At the end of last year, the Portland Police Department said it had received an “unprecedented” number of police officers leaving their mid-career jobs to accept lower-wage jobs elsewhere, and on Sunday, the city’s main newspaper published an article that offered a glimpse of some of the reasons why some left.
The Oregonian reported that since July 1, 2020, a total of 115 police officers have left the department – representing “one of the biggest game waves in recent memory”.
The newspaper said it analyzed 31 interview statements from these officers that showed a certain level of disillusionment with the job. A retired detective wrote in one that the community showed police officers “zero support”.
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“The city council is a furious idiot, as well as being stupid. Furthermore, the mayor and the council ignore real facts about crime and policing in favor of the radical left and anarchist fantasy. What is worse is that the ppb command ( lt. And above) is arrogantly incompetent and cowardly. “
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Portland has been the center of some of the country’s most destructive protests in 2020, which coincided with the city’s biggest jump in homicides in 26 years, according to the newspaper. KOIN reported that the homicide rate in the city remains high and detectives are having trouble keeping up with the workflow.
The city suffered 55 murders in 2020 and the newspaper noted that the victims ranged from 8 months to 71 years.
Ted Wheeler, the city’s mayor and therefore head of the police department, told the Oregonian in an email that the city has a “laser focus on building a better public security system”.
“And, as we seek changes to meet the needs and expectations of Portland residents, we must focus on supporting and caring for our employees.”
Last summer, a specialized police unit focused on controlling armed violence, which has long been criticized for disproportionately targeting people of color, was disbanded. Wheeler announced the deactivation of the unit last June and assigned its 34 officers to patrol. He described this as an opportunity to reimagine policing and redirected $ 7 million in police funds to communities of color.
The push was led by Jo Ann Hardesty, the first black woman elected to the City Council. She cited a 2018 audit showing that almost 60% of the people detained by the armed violence team were black – although they represent less than 6% of the city’s population.
Nearly half of the total of 55 homicide victims in 2020 were people of color, many from Portland’s historically black neighborhoods, according to city statistics.
Wheeler announced earlier this month that he would seek $ 2 million in one-off financing for the police, other agencies and outreach programs to try to stem the rampant armed violence in the city.
The Associated Press said Wheeler’s move was a “turnaround”.
The Associated Press contributed to this report