A protester confronts a PPB officers on April 16. NATHAN HOWARD / GETTY IMAGES [You can read all of the Mercury’s “Top Stories of 2021” here.—eds] After a year of sustained protests against police violence, Portland’s police force entered 2021 on shaky ground. This year saw police penalized for their actions during 2020’s protests, an […]
Cops
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Center for Investigative Reporting Digs Into Portland’s Problem With Policing Homelessness
A homeless encampment alongside Portland’s Laurelhurst Park. Alex Zielinski In 2018, an Oregonian investigation found that more than half of all arrests made by Portland police the previous year were of unhoused people. That trend hasn’t changed in the years since—and a recent episode of Reveal, a podcast by the Center for Investigative Reporting, helps […]
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Police Identify Man Shot by Officers in Saturday Traffic Stop
Getty Images / kali9 Portland police have identified the man shot and injured by officers after a Saturday car crash as Joshua Degerness, a 39-year-old Portland resident. Degerness was booked into the Multnomah County Jail Wednesday evening after spending the past four days at OHSU recovering from his injuries. The actions leading up to the […]
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UPDATE: Portland Police Shoot Driver After Crash in Southeast Portland
Getty Images / Evgen_Prozhyrko Update, 12/12, 8:30 pm: Portland police have clarified that two officers fired their guns at the unnamed driver Saturday—Sergeant Norman Staples and Officer Kenneth Jackson. Original story, 12/12 10 am: Portland police shot a man Saturday night after causing his vehicle to crash in Southeast Portland. The man, who has not […]
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UPDATED: Portland Police Fatally Shoot Person Accused of Carjacking on I-5
MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND Update 12/9, 8:30 am: Portland police have updated their original narrative about the Monday incident. According to a Portland Police Bureau (PPB) press release, detectives have now determined that the victim of the carjacking “who reported that she had been shot was not in fact injured by gunfire.” “They’re working to determine the […]
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City Council to Pay $125,000 to Protester Injured by Police in 2018
The helmet Aaron Cantu was wearing when he was hit by an officer’s flash-bang grenade in 2018. Aaron Cantu Portland City Council is poised to pay Portlander Aaron Cantu $125,000 this Wednesday to settle a lawsuit accusing the city of using violence to attack protesters’ First Amendment rights. Cantu was one of hundreds of Portlanders […]
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Hall Monitor: If the Number of Cops Doesn’t Impact Crime, What Can?
MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND Hall Monitor is a column on issues related to Portland City Hall and its influence on the community it serves. ——— In City Hall discussions about the city’s budget (which, in Portland, seems to occur every few months), there is one factor that tends to steer the conversation: data. Bureau programs often win […]
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What Grand Jury Transcripts Reveal About Robert Delgado’s Death
A memorial to Robert Delgado hung at Lents Park in April. Jordan Brokaw It’s been six months since Portland police officer Zachary DeLong fatally shot Robert Delgado, a unhoused man residing in Lents Park. At the time, the public was told that officers arrived at the park after receiving a call describing a man playing […]
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Portland’s Crime Rate Isn’t Impacted By Size of Police Force, Data Finds
Portland police officers at the site of an officer shooting in June 2020. MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND As Portland sees a record-breaking surge in homicide rates and lagging 911 response times, city officials have heard a demand that lies in stark contrast with the calls of 2020’s racial justice protesters: Hire more cops. The bipartisan call has […]
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Body Cams, Hiring Bonuses for Cops, and Other Police Programs Mayor Wheeler Wants in Fall Budget Package
MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND Body cams for cops. Hefty bonuses for new hires in the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). A new police training academy in Portland. These are just a few of the proposals Mayor Ted Wheeler will suggest City Council fund in the city’s upcoming budget adjustment talks. Wheeler highlighted these priorities in a Wednesday press […]
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A Peek Inside Portland’s Ill-Fated Police Oversight System
Portland police officers in Northeast Portland on June 24, 2021, shortly after a police officer fatally shot a member of the public. MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND It’s been nearly a year since Portlanders voted to approve a new oversight system for police who engage in misconduct. Yet, because the process of overhauling a police accountability program takes […]
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Months Later, Wheeler Sends Letters of Condolence to Families of Men Killed by Portland Police
Motoya Nakamura / Multnomah County “The City of Portland values all members of our community,” begins a letter dated September 2, 2021, printed on letterhead from the Office of Mayor Ted Wheeler. “And I’m writing to acknowledge that Mr. Delgado passed away in Portland on April 16th, 2021. While the events are still being investigated, […]