Tom Steenson, the attorney representing the family of James Chasse Jr., held a news conference today that seized on the latest batch of internal documents in the 4-year-old case and accused the Portland Police Bureau of covering for the officers who beat Chasse and then failed to get him the medical help he needed before he died in custody.

“It was what looks to have been a concerted effort to cover this up that killed him,” Steenson told the Mercury. “Had he been transported to the hospital”—directly after he was tackled on a Pearl District sidewalk—”he would have lived. …

“Why are these guys still working? The message is this is OK. And it’s not.”

Chasse, 42 at the time of his death, was suffering from schizophrenia. Before his death September 17, 2006, his family had expressed concern about his health to authorities. His family settled the case with the city for $1.6 million.

Read on to learn more about Steenson’s claims.

Since then, thousands of pages of internal documents have been released. Steenson’s claims are based in part on those documents, including the police bureau’s internal affairs investigation. They also are based on previous depositions in the case. Steenson accuses the officers in Chasse’s death, Chris Humphreys and Kyle Nice, of keeping quiet about his medical condition in hopes of avoiding punishment for their actions. He also says the cops tried to plant bogus drugs on Chasse and falsely told witnesses he was homeless.

A training review released this summer found that the officers had violated bureau policy both by chasing Chasse and then by tackling him when they finally caught up to him. Previous reports also have laid out the dismal lack of communication with paramedics and first responders over Chasse’s medical condition.

Steenson said that while the case is closed, he hoped he would shame the city into preventing another death like Chasse’s. He also said it’s possible the federal Department of Justice could look into the case, but said Chasse’s family hasn’t asked for that yet.

Others in the community, however, are. The Rev. Chuck Currie released this statement after the news conference.

As one of the clergy who conducted the memorial for James Chasse, I am sickened by the information released today by Chasse family lawyers that clearly shows the Portland Police Bureau’s own actions led to Mr. Chasse’s death. The fact that the officers – including Officer Humphreys – are still on the force should be concerning to all Portlanders. There is reason to believe there is corruption within the ranks of the Portland Police and that City Hall has helped to protect the officers involved. Either the Oregon Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Justice need to launch a wide-ranging investigation into the Bureau’s activities.

Denis C. Theriault is the Portland Mercury's News Editor. He writes stories about City Hall and the Portland Police Bureau, focusing on issues like homelessness, police oversight, insider politics, and...

6 replies on “Chasse Case Coverup? Family Attorney Says So”

  2. I am flabbergasted that these documents weren’t “lost”. There needs to be a high-level investigation of this case, and if these allegations prove to be true, anyone involved in covering this up needs to go to jail. I don’t care who they are, or how powerful they are. But I’ll bet that they don’t.

  5. Instead of “keeping it weird”, let’s keep it fucking real. No, this is NOT a shock. Nor is it “news”. In fact, it’s simply plain ‘ol god damn obvious that we not only have a corrupted justice system, consisting of unprofessional law enforcement and common criminals with police badges on, but a mayor’s office willing to turn a blind eye to illegal police conduct. Not to mention local so called journalists unwilling to break the news as it happens, who choose instead to “play it safe” by printing history (for years in the making) as if it’s news.

    But hey, let us not be Debbie Downers. Let’s make like the Mercury by patting ourselves on the back for being “the city on the hill”, Portlandia, the shining beacon of progressive liberal values. Never mind bringing JUSTICE to the minorities in this city. You know, the LOCAL Portlanders who’s interest have been moved to the back burner of this city’s priorities in order to make room for the new voting block of self absorbed so called liberal’s and cool kids? A voting block that this to whom this paper panders.

    So called, “liberal progressives” who don’t give two shits about having REAL JUSTICE, who don’t care if we restore the Willamette to flow free of the human shit. Because, who cares about these issues, “WHEN WE GET BIKE LANES THAT WE CAN’T AFFORD TO FUND YET!!! YAY!!!!! FOR!!!!! US!!!!!! WE’RE SO COOOOL and PROGRESSIVE!!!!!”

    So called liberals, who, rather than give Sam Adams an ultimatum to grow some balls and stand up to common criminals, instead choose, like this paper, to defend the incompetence of our impotent “leader”.

    Way to do YOUR part Portland Mercury, in maintaining the status quo. The way you framed and characterized your article entitled “Take Your City and Shove It!”, shows who’s ass your kissing. Way to trivialize legitimate concerns we have about our city.

    In fact HAVING GROWN UP HERE, one becomes FAMILY with a ALLOT of people from ACROSS THE BOARD. People like LOCAL cops, politicians, news makers and breakers, hippies, rednecks, bikers (fixies and Harley), Van Sant artist community of the 70’s and 80’s and farmers and laborers. And as far as WE ARE CONCERNED your little weekly is standing on week knees in her attempts at representing this rich and diverse community of Oregonians. What …you think were all a bunch of picture perfect cutouts from an edition of Vanity fair or Adbusters? Were a little more diverse than your “keep portland weird” homogeneity. And we care about PEOPLE. Not being cool. So fuck keeping it weird. LETS KEEP IT REAL.

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