City Commissioner Randy Leonard says he’ll happily expand on his remarks about the “inexcusable and unjustifiable” death in custody of James Chasse at next week’s council hearing, if the police chief and police commissioner don’t back down on allowing water bureau security to be armed.
Willamette Week reporter Beth Slovic first reported on Leonard’s plan to arm water bureau security last week. Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Police Chief Rosie Sizer have since both said they think the Portland Police Bureau should oversee security at the water bureau.
This morning, Leonard spoke out on the Chasse death, despite strict instructions to city commissioners not to talk about the incident, from the city attorney’s office. A lawsuit is ongoing and expected to go to trial next March. He says he’ll be happy to expand on his opinions about Chasse’s death if Sizer and Saltzman don’t back down over armed security for the water bureau by next week.
“Both Rosie Sizer and Dan Saltzman have publicly stated that the police bureau should oversee security for the water bureau,” said Leonard, after this morning’s council session. “But there is no circumstance under which I’d allow that agency to oversee Portland’s most valuable asset.”
“I have had experience of the bureau from being asked to conduct a study by Mayor Sam Adams, last year,” said Leonard. “They have been insular and hostile to any suggestions. I could never ask a question or offer a suggestion, or propose an alternative. If, theoretically, the police bureau were running security at the Bull Run, and some incident occurred that I wanted a quick resolution of, and I hit a wall, as we have with the three-year inquiry into Mr.Chasse’s death, it would be unconscionable to me.”
Leonard said that’s why he brought up Chasse’s death today. “If the police commissioner and the police chief want to maintain their stance next week, I would be happy to expand on what I said today.”
Saltzman’s office declined comment. We have an enquiry in to the police chief and city attorney’s office seeking comment and will update this post as necessary.
“This morning, Leonard spoke out on the Chasse death, despite strict instructions to city commissioners not to talk about the incident, from the city attorney’s office.”
The city is the client. The city attorney *advises* what to say publically about it. However, the decision is up to the independent commissioner. Good for Randy Leonard for being willing to state his opinion on the Chasse case.
(However, he is of course going about it all wrong because he doesn’t have an honest opinoin the Chasse info should be made public – he is just using it to blackmail council into supporting his little paramilitary outfit up in the Bull Run watershed. Typical bully behavior from Leonard)
The kids are running the day care center.
If Leonard does expand on his thoughts, does it potentially bias a future jury, in which case it could negatively affect the chance of success in any future prosecutions?
I know at this point it’s unlikely there’ll be any prosecutions; but should people angry about the situation be hoping he keeps his mouth shut?
Any legal experts out there?
Randy Leonard doesn’t give a damn about James Chasse. It’s appalling that Randy is trying to use the tragic death of a mentally ill person to blackmail his colleagues on City Council into allowing him to run his own personal police force.
What an ass.
Okay I see two possible bad idea here:
1) Have a police presence 26 miles outside of town, complete with backup units and a captain who would spend 99.9% of their time bored out of their minds, and the other 0.1% giving maps to lost hikers.
2) Give guns to people that aren’t trained in using them.
I vote 2, just cause it seems like the lesser of two evils, but I’d like to see a third option, (maybe pay for part of a county sheriff that they could call on when things go wrong or something.)
As for Randy, sometimes he does some things that are really stupid, but expanding on his concerns in the Chasse case isn’t one of them. I’ve got concerns about that as well.
Number 6 – exactly.
As for Randy, sometimes he does some things that are really stupid, but expanding on his concerns in the Chasse case isn’t one of them. I’ve got concerns about that as well.
Me..One of Leonard’s biggest detractors, on “Chasse”, I AGREE with him. (Randy, don’t have a stroke…not yet)
Chasse was not a danger to the public, nor to himself, but where Old “firepants” and I clash, and it’s been to many years, is the placement of dangerous..criminally insane(really nuts) people in unsecure places in neighborhoods, next daycare centers, and in my case, 400 feet from a grade school.
I approached him, when he was running, and he said he was a person “as a first responder” that knew his first job as a person going to city hall, was the safety of the public.
He virtually has ran from that promise…since in office.
I can’t even get the city to place on the police data base, the address’s of such group homes…so if one of these cops get a call, “to the 75th St site, they know they will be dealing with a hell of alot more then a James Chasse.
We had a recent murder in one place, one of the patients/clients..killed another, not good ,but alot better then some kid, and we get a law, named after the kid, to right somethings I have begged for way to long.
Randy could do the right thing…but Randy hasn’t the guts to fight a real problem.
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Re: “Leonard Says He’ll Be “Happy To Expand” On Chasse Concerns Next Week”
As for Randy, sometimes he does some things that are really stupid, but expanding on his concerns in the Chasse case isn’t one of them. I’ve got concerns about that as well.
Me..One of Leonard’s biggest detractors, on “Chasse”, I AGREE with him. (Randy, don’t have a stroke…not yet)
Chasse was not a danger to the public, nor to himself, but where Old “firepants” and I clash, and it’s been to many years, is the placement of dangerous..criminally insane(really nuts) people in unsecure places in neighborhoods, next daycare centers, and in my case, 400 feet from a grade school.
I approached him, when he was running, and he said he was a person “as a first responder” that knew his first job as a person going to city hall, was the safety of the public.
He virtually has ran from that promise…since in office.
I can’t even get the city to place on the police data base, the address’s of such group homes…so if one of these cops get a call, “to the 75th St site, they know they will be dealing with a hell of alot more then a James Chasse.
We had a recent murder in one place, one of the patients/clients..killed another, not good ,but alot better then some kid, and we get a law, named after the kid, to right somethings I have begged for way to long.
Randy could do the right thing…but Randy hasn’t the guts to fight a real problem.
The majority of the Water Bureau employees that would carry guns under Leonard’s new suggestion would work IN TOWN. Only ONE person works up at Bull Run. The other 18 would be armed, and hanging out in the two parks that house reservoirs. We’ve allocated millions of dollars for all types of security meassures for these reservoirs that the Water Bureau has yet to spend and install. Why guns before everything serious research panels have recommended?