Portland Police Bureau
| Portland Police Bureau | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PPB |
| Motto | Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence, Service |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1870 |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Police Officers | 1150 |
| Civilians | 350 |
| Police commissioner responsible | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Precincts | 3[2]
|
| Airplanes | 3 |
| Website | |
| http://www.portlandonline.com/police/ | |
The Portland Police Bureau is the law enforcement agency of the City of Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. While oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City Commissioners, the Mayor has historically been assigned the Police Bureau as the police commissioner. Mayor Sam Adams has assigned the Police Bureau to Commissioner Dan Saltzman.[3]
Precincts
The Portland Police Bureau divides Portland into three precincts [2] and each precinct is divided into as many as 20 districts[4]. The divisions are generally in accordance with neighborhood association boundaries, but also take into account the number of police calls generated in each district. The district serves as the basic unit of territory within the bureau, and most are assigned between one and two patrol officers. As such, busier districts are geographically smaller and slower districts are larger.
While the number of officers in each precinct is adjusted continually through transfers, new hires and attrition, the infrastructure of each precinct remains essentially the same. A 2007 attempt by Police Chief Sizer to address this by folding the smallest (and least busy) precinct, North Precinct, into its neighbor, Northeast Precinct, was met by a mobilized North Portland community. North Precinct remains, but has been greatly reduced in overall size. Some past attempts to redraw precinct lines have met similar opposition from neighborhood associations [5].
Services
The Portland Police Bureau is the largest city law enforcement agency in Oregon. The Bureau has approximately 1,000 full-time officers, up to 100 reserves, 50 cadets, and 300 civilian positions. The Portland Police Bureau provides numerous services to the citizens of Portland and the tri-county area,[6] including:
Patrol
- 9-1-1 and emergency response.
Crisis Response Team (CRT)
- Mission: The Mission of the Portland Police Bureau’s Crisis Response Team is to intervene in traumatic situations which impact individuals, families, and the community at large.
CRT members provide much needed support to victims of crime, sexual assault, and abuse.[7]
Rapid Response Team (RRT)
- RRT is Portland Police Bureaus "Riot Police" and respond to large political rallies/gatherings. They will also perform officer rescues if needed.
Detectives
- Portland Police Bureau detectives are members of the tri-county major crimes division, as such they will assist other agencies. Portland Police Detectives work a variety of task such as, child sexual assault, burglary and other property crimes, prostitution, narcotics, homicide, traffic crash investigation, hit and runs, auto theft, and other felony crimes.[8]
Mounted Patrol Unit
- The mounted police unit utilizes horses to fight crime in the downtown area of Portland. They are primarily used for crowd control at large events.[9]
Special Emergency Response Team (SERT)
- SERT (better known as SWAT) responds to incidents involving uncooperative armed suspects (such as barricaded subjects or hostage situations). SERT would not be called for crowd control.
Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT)
- HNT responds to hostage situations and uses psychology to resolve situations safely without use of force.
Air Support Unit (ASU)
- ASU is used for high risk situations, or for warrant service. Portland Police Bureau currently owns three planes. [10]
Traffic Division
- Officers working within the traffic division are primarily on motorcycles (instead of police cars). Traffic officers daily tasks include DUI enforcement, aggressive driving watch, response to traffic crashes, and enforcing moving violation. Traffic officers also handle all types of law enforcement emergency calls. [11]
School Resource Officer (SRO)
- A School Resource Officer responds to crimes within any school within Portland Public Schools. Each Portland high school is assigned a specific SRO. [12]
Child Abuse Team (CAT)
- CAT investigates reports of child abuse throughout Multnomah County. CAT is made up of officers and deputys from Portland Police, Gresham Police, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Troutdale Police Department, Fairview Police Department, CARES Northwest, and Oregon Department of Human Services.[13]
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
- CIT Officers are assigned in each precinct and aid Patrol Officers in dealing with calls with mentally ill people. These officers receive an additional 40 hours of training in dealing with people with mental illness. CIT Officers are better able to handle the incidents because of their special training. The CIT program is modeled after Nashville, Tennessee's nationally acclaimed CIT program. [14]
Cadets
- Cadets are young men and woman between the ages of 16 at 21 who serve as sworn uniform volunteer of the police bureau. Cadets assist with community service events, parades, crowd control, security, and other special details. Cadets also perform cadet patrols consisting of two cadets in a marked police car assisting officers at traffic collisions, perimeters, paperwork, and taking traffic-related 911 calls. Cadets also ride with police officers as partners, which allows them to perform more tasks.[15]
Weapons
All Portland Police officers are armed with a 9 mm Glock handgun, either the Glock 17, the Glock 19 or the Glock 26 (in the case of plainclothes assignments). Many uniformed officers also elect to carry a back up handgun (these are not issued by the bureau, but must conform to regulations regarding caliber and type). The .45 Glock 21 was once included in the list of handguns that could be used as a service pistol. However, after two incidents in which Glock 21s exploded in the hands of officers at a shooting range,[16] the Bureau abandoned the Glock 21. Most uniform officers' handguns are equipped with SureFire or Streamlight tactical lights.
All Portland Police Bureau officers are authorized to carry a Remington 870 shotgun (fitted with a tactical flashlight in the foregrip). After completion of Bureau courses, officers are also authorized to carry Colt AR-15 rifles and Remington 870 shotguns specially intended to fire less-lethal beanbag munitions.
SERT officers are armed with a variety of additional weapons, including H&K MP5A3 submachineguns, M4A1 rifles with EOTech holographic sights.
Besides firearms, all uniform officers carry several non-lethal weapons. Pepper spray, the ASP expandable baton and the Taser are all required pieces of equipment.
History
The Bureau, originally named the Portland Metropolitan Police Force, was established in 1870 by the Portland City Council. The Council appointed Phillip Saunders as its first chief of police, in charge of a force with six patrolmen and one lieutenant, at a time when the population of Portland was 9,000.[17] The first member of the force to die in the line of duty was Officer Charles F. Schoppe, who was shot to death in 1874 while trying to disarm a drunken saloon patron.[17] On April 1, 1908, the Bureau became the first in the United States to hire a female police officer, Lola Baldwin, who became the Superintendent of its newly established Women’s Protective Division.[18] In 1915, the "Metropolitan Police Force" changes its name to the Bureau of Police.[17] Four years later, the Bureau becomes the first in the USA to use police radio.[17] In 1985, Penny Harrington becomes Portland’s first woman Chief of Police, and the first to head a major U.S. police department.[17]
Since 1992, there has been several cases of suspects having died while in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center.[19] In several high-profile cases[20], including the James Chasse, Jr.[21] and Kendra James[22] incidents, the Portland Police Bureau has been accused of engaging in the abuse of force and then covering up the investigation.[23] The accusations have prompted a Copwatch program in Portland.[24] However, in both the Chasse and James incidents, neither the Portland Police Bureau or any sworn officer was found guilty of any criminal wrong doing.[25]
Officers killed on duty
Since the establishment of the Portland Police Bureau, 25 officers have died while on duty[relevant?] [26]. One of them, David Wayne Crowther, although originally believed to have died "in the line of duty", was discovered after his death to have been carrying numerous packages of illegal drugs, which he had intended to plant in the suspects' home. As a result, his name is not found among those considered by the PPB to have died while "on duty".
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy City Marshal Thomas G. O'Conner | Gunfire | |
| Officer Charles F. Schoppe | Gunfire | |
| Officer Samuel Smyth Young | Gunfire | |
| Officer Albert W. Moe | Gunfire | |
| Officer James R. White | Vehicular assault | |
| Detective Sergeant Ralph H. Stahl | Gunfire | |
| Officer James C. Gill | Gunfire | |
| Officer John J. McCarthy | Vehicular assault | |
| Officer Jerome Palmer | Gunfire | |
| Officer Robert E. Drake | Fall | |
| Officer Charles M. White | Assault | |
| Lieutenant Phillip R. Johnson | Gunfire | |
| Officer James A. Hines | Vehicular assault | |
| Officer Roy Edward Mizner | Vehicle accident | |
| Officer Vernon Jacob Stroeder | Vehicle accident | |
| Officer Roger L. Davies | Motorcycle accident | |
| Officer Robert Paul Murray | Motorcycle accident | |
| Officer Robert R. Ferron Jr. | Vehicle accident | |
| Officer Stephen Michael Owens | Vehicle accident | |
| Officer Dennis Allen Darden | Gunfire | |
| Officer David Wayne Crowther | Gunfire | |
| Officer Stanley D. Pounds | Vehicle accident | |
| Officer Thomas Layton Jeffries | Gunfire | |
| Officer Colleen Ann Waibel | Gunfire | |
| Officer Kirk Robert Huffstetler | Vehicle accident |
See also
- List of law enforcement agencies in Oregon
- Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
- Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
- Charles Moose, former Police Chief
- James Chasse, Jr., controversial citizen death during the course of an arrest
- Kendra James, controversial police shooting
- 2009 Portland nightclub shooting, mass shooting in downtown Portland
References
- ^ Portland Police Bureau home page
- ^ a b Precinct information from the PPB website
- ^ "Dan Saltzman named new Portland police commissioner". KGW. October 27, 2008.
- ^ Precinct and district map from the City of Portland website (PDF format)
- ^ The NPBA Bulletin Board (a Blogger-based blog last updated in 2008)
- ^ "Organizational Chart". City of Portland.
- ^ Jackson-Johnson, Marci. "Crisis Response Team". City of Portland.
- ^ "Detective Division". PPB.
- ^ "Mounted patrol unit". PPB.
- ^ "Air support unit". PPB.
- ^ "Traffic division". PPB.
- ^ "School resource officer". PPB.
- ^ "Child Abuse Team". PPB.
- ^ "Crisis intervention team". PPB.
- ^ "Cadet Division". PPB.
- ^ "Possible Officer Safety Issue Related to Glock Model 21 Handguns". PoliceOne.com. March 30, 2004. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ a b c d e O'Hara, Ralph. "The History of the Portland Police Bureau; A Look Back". Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ Oregon Experience: Lola G. Baldwin from Oregon Public Broadcasting
- ^ Portland Police Shootings and Deaths in Custody: 1992-May, 2008 from portlandcopwatch.org
- ^ Bernstein, Maxine (March 30, 2004). "Man killed by police unarmed: Portland officials have not said why an officer shot James Jahar Perez". The Oregonian. OregonLive.com.
- ^ "Why Did James Chasse Jr. Die?". Willamette Week. November 1, 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ "Officer who shot, killed homicide suspect also shot Kendra James". KGW. May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ Woodcock, Diane Lane (August 2005). "The Kendra James trial: Was justice served?". Portland Alliance.
- ^ Zuhl, Joanne (November 5, 2007). "Cops vs. Private Eyes". Street Roots. Street News Service.
- ^ "No indictment in Chasse death". The Oregonian. OregonLive.com. October 18, 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "The Officer Down Memorial Page".
External links
45°30′55″N 122°40′36″W / 45.515204°N 122.676795°W
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