[In the Shadows is a new biweekly column in which Mercury crime and cop reporter Matt Davis explores Portland’s underbelly.—eds.] Chris O’Connor is a cross between a public defender in community court and Superman. He’s a sharp-eyed, sharp-witted barrel of a guy, whose surprising lightness on his feet extends to his conversation—you don’t converse with […]
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Blue Numbers
Cops Take Aim at People of Color
New numbers show Portland’s police are pointing their guns at African Americans more often than they are at the city’s white residents, and that per capita, African Americans are five times more likely to have force used against them in a police encounter than whites. Of 87,004 arrests made citywide between September 2004 and December […]
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Checking the Checkers
Security Backgrounders Draw State Scrutiny
Upon learning of a Mercury news story last week about a downtown security guard’s murky past, two state legislators are now planning to address shoddy background checks for armed guards who patrol downtown. The armed Securitas security guard in question was able to get state certification to work in Portland from the Department of Public […]
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Damage Control
City Shells out $500,000 for Police Sniper Victim
The City of Portland is likely to pay a record $500,000 to the family of Raymond Gwerder this week—a man shot in the back without warning by a police sniper while he was on the phone to a hostage negotiator in November 2005. The news broke in a press release sent out last Thursday, November […]
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Crowded Courthouse
Four Anti-Cop Claims in One Day
Civil rights attorneys launched a quartet of legal claims against the Portland Police Bureau this week, urging the bureau to police itself better or face more of the same. Three lawsuits and one tort claim—which reserves the right to sue—were filed against the city on Monday, October 15 by Attorneys Benjamin Haile and Leah Greenwald, […]
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One Year Later
What Has the City Learned Since Chasse?
A year ago this week, James Chasse died in police custody after being beaten, Tasered, and hogtied by officers, and then transported to the county detention center instead of being taken to a hospital. It shocked the city, given that police had targeted Chasse for merely acting suspiciously. After coming back from vacation almost two […]
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Kicker Cop Case Kicked
Internal Affairs Exonerates Officer
A Portland police officer who kicked a suspect in the street in front of multiple witnesses last October has been let off the hook by an internal affairs investigation. The officer, Jason Lobaugh, was seen by a group of people at a bus stop Tasering a young African American suspect, then kicking him once after […]
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Remembering Chasse
Protests Mark One-Year Anniversary
Activists are planning protests outside Portland’s downtown Justice Center and at city hall on September 17 to mark the one-year anniversary of the controversial death in custody of James Chasse. Chasse, a schizophrenic chased through the Pearl District by Portland police after urinating in the street, was tackled to the ground opposite the Bluehour restaurant […]
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In Other News…
WHO’S THE ROTTENEST? A few weeks ago, the Mercury profiled two officers, Sgt. Mark Kruger and Officer Jeff Myers. It was our first-ever “Portland’s Most Rotten Cop” contest. Kruger has been at the center of several recent controversies, not to mention the named defendant in three lawsuits for brutality. Kruger, who is reported to have […]
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Who Is Portland’s Most Rotten Cop?
Decide for yourself and vote in our “Most Rotten Cop” poll!
We can all agree that the Portland Police Bureau is mostly populated by brave individuals whose main concern is to protect and serve our community. However, what about the inevitable “rotten apples” of the bunch? Why do City Hall and the Police Bureau turn a blind eye to the rotten cops that give the entire […]
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Who’s Naughty?
The Police Are Checking Their Exclusion List Twice!
The police never intended for the list to become public. Created by officer Jeff Myers several months ago, the list contains the names of dozens of people whom the police are putting extra effort into clearing out of Old Town and downtown. Like a “wanted” poster from the Wild West, the list identifies suspected criminals […]