Comments

1
It's important to note the criticism about what happened to James Chasse has been specifically at the three officers who hurt him, decisions made about them, and not police officers in general.
2
J Renaud,

I called that out because it's the first case I thought of when looking at the question about the city's efforts to control police misconduct.
3
It's the incongruity which tweaks folks about Chasse. Our police bureau is, overall, well-trained, well-managed, well-equipt, well-supervised. Congrats to them. For a city as relatively safe as Portland, the perception of safety is as almost important as safety itself.

Which is why I've spent the past three years calling for accountability. The PPB has tools but chose not to use them.
4
Having moved to Beaverton recently, and hopefully not permanently I can assure you the Police out here are nothing to write home about. Overall, I don't rate them very highly in light of the fact they appear more concerned with harassing latinos and anyone else with dark skin then actual crime prevention or combat. I don't rate the Portland Pd any higher than I did 5 years ago, but overall I give them a decent rating. J Renaud's point is valid. However I can think of many more incidents in the last 10-15 years that are equally bad cases of Police Misconduct or excessive use of force. This one is simply more recent
5
There's another possibility, people could genuinely believe they are being well served by the city. I know, I know, weird!
6
You're an idiot if you think the Portland Police have a consistent record of doing things correctly. They have a consistent record of shooting people in the face without just cause, especially if they are black or mentally ill. If you've lived here longer than a minute then you've seen how many people have been wrongly maimed or murdered by the police. It is par for the course for them. Wake up and pull your head out, people.
7
In my middle school, they gave out awards to "most improved GPA from first semester to second." And the winner had gone up by 2.5 points. Of course, they don't go from a D+\C- average to a A, but from a F average to a C+\B- one.

I think that example applies here: The police used to be much worse, and now they've got into the semi-acceptable range. I know about 15 years ago they killed about 20 people including putting 7 bullets in a hostage, (they put 30 or so in the hostage taker, but he only had one hostage so it wasn't like they were doing anyone any favors there.) So yes, they have improved. That doesn't mean they are good enough, but they have improved and that is far better than the alternative...
8
Violent crime is down, response times are better in my neighborhood and 95% of PPB employees do a good job. The James Chasse case is about a few bad apples who should be in prison without public paid benefits.

I think when Portlanders are asked about PPB service I think they have positive reactions. I still am surprised more Portlanders aren't more concerned about police violence.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.