The Mercury may be a little closer this afternoon to answering one of the most outstanding questions in the Campbell shooting. Why wasn’t Sergeant Liani Reyna—the supervisor on scene at the Campbell shooting—called before the Grand Jury to testify? And why didn’t Reyna call in the Bureau’s Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) once a child hostage situation involving a suicidal man with a gun began to unfold?
It’s extremely common to call out SERT—the Portland version of a “SWAT” team—in any hostage situation. For example, SERT was called in immediately to intervene in the 2005 incident involving Raymond Gwerder. Not that it made any difference: A sniper on the SERT team shot Gwerder in the back while he was on the phone to a hostage negotiator, just as Officer Ron Frashour shot Campbell after he had been asked to come out of his apartment by a negotiator in this latest case. But why didn’t Sergeant Reyna call in SERT promptly, this time?
One possible reason has emerged from court documents obtained by the Mercury this afternoon: It turns out that Reyna has a long-standing sex discrimination beef with the SERT team, including a bitter and drawn-out legal battle with the Portland Police Bureau, which included the City of Portland placing a lien on Reyna’s Tigard home and garnering $16,000 in wages in an attempt to recover costs from the case—as recently as 2006.
In 1999, Reyna became the first female police officer to join the SERT team, but resigned in 2002 and then sued the bureau, alleging sex discrimination, a sexually hostile workplace, and retaliation.
Reyna lost a nine-day Federal trial related to the discrimination suit in 2005, but she didn’t end things there. Instead she took the case to the ninth circuit court of appeals, alleging that the judge did not ensure a fair trial. Reyna also alleged that the bureau had spoiled and destroyed records relating to her selection to the SERT team. The appeals court once again ruled against Reyna in April 2008.
“As the first woman on the Police Bureau’s SER Team, Reyna was exposed to sexist practices that defendants admit were puerile and disgusting,” reads the ninth circuit ruling obtained by the Mercury this afternoon. “It appears that she did not object to the SER Team’s practices for a while and finally resigned from the Team after a health incident that raised questions concerning her fitness.”
Reyna also filed a complaint of sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation against the City of Portland with the Bureau of Labor and Industries in 2004. BOLI wound up dropping the case because Reyna informed them she would be pursuing the city in civil court. Documentation from BOLI is here. More after the jump.
The Federal Court awarded former Police Chief Mark Kroeker and the City of Portland $18,598.15 in costs in the 2005 case. In April 2006, the city garnished $16,135.82 from Reyna’s wages, and claimed a lien on her property in Tigard for an additional $2,620—in order to claim its damages. Reyna challenged the move in court and was ultimately given back the garnered wages, according to court documents. As far as the court documents show, Sergeant Reyna could still be paying back the liability from her court case today.
Because the case was filed in 2002, many documents are unavailable online. But the Mercury has today requested files from the Reyna case to be shipped down to Portland from a Federal Court warehouse in Seattle—they should be here by Friday and we will update this story then.
If Reyna didn’t call the SERT team out because of lingering bitterness over an unsuccessful discrimination claim, then the lack of diversity in the Portland Police Bureau is an even more significant angle in the Campbell shooting story than it has been, so far.
Citing racial disparities within the bureau City Commissioner Dan Saltzman has spoken repeatedly over recent days about trying to recruit a police bureau that “reflects the city as a whole.” Meanwhile Reverend Jesse Jackson said on his visit last week that domestic violence calls should be answered by “one man, and one woman” police officer. The police chief, herself, has been quoted in this newspaper saying that “the police bureau deals well with gender.” Just down the road, the only black police officer in Gresham recently resigned her post over alleged race and sex-based discrimination.
Portland Police Association boss Scott Westerman says the decision to call in SERT may not have been up to Sergeant Reyna, but Captain Bob Day, who came onto the scene after Reyna had arrived.
“The internal investigation into this incident is going to address things that the Grand Jury did not hear or consider,” says Westerman. “It’s going to identify the alleged communication deficiencies, including the transfer of command from the sergeant on the scene to the captain on the scene. The investigation will determine who should have called in SERT, and when.”
Westerman only represents rank and file membership in his role as PPA president: Reyna falls under his remit, but command staff like Day do not.
Efforts to reach Reyna and Day through the police bureau have so far been unsuccessful. Police spokesperson Mary Wheat is yet to return a page, and District Attorney Mike Schrunk is also yet to return a call for comment asking whether his Deputy District Attorneys were aware of Reyna’s court history against the city and SERT team, before they chose not to call her before the Grand Jury.
Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s chief of staff is yet to return a call for comment, although Commissioner Saltzman said on Friday that the failure to call Reyna before the Grand Jury was “troubling.” We’ve put a call in to Mayor Sam Adams’ spokesman and may have a statement from his office shortly. Updates as we have them.
This just gets worse and worse, doesn’t it.
Reading this, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of lawyers suddenly cried out in joy.
That’s very interesting, because the original press release (http://www.portlandonline.com/police/pbnot…) calls it a SERT activation, and all of the news stations were originally reporting it as a SERT activation (see page 2 of my tweets: http://twitter.com/parkrosegateway). It sounds like maybe they only called out the SERT medics, and that only after he was shot?
great work there MERCURY and Matt! This is picking the scab will cause a lot of pus to ooze out, and pus as we all know is just CORRUPTION! Folks, we got ’em on the run! Let’s get our Citizen’s Posse together…mount up…then ride out to find ’em…for their running ever which way now…let’s get ’em!
@kmcdade The SERT team did not arrive on the scene until after Campbell was shot—and then, they spent 30 minutes approaching his body, handcuffing him, and deciding he was dead.
Holy carp, they handcuffed him after he was dead?
After he was shot, yes.
More on this: Former Police Chief Derrick Foxworth’s discussion of the Reyna case was one reason for his demotion. From the end of a Portland Tribune story dated May 5, 2006. Whole thing here:
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/print_…
In one of his infamous e-mails to Angela Oswalt, the civilian desk clerk with whom he had a sexual relationship when he was commander of Northeast Precinct, he addresses the case of officer Liani Reyna, who sued the city regarding her treatment as the first woman on the elite paramilitary Special Emergency Reaction Team. Her suit, in federal court, was dismissed and she has appealed.
She said SERT cops forced her to perform sexually degrading skits, transfer out of her precinct against her will and distanced themselves from her socially.
“Some people would say boys are being boys and thats (sic) just the way they are because they have such a dangerous job,” Foxworth wrote.
“That is no excuse to treat people with disrespect and to take away their dignity and not treat them fairly!”
@kcmdade: Medics on the SERT Team do not go out on their own. SERT rolls as a team of which the medic is a part and their skill set is added to the other team members, whom they are trained to work in coordination with. And the medics depend on other SERT Team members for cover, not uniformed district officers because they don’t have the training or the equipment to handle the things that SERT does.
As far as Liani Reyna goes, I believe that she was likely discriminated against like she says she was. Maybe there was not enough proof for the court though, or maybe the City Attorney’s Office was better than Reyna’s attorney at arguing the case.
Whether Reyna’s past bad blood with SERT resulted in her not calling them out in a timely manner in this case is something that I don’t think we’ll ever know. Interesting angle though. Hat’s off to the Merc for digging into all this. The public has a right to know.
soo? Is this the predicate further establishing the DOJ civil rights case of police misconduct pattern and practice: The evidence grows more compelling … that there are MORE victims of the PPB than previously acknowledged or initially known in the community.
“As the first woman on the Police Bureau’s SERT Team, Reyna was exposed to sexist practices that defendants admit were puerile and disgusting,” reads the ninth circuit ruling,
“It appears that (Portland Police Sergeant Reyna) did not object to the SERT Team’s practices for a while and finally resigned from the Team after a health incident that raised questions concerning her fitness.”
Calling civil rights attorney Gloria Allred.
Can you come to Portland in the springtime … do some pressers and rallies …
And Gloria, what about reviewing the 9th circuit file? Maybe take an appellant review petition on the basis, of what -? Concealed corruption? newly discovered evidence? after discovered evidence?
In the meantime …
In the public interests in the name of fairness and equity, waive (or suspend) Reyna’s unpaid costs from the 2005 case.
Are you listening Mayor Sam and Police Bureau Manager Dan? What time IS it in Portland? Its Tabla Rasa A.C.(after Campbell) time folks!
The Mercury is definitely the paper of record on this growing scandal! Thanks Matt.
Let me say, this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg involving the corruption of Oregon politics. We are one of only three states where there is “NO LIMIT” on campaign contributions, and this is the government we get…
To many of us, excusing Sam Adams is a symbol of why these problems fester into something much, much worse.
It was DDA Don Rees who decided not to call Reyna, which seems even more suspicious now. I understand Rees is not well liked among some of his current and former staff at the District Attorney’s Office. And there’s definitely a problem with ethics and fairness among Oregon’s DA’s, as we continue to review all of the cases handled by former Washington County DDA, Gregory W. Olson. Disappointedly, John Kroger won’t!
Firing on an un-armed man who was NEVER physically resisting
Shooting down an un-armed man with a military rifle
Waiting as much as 30 minutes before approachinh his body(this constitutes DELIBERATE DENIAL of medical treatment; those pigs were WAITING on Campbell to bleed to death!)
Hand-cuffing his dead body.
I’m fully convinced that the Portland Police have an agenda to exterminate Blacks in this city! Any Black person who EVER calls 911 again would be placing their own lives in danger by doing so.
Seems like Mr. Davis has limiting information about the individuals involved in the shooting, specifically Reyna. All said and done, Mr. Davis does not seem to understand that there is an ethnic injustice not only towards the shooting victim, but as well as to Sgt Reyna. She clearly was subject to a hostile and adverse work environment.
The PBB continues to be a less than desired exemplary law enforcement organization. It’s unfortunate for such a great city.
As for Mr. Davis, I don’t understand why he believes that a significant amount of importance (a lot of “throwing Reyna under the bus” back story) is so necessary. Aspirations for a screenplay, maybe?
I have no question that Reyna was discriminated against. There is no way she would subject herself to the public scrutiny that she has had to endure if she did not feel she had a good valid case against Portland PB. She is not petty or vindictive and she would not have intentionally NOT called on SWAT, if she thought it was necessary. That being said, police officers are human too and she may not have viewed the situation as others on the scene. However, if you weren’t there – you can’t make a judgement.
As for the shooting itself, the public (you) are asking people to make life and death decisions on the spur of the moment. How many of the rest of us would be willing to take on that responsibility and subject ourselves to the judgement of the public? I dare say that it would be very few. Most of us are not tough enough to endure it that kind of scrutiny. Far too stressful. C’mon people get real! Had you been there – do you know for sure you would have done anything different if you truly thought you life were at stake? Quit the “Monday morning quarterbacking” already….. unless you were there!