Portland Police Bureau can't run efficiently at current staff levels, police union says

PORTLAND, Ore. — A lot has happened since we first aired our documentary, Sworn to Protect: A Difficult Conversation. Gun violence continues to surge with 2021 on pace to be the deadliest year in Portland since the early 1990s. Morale in the Portland Police Bureau has reached a new low point, according to the union, and the divide between police and city hall is only getting wider.

Is an officer shortage contributing to the city’s problems? It depends on who you ask; the mayor said Portland has a 'scaled-down police bureau.' He called staffing levels inadequate. However, others like Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty disagree.

“The police role today is very oversized. They should really be problem-solvers and crime-solvers. Period. The perception that police prevent crime is not real. They don’t prevent crime. Police show up after crime has been committed, and their job is to figure out who did it and then fix it,” Hardesty said.

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That opinion is disputed by police, and it seems at least one city commissioner disagreed that police can't prevent crime, specifically gun violence.

Commissioner Mingus Mapps touted city investments in community organizations but said more needed to be done.

“Prevention is a forward-thinking and progressive approach that will have an impact in the medium and long term. We also need to admit that law enforcement has an essential role in interrupting this cycle of homicides,” Mapps said after a string of deadly shootings in early August. “City council needs to get real and recognize that there are good police officers that specialize in this type of work."

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If there are officers who specialize in the work, they don't seem to be jumping at the opportunity. City commissioners approved a new police gun violence team in April, but months later, the bureau is still looking for 12 officers who are willing to join it.

“The hope, of course, is that you get some good supervisors, good sergeants in the role that people would be interested in going to work with on this really complicated job,” Portland Police Lt. Greg Pashley said.

The police chief is creating the team with existing resources as officers continue retiring or leaving on a near-monthly basis.

“Just think that we lost a hundred, about 150 officers since last August. Just to think about what it's going to look like in 12 more months,” PPA executive director Daryl Turner said.

Some 80 officers are eligible for retirement in 2022. Turner said the bureau is at a breaking point.

“We’re not able to do a job like we are. We're running a Cadillac with a Volkswagen engine, and we cannot continue to do that. It's not working, it's not working for anybody. We see the difference in the landscape of the city of Portland than it was five years ago. This is not because police officers are not doing their job. It's because our elected officials and their agenda,” Turner said.

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He said the city needs between 500 and 700 more officers to do its job the right way, but that will take willpower from the city council.

So far, Hardesty has convinced her colleagues to stay the course on staffing and funding reductions made last summer. She said she's still not worried about how many people are on the streets. Instead, she said it's about who is wearing the badge and uniform.

“The number isn’t important. It’s the quality of the individuals and who they think they serve, because I’m not sure who Portland police believe they serve today. I don’t think they think they serve the public. They certainly don’t think they have any responsibility to the elected leaders. So, I’m not sure who they think they serve,” Hardesty said.

This debate will likely take center stage over the next two months as the city is set to discuss changes to the budget in October, including the elimination of vacant positions within the police bureau. This will ultimately be a chance to see where the city council stands on police funding and staffing.