairs of a sniper. How "specifically" would additional training prevented the Aaron Campbell outcome.
Is there no policy now that establishes an Office in Charge at an "event"who is responsible for making shoot/no-shoot decision in a rapidly changing situation.
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Comparing 10-20 years ago to today as some callers have done, does Chief Sizer know what the ratio of officers to members of the public now as compared to then. Because I think part of the problem is how few officers there are to deal with many more people, and a different mix of people, now.
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I think that police officers fear the community....in particular communities of color. They react out of fear sometimes. What does the Chief think?
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As someone who used to investigate officer-involved shootings for the City of Portland in their Risk Management Department, one of the things that struck me in some of the articles about this case is that instead of briefing the the officers who were on the scene with the K-9, Beanbag and AR-15, the Sgt. on the scene told the primary officer talking to the subject to order him out and then went around the corner to brief a Lt. and Captain on the scene. The officers were completely surprised when the subject came out of the apartment and didn't know he had been texting and talking to the primary officer and it seemed a positive connection had been made. Also, why wasn't that Sgt. asked to speak to the Grand Jury?
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I’d like to start with a great big Thank You to every person in the Portland Police Department for all the work they do.
I've lived in cities (larger and smaller than PDX) in states across the US. Since living in Portland, My husband and I have been pleasantly surprised by the courteous and professional behavior of the officers in this city. I think that it might be easy for people who haven’t dealt with other police departments in other parts of the country to expect an unrealistic level of perfection in a truly difficult job. I suppose it is all relative.
As a person who moved here from the Phoenix area of Arizona, I can’t tell you how happy I am to live here now. I often brag about the great job done by the PDX department to friends and family not lucky enough to live here, and I warn younger friends going to college elsewhere to be aware that not all police are Portland police. The very fact that the Police Chief is on this program and taking questions is just another example of how much better we have it here in PDX.
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I'm involved in the documentary Alien Boy, and we've interviewed several eyewitnesses to the interaction between police and James Chasse on Sept. 17, 2006. The eyewitnesses accounts are horrific, describing "haymakers", "kicks to the head" and Mr. Chasse being handled like a "shot deer" and "thrown into the back of a police car". Also, the eyewitnesses uniformly articulated that Mr. Chasse was obviously mentally ill and should have been approached with care, but that the officers escalated the situation. Can you, as police chief, respond to what every eyewitness we interviewed described as an excessive use of force by the officers involved?
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Does Ms. Sizer believe race played a role in the shooting of Mr. Campbell? Does Ms. Sizer believe the public response to the shooting is valid, or commensurate with the events? Or is the public overreacting and 'jumping the gun' because race could potentially be a factor? Or is the public misunderstanding some key, perhaps esoteric, element to police work in general?
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Its nice to hear Chief Sizer on TOL speaking intelligently to issues of policing. I worry, however, that she is speaking to the wrong issues and I wonder if the PPB leadership is so out of touch with its organizational culture that they are unable to really listen and hear their community. Many complaints surround dissatisfaction with the police-citizen encounter- poor customer service.
The problem begins with the culture, which begins with the leadership at all levels, particularly from the executive board room. I do think Sizer is demonstrating bad form by using the recent death of a community member as an opportunity to sell a training facility.
I am saddened that one of the most liberal and progressive communities in the nation are at such odds with its police force. This needs to change, and it won't change until PPB leadership, City Council, The Mayor, and the community demand, seek, and achieve cultural change within the organization. The individual officers have the capacity (with few exceptions as in any organization) to perform to the expectations that their leadership sets.
Use of Force training and policy isn't the key issue. Recruiting isn't the key issue. Community building through strong leadership of necessary cultural change (how the officers interact with their citizens, how they are trained to communicate and resolve problems, their willingess to help people and 'broker' other social services when the matter at hand isn't an 'enforcement' matter).
I can recall several interactions with PPB officers who demonstrated unacceptable customer service; I even complained once and got the standard dismissal from the on duty sergeant (even when I advised that I was an off duty police officer...a supervisor at that).
There needs to be significant organizational change...it seems that we are going to hear rhetorical discussions of things that are secondary and tertiary to the real problem.
Policing is an honorable profession; its unfortunate that the leadership of PPB doesn't honor its people and lead appropriate change.
Peace.
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Wonderful post, and I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for taking the time to write.
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I wonder whose life is worth more, a police officer's or an ordinary citizen's? My brother and his wife have been police officers for more than twenty years. He believes that his trust requires that he give his own life before an innocent life is taken, and he has many decorations for NOT using deadly force in situations where he had the legal, reasonable right to kill. A human's life should be protected by more than a "reasonable" decision.
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"She's not the first female chief Portland has seen, but she is the first in recent memory and perhaps the only one to admit publicly (and proudly) that she's been called "the B-word" more times than she can count."
Well, if you consider the origin of that word as applying to a protective mother dog, that can be a good thing.
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Untill we have real community policing, officers who know the neighborhoods, the people who live in it and actually live in the community they server, we will always have officers over reacting. I wonder what is the percentage of Portland officers who actually live in Portland. Hire people who live in the city they want to server. Teachers and police officers are 2 professions that need to be closely linked to their communities.
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Can you give any examples of police officers that have been fired due to mis conduct? It appears that officers are fireproof. The city pays judgements or settles cases and their are no consequences for the officers involved. Do you have any examples that prove otherwise?
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Police officers in general are becoming more and more distanced from the community. As long as people such as Ms Sizer are guiding it will only get worse. No matter what you feel about her job performance, that's not the issue - You can lead beautifully, but if you're marching down the wrong road you're only getting farther from where you need to be. Every single comment she makes is framed in 'the police vs. the community'. Get someone in that chair that says 'the community'.
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It seems that bad communication at the scene was a big factor in this case. And she said their #1 job is communication. Have you asked the Chief yet about coordination of the various police units (e.g. negotiator, beanbag shooter, SWAT, rifle, etc.) at a crime scene? Is there supposed to be a coordinator when more than one unit is present? How is that person chosen at a site? Who was that person at the Aaron Campbell scene? If a person was not chosen at the site, and there was no one responsible for that job of coordination at this site - why not? If there was, they seem to have failed in their job. Shouldn't they be fired? If there is not a blanket provision for a site coordinator why not - how can that be?
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I wonder how many officers are politically Conservatives?
I ask that because in my experience of talking with conservatives personally and on the old TOTN and WHYS, they all have a very negative attitude towards people. Every time someone is accused of anything, the conservatives want to kill, punish, torture, or do something bad to the accused without hearing their side. Instead of innocent until proven guilty, Conservatives treat them as guilty until proven innocent. They bring out the worst in people.
And that is not a good attitude for dealing with the public, to bring to a problem situation.
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Would more community outreach, where citizens could learn about the training officers receieve (and under what circumstances they will use deadly force), help prevent these sorts of situations? Maybe officers could go to community centers and schools, and talk to young adults about what kinds of behaviors escalate or de-escalate the use of force when enteracting w/ the police. Would this help?
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You guys went an entire hour without asking one of the tough questions posted on your site. Way to go! You've proven to be the most softball news program in the world.
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I would love it if Chief Sizer could come back for another hour on TOL. I am disturbed by the rank politicality of her answers, practically evading the point of many of these questions with long, drawn-out, carefully worded answers. It seems that when she doesn't have a "canned" answer, she gets snotty and defensive with the show's hosts.
I think the show's hosts have been utterly reasonable in their questioning, trying to pin down this very slippery customer to meaningful answers. Chief Sizer gets pretty snippy when they do this.
Could the Chief come back when she wants to speak to her hosts and her audience in a genuine manner?
I think the Chief has gone well beyond the "B-word" and into politically-drenched snottiness. No public servant has the right to go there, male or female. (FWIW, I'm a single white woman.) Let her come back when she's ready to say more than, "We're doing the best we can," "Police officers experience a lot of stress," and "I've already answered that, but I'll deign to repeat it here for you."
Personally, I'm scared to death of Portland Police. I have an "invisible" disability that makes me unable to stand still for more than a few minutes without extreme health consequences. If I ever get stopped by a Portland cop, I'm going to be freaking out because he may take my necessary sitting or leaning as "going against orders" and decide shoot my sorry posterior.
Chief Sizer hasn't made me feel any safer, thanks. :P
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Given the police "work" for the public, there needs to be an independent civilian police review board to investigate complaints and use of force and discipline officers found guilty of violating civil and constitutional rights.
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this is the best idea I have heard in a long time. How do we get one started in Oregon?
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How do union police depts fatalities compare with non union ?
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Let's have some tougher questions Emily and Dave! The issues are being softballed!
It's the officer culture that is a problem. Officers routinely LIE and face minor consequences. For example, you were repremanded in 2002 for lying and covering up for fellow officers in 2002 in the assault of citizen James Ladd.
They falsify official reports to justify an arrest after the fact when the real purpose of the arrest was to punish anyone did not display deference to their oversized egos.
Frashour (*shooter of Aaron Campbell) was not honest when he said that he Tasered a citizen who was videotaping police because he thought his camera could be used as a weapon. "Contempt of cop" is brutally enforced with little consequences for the officers.
What are you willing to do to weed out the bad cops who continue to damage the reputation of the PPB?
http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/PPR31/Updates31.html#beating
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First--we need to disarm society. If there were less hand-guns, semi-automatic weapons, & so forth--the police could be less defensive . . . When the police are living in a gun-oriented society--they feel forced to be gun oriented themselves. We need to take responsibility for the kind of society we are living in. Time for gun-control, handgun control, let's get rid of free access to semi-automatics, let's get real!
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Yes, definitely! I was thinking about that. What else can we expect---this is the price we pay for not controlling guns. There will always be some collateral damage to a society that is unwilling to police itself.
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BS. When Australia tried this guess what happened? Yup, the criminals became even better armed and the murder rate went up significantly when only criminals had guns. Think about this for just a second. There are already laws against drinking and driving. Tell me, do you think because it is against the law, there are 0 people in the state of Oregon who drive after having alcohol? So a law against firearms would be sucessful how? Not to mention then only the police (and criminals) will have firearms. After what you just heard on the radio, do you really want that!?
Never mind that the Supreme Court of the United States interpreted the Constitution of the USA to provide the right to keep and bear arms - even against it's own government and police force. Keep in mind, that is exactly how our country was born.
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@ echolynch
http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp
Fundamentally, I think people should be allowed to own guns. If the government and the criminals have all the guns, the power of the citizenry is marginalized. I think that argument stands on its own without distorted stories about Australia.
To everyone else...
I have this nagging feeling that criminals are reacting to police, not the other way around. The number of criminals carrying assault rifles is extremely small. The number of police carrying AR-15s is overwhelmingly large. Not to mention the insanely overwhelming superiority of a SWAT team in both armament and training.
Just seeing a police officer in military clothing agitates me, your average white, law-abiding citizen. I can't imagine being confronted by SWAT.
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to, two peas, separate pods,
Today, it is irrelevant, except as a fact of history, on why or what our country was founded. Romanticizing and examining our beginning is a sentimental waste of time. Not everything our founding fathers did was correct---they were also humans like everyone else. We don't need gods and traditions, to figure out how to live life, and rule the country, now. Our repeated fascination and focus on this past is an uninspired and fruitless journey.
I don't think anyone said anything about taking the guns away from the Police, or at least not right away. Unfortunately, a gun is different from the example, the comparison to drinking and driving. People drive. People drink. It is the combination of the two that becomes a problem. Guns are inherently a problem without any combination. They have one function, and one function alone. They are not necessary except for that one function (unless perhaps you are a hunter). But even that function is one of harm. Even if used as protection, it is still protection via harm. It is not protection, like the protection of bulletproof glass---which could only be seen as protection or a defense. A gun is an offense, never a defense. Of course you could make a half-baked case of a deterrent, which no one, could possibly believe with any seriousness.
There are much greater concerns over the power of the citizenry being marginalized, then via a lack of access to guns. If that was our only reason, or even one reason, for allowing citizens to own guns, then certainly they would need something more powerful, like an atomic bomb, to really be protected against government marginalization. I guess if our violent reaction is allegedly induced, by our perceived aggressiveness, or militarism, of the police, then I can only imagine it would work the other way around, creating a vicious cycle. Gun-toting public, versus, gun-toting police. Yes, it certainly makes sense why the police appear to get ever more aggressive, and then the public responds in-kind. The chicken? The egg? Nope. The gun. The gun.
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I guess if our violent reaction is allegedly induced, by our perceived aggressiveness, or militarism, of the police, then I can only imagine it would work the other way around, creating a vicious cycle. Gun-toting public, versus, gun-toting police.
Where is that obvious, though?
Think of all the changes in the police force. SWAT is no longer the only section of police departments that receives military training. I was stopped for speeding in Florida by an officer in urban fatigues. Officers are carrying assault rifles in their trunks. This is not perceived. This is direct knowledge from officers I knew in Florida. You can even search for advaced tactics training courses for police on the Internet.
Now, how much has really changed in terms of the threats officers face on a day to day basis? Handgun ownership has held steady around 20-25% of households in the last 30 years while long gun (assault and normal rifles, shotguns, etc.) ownership has dropped from 42% to 29%. Though I couldn't find statistics, I would intuitively guess the overall historical per capita gun ownership has been decreasing steadily since, beyond the abstract idea that we might have to overthrow the government and the irrational idea that a rapist is around every corner and a gun unconditionally protects from said rapists, guns have a decreasing relevance in everyday life.
So where is the mutual arms race? What are the police reacting to? Aside from feeling like I live in a police state when I see an officer that blurs the line between military and police, I think those questions fuel my agitation with police because the answer is always some vague threat like gangs that have a myriad of other solutions and are irrelevant to most police officers anyway.
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I know the world would be a better place without guns. But what difference would a gun ban make? The U.K. is highly restrictive (believed to be the most restrictive in the world) on guns yet their violent crime rate per capita is 5x ours and they are more of a police and surveillance state than we are.
I am not implying causation like the nutjobs at the NRA would, but it is certainly not a forgone conclusion that disarming the citizenry is a first step toward making the police more polite and our country safer than it already is.
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Chief Sizer,
Policing is not a job. It's not something you live away from. It's public service. Your duty as a public servant is to walk in front of a bullet for a citizen if you have to. You can't have that level of dedication to public service if you think of yourself as a company (refer to your 'customer service' comments), focus on officer safety, allow your officers to live in the suburbs.
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One thing we never hear in these "debates" is any mention of "community" responsibility. Perhaps if there was just a City of Portland Community instead of a racial balkanized "community" we would find some citizen responsibility for the situation. Maybe we all ought to stop taking mind altering drugs, using guns to settle our differences and problems the police would have a reason to be more trustfull of the population. I don't blame the police for the crimes and violence committed by the population on itself. Who would like to be in a job with little respect from the poplulation and in a job in which you are a target?
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Yes, the police need training and need to be sharp. But members of the public need to learn to obey police commands. Negative incidents would be fewer if people simply obeyed the commands (and, of course, followed the law in the first place).
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Do you have children, or pets? How do you respond to commands when you are freaked out and overpowered? This is a very naive comment.
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yeah that worked real well for James Chasse. Or PDXlover, when your brother, sister, father or mother dies, let the cops surround your home with AR 15's and Remington 800's and see how well you do, on the DAY your family member passed.
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I am a former PPB officer. I was fired while still in my probationary period, about to go "phase 5" (where new officers are alone in their own car for the first time). At the hearing that is held by the training division when a young officer like myself is in the process of being fired, I was told by the Leutenant that I "lacked the due dilligance necessary to do the job well". What that really meant was that I was not aggressive enough for a couple of my coaches. I am a "typical" Portlander- young, educated, liberal. No one I knew was able to understand why I wanted to become a cop, but I felt like we're all really good at complaining about how cops do their jobs, but none of us are willing to step up and try and do it better. I was told throughout the hiring and training process by my background investigator and numerous academy teachers that policing is great because you can really do the job however you want. That you have an incredible amount of "discretion". I was naive in believing this, because when I got out on the street I found quickly that my coaches expected aggression and valued "going hands on" (meaning using physical force to control) over verbal communication.
On a suicidal call where a woman had slit her writs, my coach became visibly irritated with me for "taking too long" with her. I was trying to convince her to go with the EMT's to the hospital without being forced to go in restraints. I tried to reason with her for about 20 minutes before we were forced to go hands on and carry her out screaming and strapped to a board. My coach gave me a bad review for the day, "unacceptable" is the word used, because I'd spent too much time with her. He'd wanted me to go hands on as soon as we saw her so we could hand her over to the EMT's right away and be done with the call.
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Thank you Portland Jesse for having the courage to disclose this incident. This is exactly what I am talking about, the disconnect between what is good for the public and what is good for police bureaucracy and preserving their "tough guy" culture.
It is very, very troubling especially as I am a mental health professional and know exactly what damage was done to the woman that night. Bless you for showing compassion.
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This was a very disappointing interview with the interviewers hardly asking the really tough questions.
The Chief sounds overwhelmed, anxious and not at all up to the job. I was particularly concerned with her comments on education. People go to school for four years to learn how to think and use higher brain function not just for "facts".
We suffer from a vastly undereducated police force and what sounds like a burnt out Chief.
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One of the only times my coach appeared happy with my performance was when I tased a guy one night that my coach and my seargent were about to shoot because he was involved in a domestice violence incident and wouldn't show us his hands. My coach later told me he was about 1 second away from shooting the guy when I tased him instead. I suspect he was just relieved becuase it would have looked bad- the suspect turned out to be unarmed.
My point is, the police bureau keeps saying "diversity diversity diversity" as a recruiting goal. But when people are hired who don't actually fit the mold, they are shown the door real quick. I am 5'2" and a woman, so it was safer and wiser for me to try to verbally control people over physically. But that wasn't appreciated, or respected in the bureau. There are some sayings in police culture: "kick ass and take names" and "cuff 'm and stuff 'm". These are the sayings behind closed doors, while the top-level brass like Chief Sizer are naively trying to promote "community policing". Diversity needs to be more than skin color. Hiring more black people, Hispanics, and women won't help the culture of the police bureau change to reflect our community if none of them think like this community. What the police bureau needs to do is change the way the training division functions. I believe I was let go not because I lacked any diligence, but because I think in a different way than most new hires. Getting into fights, making lots of arrests, and getting to use all the tools on my "bat belt" was not as rewarding for me as taking the time to write a really detailed report for a rape victim or talking a suspect into cooperating rather than forcing them. It's easy when you're in uniform to feel entitled to the power you're given. I caught myself feeling that way a few times. But I kept my ego in check, and because of that I stood out, and was shown the door while I was still on probation and lacked the union protection that officers gain when they get off probation.
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Poppy'cock ; after listening to Sizer it is ez to understand just how deeply the dishonesty of " our " police is excepted by the public ... three weeks or so ago there was a frount page artical in the Eugene Weekly discusing the legial stance of police who lie both at work on patrol and in the courts and that there is not much that can be done about it ... personaly having been involve with the police and the courts I know well the depth of dishonesty of both ... Ya see the; " feds pay " them for all bust real or made up that they can force on the public , it is big money . hence all they want/requre is ple' or conviction having no care as to truth or honest just - US ... Is a public defender your friend or for that matter how deep in bed / debt is you at'torney to the court ... Review boards are intimadated by police and courts and can do nothing ..... We the people have gladly given our rights away ... So check out the weekly ; will open our eyes some ... and research : oregontrakers.com ... thankfuly I am old and will no be living all that much longer ; but ; many of you will .... 1984 ?
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I want to say that it has reached the point where it appears unwise to call the police in the event of some minor disturbance because of the increased risk of a violent outcome. In particular, as regards the mentally ill, family members, neighbors, teachers, health care workers and so forth seem able to adapt to their odd behavior and find effective, non-violent means of dealing with them. On the other hand, police seem to be trained and conditioned to use deadly force on the "non-compliant" mentally ill person if any threat whatsoever is perceived. This makes almost any other category of citizen more likely to be helpful in resolving difficult situations involving the mentally ill in a satisfactory fashion. The professional training of police - coupled with typical department policies - seems to have diminished their effectiveness as problem-solvers and has the population seeking different means of achieving "public safety."
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While this is an ongoing, unfortunate problem within the police force, I think that Chief Sizer has done a decent job handling the situation. The details of Aaron Campbell's case are both shocking and terrible and leave me feeling very unsafe as a citizen. I hope that with continued discussion of this important issue it will ultimately be resolved.
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PortlandJesse: Thank you for taking the time to articulate your experience. I'm a middle-aged, educated, liberal, caucasian woman and your experience demonstrates precisely what I feel is wrong with the PPB, and with American policing in general.
I've had a generally favorable opinion of Chief Sizer but I was pretty disappointed in the overall tone of her responses. Yes, the fact that the use of lethal force has decreased is indeed a good thing. But one key factor that distinguishes a successful customer service organization from all the others is the recognition that a mistreated customer isn't, and shouldn't be, concerned about how well every other customer is treated. And in the case of Aaron Campbell, I'm sure his family and friends place absolutely no value on the number of people who were involved in police encounters that didn't result the use of deadly force.
I was particularly offended by Chief Sizer's comments regarding her need to delay her evaluation of the circumstances surrounding Aaron Campbell's death until the internal investigation has been completed. I have no idea whether grand jury testimony in deadly force cases is normally released to the chief or not. But in this case, the testimony has been made public. And because it has been I can tell you that after reading most of it (I have a few more pages left to go), there are more than enough details available for her to make an informed evaluation of what could and should have been done differently.
I'm heartened by the fact that the grand jury in the Aaron Campbell case had the nerve and the foresight to make their criticisms known. I hope that their efforts result in some important policy and procedural changes. But until there is a shift in the core attitudes that exist within the PPB, I think we're going to find ourselves having this same discussion over and over again.
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Comments are now closed.
A couple of years ago I was involved in a bike vs. car accident in North Portland. Both I, the bike rider, and the car's driver were black. After a brief, non-physical altercation a policeman arrived at the scene of the accident. The white male officer was extremely rude, unnecesarily beligerant and generally unprofessional. He treated us both, along with an african american witness, like criminals. Rather than asking whether anybody was injured he ordered us all to sit on the curb while he figured out what happened. I sat there in pain (I had hurt my shoulder) and seething with anger at the treatment I was recieving. I had to wonder whether everyone who is involved in an accident in Portland gets treated like this, or just people of color.
Then, I guess after figuring out that there was not much he could do, he literally snatched the insurance certificate from the driver, gave it a once over, wrote down the policy number on a post it note and handed it to me and abruptly left.
Unfortunately, whenever I have encountered Portland's Police I have had similar experiences to that first one. Rude, discourtious and generally unhelpful behavior seems to be the rule. The only exception was when I dealt with an African American officer.
As a black man, I worry whenever I see Portland Police. I don't want to be the victom of somone's itchy trigger finger.