Not Policing Themselves – Lawsuits: The Only Real Discipline for Portland Cops?

From the Portland Mercury, September 30 2009

Police Chief Rosie Sizer finally released the findings of an internal review of the 2006 death in custody of James Chasse—a man suffering from schizophrenia—last week, finding barely any wrongdoing by her officers.

The Portland Police Bureau’s internal Use of Force Review Board found that Officer Christopher Humphreys and Sergeant Kyle Nice did not violate any bureau policies by chasing Chasse, tackling him to the ground, and beating him on the sidewalk, in front of witnesses, until he was unconscious.

Perhaps most controversial of all, the chief released a statement saying: “There is no evidence in any report or witness statement that caused members of the Use of Force Review Board to conclude that any officer at the scene knew or should have known that Mr. Chasse had suffered a serious physical injury.”

Court documents and witness transcripts obtained by the Mercury tell a different story. State Medical Examiner Karen Gunson found 48 separate abrasions on Chasse’s body, including 16 possible blows to the head. Several witnesses described Chasse’s screams during his struggle with police, before going unconscious.

“He seemed like a scared animal,” said witness Melissa Jane Gaylord. Electrician Tony Lee Carter “thought [Chasse] was dead” for the period during which Chasse was unconscious on the sidewalk. Bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg, another witness, said: “I did hear Mr. Chasse yelling, ‘mercy, mercy, mercy,’ and that was personally pretty disturbing to me.”

Witnesses were shocked Chasse wasn’t taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Local developer Homer Williams said Chasse looked like a “bag of bones” when police put him in a squad car. Meanwhile Lou Reiter, former deputy police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, described the officers’ use of force as “unreasonable,” and their failure to disclose to paramedics the force used on Chasse as “unreasonable,” during depositions in a lawsuit being brought by the Chasse family against the police bureau, earlier this year.

The only person at fault in the whole affair was Sergeant Nice, according to the internal review board, for failing to transport Chasse to the hospital after the deployment of a Taser by Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Burton during the struggle. Sizer and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman will now co-sign a letter ordering Nice suspended for an as-yet-determined period of time. Nice will have the opportunity to appeal the suspension if he chooses.

Saltzman had no comment on the findings on Wednesday, September 23, but told the Mercury: “We certainly regret Mr. Chasse’s death.”

“Nice’s suspension could be 10 minutes long,” says Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Association of Portland. “The question is whether there is some sort of punitive measure that will cause police officers to not do this in the future.

“When police officers do the right thing as per policy and per training, and yet someone ends up dead, there is something wrong,” Renaud continues. “That problem has not been solved yet, and it seems to be that the only way to solve that is by the penalty afforded from a civil trial.”

In other words, it would seem the only way to fairly punish Portland’s cops for excessive force is to take them to court.

Just ask Frank Waterhouse—the cops’ internal review recommended no discipline for the officers who Tasered and shot him with less-lethal ammunition without warning in October 2006. Waterhouse had been filming the officers as they searched for a jaywalker at a Northeast Portland garage where he was working as an apprentice.

Waterhouse, who was cleared of all charges relating to the incident, wasn’t satisfied with the Use of Force Review Board’s findings, and took the officers to court. Two weeks ago he won a settlement of $55,000 after a jury agreed that the officers’ use of force was indeed excessive. Waterhouse had only sought $30,000 in the suit, but the jury awarded him almost twice as much.

Perhaps most surprising of all in the case was the identity of Waterhouse’s star witness: Chief Sizer.

Sizer testified for Waterhouse, against her own Use of Force Review Board’s findings, and against the city, arguing that the officers had ample time to coordinate their efforts so Waterhouse wasn’t hit with two weapons at once, and that they had plenty of time to give warning. Sizer also told the jury Waterhouse was not actively resisting, a requirement for the use of a beanbag round, which is fired from a 12-guage shotgun.

“It blew my mind, really,” Waterhouse says. “I couldn’t believe that somebody from their side actually looked at my case and determined that they went overboard.”

Sizer declined comment on her decision to testify against the internal review board’s findings by press time, but it certainly sets an uncomfortable precedent for police officers working the street.

“These officers felt blindsided by the chief in court,” says Portland Police Association boss Scott Westerman, who adds that mitigating circumstances for the force used on Waterhouse were excluded from the court testimony—they thought Waterhouse was the jaywalker they were looking for, he says.

“The circumstances to which these officers were responding were minimized by the attorney,” he adds.

Waterhouse’s attorney, Benjamin Haile, says Westerman’s remarks are “insulting” to juries because they assume that the public can’t understand the work that police do.

“In my experience, people on juries are very willing to give police officers the benefit of the doubt, very willing to assume they’re doing the best they can,” Haile says. “A trial is a time to get the entire truth out in the open. The officers are not going to be held responsible for their actions unless all of those people agree that what they did was wrong.”

A federal trial related to Chasse’s death is due to begin in March 2010. The Chasse family’s attorney, Tom Steenson, issued a statement last week about the Use of Force Review Board’s findings, but declined further comment under the terms of a court protective order.

From the Oregonian, September 30 2009

A volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland this morning urged the city council to press the Portland police chief to release the full internal inquiry into James P. Chasse Jr.’s death.

“Our organization and thousands of people in Portland believe injustice has prevailed, that a fair hearing on what happened to James Chasse has not occurred,” Jason Renaud told the council.

Renaud’s remarks come about two weeks after the third anniversary of Chasse’s death in police custody on Sept. 17, 2006.

Last week, Chief Rosie Sizer announced that she found that a sergeant was the only one who violated policy in connection with the police arrest of Chasse, by failing to send Chasse to a hospital after police used a Taser stun gun on him. The officers who struggled with Chasse as they tried to take him into custody acted according to bureau policy, the chief found.

Chasse, 42, who suffered from schizophrenia, was knocked to the ground by police who said he ran from them when they approached because they saw him possibly urinating in the street. Chasse suffered 26 breaks to 16 ribs, some of which punctured his left lung. He died from blunt force trauma to the chest. He also suffered 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head and 19 strikes to the torso. If he had been taken to a hospital right away, he likely would have survived, the state medical examiner testified during a deposition. Instead, he was taken to jail after ambulance medics said his vital signs were normal. The jail refused to book him, and police transported him to a hospital. He died on the way.

“What’s occurred is impunity,” Renaud said this morning. “The message delivered is a brutal beating and death of a person with a mental illness, even one with caregivers, friends, family, a home, a clean record, is acceptable within the Portland Police Bureau….It should be unacceptable to you.”

Renaud also called on the council to take the three officers involved off the street; reduce the use of Tasers on people with mental illness; restart the Chief’s Forum, a bi-monthly meeting between the police chief and community representatives that Sizer discontinued; press the state legislature for increased funding for mental health services; and establish ongoing public meetings between police senior staff and people with mental illness.

Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman had a previously scheduled appointment, and was not present during Renaud’s talk. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees the Office of Human Relations, said she’d work to improve police -community relations.

Mayor Sam Adams responded, telling Renaud, “We thank you for your thoughtful testimony.”

Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association, said afterwards that he supports Renaud’s push for more police interaction with mental health advocates, and the release of the internal affairs inquiry, when it’s possible considering the ongoing federal lawsuit against the police by Chasse’s family.

But Westerman said Renaud and others should stop focusing on the three officers who were involved in the Chasse case. “The simple fact is based on our training, and the fact that these officers were found to have acted according to bureau policy, any three officers would have likely had the same outcome.”

From the Portland Mercury, September 30, 2009

The Portland Police Association has hired the same public relations firm as Merritt Paulson did for Major League Soccer, just in time to deal with the fallout from the inquiry into James Chasse Jr’s death. Greg Peden and Shannon Berg from Gallatin Public Affairs were in council this morning with PPA boss Scott Westerman to listen to Jason Renaud from the Mental Health Association of Portland accuse the city of “impunity” related to Chasse’s death in police custody back in 2006. Gallatin worked with former mayor of Portland, Vera Katz, on the MLS deal, and Westerman said he would consult with Peden and Berg before commenting on Renaud’s remarks. We’ll update you as soon as we have a comment from the PPA.

Update, 12:51: Westerman says the PPA “wholeheartedly agrees” with Renaud’s request for better collaboration and dialog between the mental health community and the Portland Police Bureau. “It would be beneficial for all involved.”

“The issue that the PPA has with Renaud’s seven requests is that he is specifically focusing on the three officers. If they’re going to pull those three officers from patrol, the city may as well pull all police officers from the street,” Westerman says. “Because any officer on the Portland Police Bureau that was present in that situation would have likely had the same same outcome. The officers followed the bureau’s policy and procedures. The simple fact is that the three officers are being singled out in this tragic situation.”

Original post:“I’m not surprised the PPA has hired a public relations firm,” says Renaud, in response. “I think they’re in trouble. They’ve made an enormous public relations mistake by siding with three guys against 900. They’ve lost the media, they’ve lost the public trust, and even the commenters on the Portland Tribune’s website have turned against them.”

Renaud called on city council to remove the three Police officers involved in Chasse’s death from active duty this morning, along with six other actions to restore public trust. “The majority of police officers are well trained, and do an excellent job,” he said. “They do not make mistakes like these officers did.”

“Our organization and thousands of people in Portland believe injustice has prevailed, that a fair hearing on what happened to James Chasse has not occurred,” Renaud said to council this morning. “The final opportunity for intervention was a internal review of the officer’s actions, and a decision whether those actions were within the policy of the police bureau. After three years the bureau distributed a press release citing reasons their review was late. A minor technicality was found, so minor punishment may occur.”

“What’s occurred is impunity,” he continued. “The message delivered is a brutal beating and death of a person with a mental illness, even one with caregivers, friends, family, a home, a clean record, is acceptable within the Portland Police Bureau.”

Renaud called on council this morning to:

1.Release the full internal investigation of what happened to James Chasse – not a press release;
2. Move the three officers involved with the death of James Chasse – Humphreys, Nice and Burton - off patrol duty;
3. Make a goal to reducing the use of Tasers on persons with mental illness by 50% per year for the next five years;
4. Reopen the Chief’s Forum;
5. Form a joint effort by local governments and local police bureaus with mental health advocates to seek full funding for mental health services from the state legislature;
6. Open a sincere, staffed and ongoing public meeting between police senior staff and persons with mental illness;
7. Release the Crisis Intervention Team curriculum to public inspection, release data about police encounters with persons with mental illness.

“We expect council to do these seven actions,” says Renaud. “We’ll give them until the middle of next week. They are fairly simple, straightforward actions to take and will really help begin the rebuilding process.”

City Commissioner Amanda Fritz thanked Renaud for his remarks, apologizing for Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s “scheduled absence.” “I’ll be working with our human relations and police and community relations committee to continue working on this,” she said.

Update, October 1, 1:55 pm “We have had a public relations firm on retainer for years and years and years, we have just switched firms,” says Westerman, responding to Renaud’s comments about hiring a PR firm. “This is about contract negotiations, public relations, branding—trying to differentiate the PPA from the PPB, and media response.”

READ – Testimony for Portland City Council, September 30, 2009

Made September 30 2009, by Jason Renaud – volunteer board secretary

The mission of the Mental Health Association of Portland is to help persons with mental illness speak up and speak out, a community which asks you to rebuild the respect and trust damaged between the Portland Police Bureau and persons with mental illness.

I’d like to talk about impunity, when a person or an institution has been exempted from punishment.

Impunity is a corrosive to public administration, and extremely hard for partisans to distinguish from righteousness, or understand the damage it causes. It occurs when there is a wide variance between what is found just, and what is believed true.

The action which enables impunity to flourish is when persons in positions of authority claim due process equals justice, and somehow justice always prevails.

Our organization and thousands of people in Portland believe injustice has prevailed, that a fair hearing on what happened to James Chasse has not occurred.

The final opportunity for intervention was a internal review of the officer’s actions, and a decision whether those actions were within the policy of the police bureau. After three years the bureau distributed a press release citing reasons their review was late. A minor technicality was found, so minor punishment may occur.

What’s occurred is impunity. The message delivered is a brutal beating and death of a person with a mental illness, even one with caregivers, friends, family, a home, a clean record, is acceptable within the Portland Police Bureau.

It should be unacceptable to you. Impunity undermines and dissolves the most important tools police officers need – trust and respect.

Here are actions which can rebuild trust and respect.

1. Release the full internal investigation of what happened to James Chasse – not a press release
2. Move the three officers involved with the death of James Chasse – Christopher Humphrey, Kyle Nice and Bret Burton – off patrol duty
3. Make a goal to reducing the use of Tasers on persons with mental illness by 50% per year for the next five years
4. Reopen the Chief’s Forum
5. Form a joint effort by local governments and local police bureaus with mental health advocates to seek full funding for mental health services from the state legislature
6. Open a sincere, staffed and ongoing public meeting between police senior staff and persons with mental illness
7. Release the Crisis Intervention Team curriculum to public inspection, release data about police encounters with persons with mental illness

The right response to impunity comes from the top down. It’s your responsibility to act.

From the Oregonian Editorial Board, September 25, 2009

Many things can be said about the death of a mentally ill man in police custody. ‘Acceptable’ isn’t among them

Acceptable?

You can almost feel this community reeling in stunned disbelief at the headline coming out of the Portland Police Bureau this week (“Sizer: Chasse force acceptable,” The Oregonian, Sept. 24).

Nothing about the death of James P. Chasse Jr., a mentally ill and physically fragile musician, will ever be remotely acceptable.

Unacceptable: The secrecy that has swaddled this case. When there’s a death at police hands or in police custody, it shouldn’t take a federal lawsuit to illuminate what happened. The public deserves a full and prompt accounting in a public inquest.

Unacceptable: The length of time, three years, it has taken for the chief to decide on discipline — or lack thereof — for the officers involved. True, it has been complicated by the federal lawsuit filed by the Chasse family, which goes to trial in March, but there’s still no excuse.

Unacceptable: The officers’ maximum response on Sept. 17, 2006, to a situation that called for minimal intervention. It is not even clear that Chasse, a 42-year-old schizophrenic, actually urinated in public, the offense that supposedly triggered the police chase in the Pearl District.

Of course, police are often rightfully suspicious when people ordered to stop run away from them. But there is some doubt about whether Chasse was even capable of running, since he walked with a limp as a result of a traffic accident. We do know for certain he was terrified of the police. And, it turns out, he had every reason to be.

On Wednesday, however, Police Chief Rosie Sizer announced her conclusion that the officers who confronted Chasse three years ago conformed to bureau policy. The chief only singled out a sergeant for discipline, recommending he be suspended for an unspecified period — 40 hours has been discussed — for failing to ensure Chasse went to a hospital.

That lapse may sound minor, but it wasn’t. It violated a bureau policy, adopted in 2006, requiring that anyone stunned with a Taser who shows evidence of disorientation be rushed to a hospital.

Had the sergeant adhered to this policy, it might have saved Chasse’s life. As for whether everything else adhered to bureau policies — and a use-of-force review board backed up the chief — the response from this community must be: Well, great. Then change the policies.

And it’s reassuring to know that the bureau has done exactly that. Sizer, remember, was sworn in as chief on July 13, 2006, just two months before Chasse died. Since his death, and it’s not a coincidence, the bureau has instituted crisis intervention training for all uniformed officers; altered training on foot pursuits; and overhauled the protocol for evaluating and transporting the injured.

True, there have been many tragic deaths at police hands or in police custody over the years. Some have reverberated in this city for a time without fundamentally altering the culture of the bureau. A bureau chastened and revolutionized, a bureau that you can speak of as pre-Chasse and post-Chasse?

That’s the only outcome from this case that is remotely acceptable.

Rosie Sizer, Chief of Portland Police Bureau

More than three years after James P. Chasse Jr. died in police custody of blunt force trauma that splintered 16 of his ribs, Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer found that a sergeant was the only one who violated policy, by failing to send Chasse to a hospital.

Sizer announced Wednesday that the officers who struggled with Chasse as they tried to take him into custody used appropriate force and acted according to bureau policy. But she found the sergeant failed to have Chasse , 42, taken to the hospital as required for certain people once they’ve been stunned by a Taser.

The chief has proposed an unpaid suspension for the sergeant, who may challenge the decision, but did not say for how long.

Sizer’s long-awaited ruling comes as the city and the Chasse family prepare to go to trial March 16 on a federal civil-rights lawsuit that accuses the officers and American Medical Response paramedics of using excessive force and denying Chasse appropriate medical attention.

The police union president praised the ruling, but mental health advocates and others who have closely monitored the case expressed frustration and called for changes to police policy.

Two Portland officers –Officer Christopher Humphreys and Sgt. Kyle Nice –and then-Multnomah County sheriff’s Deputy Bret Burton, who is now a Portland officer, arrested Chasse on Sept. 17, 2006, after one of the officers said he appeared to be urinating in the street. Police said he ran when they approached. They chased him, knocked him to the ground and struggled to handcuff him.

Ambulance medics called to the scene did not take him to a hospital, saying Chasse ’s vital signs were normal. But jail staff members refused to book him because of his physical condition. Chasse , who suffered from schizophrenia, died while being taken to the hospital in a police car. The medical examiner said the cause of death was broad-based blunt-force trauma to the chest.

In a statement, Sizer said the bureau’s Use of Force Review Board found that the officers’ foot chase and the force they used to stop, control and handcuff Chasse was within bureau policy. The board also found there was no evidence that any of the officers involved “knew or should have known that Mr. Chasse had suffered a serious physical injury.”

However, the board found that Nice, the sergeant, failed to insist that Chasse be taken to a hospital after police stunned Chasse , as bureau policy required in such instances.

The 2006 police policy stated that people who are medically fragile or suffering from hyper stimulation, agitation, apprehension or agitated delirium, which includes paranoia, altered mental status, confusion or disorientation before or after the Taser is deployed, will be taken to a hospital by emergency medical personnel.

Had Chasse received proper medical attention at the scene or been taken to a hospital right away, he probably would have lived, state medical examiner Dr. Karen Gunson said in a deposition filed in federal court this summer.

The autopsy found Chasse suffered 26 breaks to 16 ribs, some of which punctured his left lung. Gunson said he suffered 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head and 19 strikes to the torso. Fractures to his back ribs also probably did not result from Chasse getting knocked to the ground or someone falling on top of him, but more likely resulted from a kick or knee-drop, Gunson said in her deposition.

The review board also considered allegations of untruthfulness in Humphreys’ account of how he knocked Chasse to the ground. Immediately after the arrest, Humphreys was recorded on a jail video telling jail staff members how “we tackled him” and Burton is shown imitating a bear hug. Three days later, Humphreys told police investigators that he shoved Chasse down with both forearms against his back –following police training.

The review board, made up of bureau members and community members, concluded the untruthfulness allegation “was unproven,” Sizer said.

Chasse ’s family attorney, Tom Steenson, accused the bureau of violating a federal judge’s protective order, which prohibits the parties to the lawsuit from publicly releasing the internal affairs inquiry.

The city sought the order two years ago, which was contested by Steenson along with The Oregonian and other media. Steenson said Wednesday he intended to file a motion to have the order lifted immediately and the full inquiry released.

Michael Hopcroft, a board member of the Mental Health Association of Portland, criticized the chief’s findings.

“The facts of the case as found by more independent objective individuals showed that Chasse ’s injuries could only come about by excessive force,” Hopcroft said. “Why the chief’s protecting the officers involved, I really have no idea.”

Though community members sit on the bureau’s Use of Force Review Board, Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch said the process is flawed because the board conducts its reviews behind closed doors. He said the public has no idea what influence the citizens wield or the information they’re given.

“If the police are not going to be held accountable, then the policy has got to change,” he said.

Last week, Sizer faced intense criticism for not having completed her internal review on the Chasse case as the third anniversary of his death passed. In her release Wednesday, the chief said, “I am respectful of the community’s desire for this information but also recognize that speed cannot trump thoroughness and fairness in a review process.”

Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman said he plans to sign the proposed discipline but also discuss with the chief the duration of the sergeant’s suspension. “We do regret the tragic circumstances around Mr. Chasse ’s death.”

A 40-hour suspension for Nice has been one proposal discussed, but the chief wouldn’t comment.

Sgt. Scott Westerman, president of the Portland Police Association, the rank-and-file police union, said that the chief’s findings “reaffirm our belief” that the officers’ use of force was within policy. His prepared statement avoided any mention of Nice’s suspension.

Jason Renaud, who was a friend of Chasse ’s and is a volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland, called the chief’s ruling “very disappointing.”

“They suspend Nice on a technicality to say they’ve done something on this case, and that’s worse than doing nothing at all, ” Renaud said. “It’s insulting and gives officers the message that this behavior is going to get them a slap on the wrist.”

The documents listed below available to be presented to a Multnomah County grand jury by Assistant District Attorney Christine Mascal on about October X, 2006. The order, the emphasis, and whether the entirety of the documents were presented is unknown – because grand jury transcripts are kept secret.

Transcripts of Citizen Witnesses of the Chasse Beating – PDF files

* Alireza Justin Soltani – interview summary by Detective Jon Rhodes, 10.01.2006
* Alireza Justin Soltani – taped statement transcription, 9.24.2006
* Ann Stevenson & David Lillegaard – interview summary by Detective Lynn Courtney, 10.05.2006
* Benjamin Persyn – interview summary by Detective Jon Rhodes, conducted 10.2.2006
* Constance Doolan – interview summary by Detective Lynn Courtney, 10.03.2006
* Constance Doolan – taped statement transcription, 9.23.2006
* Diane Loghry – interview summary by Detective Jon Rhodes, 10.01.2006
* Diane Loghry – taped statement transcription, 9.21.2006
* Elizabeth Anderson – interview summary by Detective Jon Rhodes, 9.28.2006
* Homer Williams – interview summary by Lynn Courtney, 9.30.2006
* Jamie Marquez – taped statement transcription, 9.24?.2006
* Jon Olsen – interview summary by Detective J A McCausland, 9.18.2006
* Mark Ginsberg – interview summary by Detective Lynn Courtney, 10.09.2006
* Mark Ginsberg – taped statement transcription, 10.03.2006
* Melissa Gaylord – interview summary by Detective Lynn Courtney, 10.06.2006
* Michael Gentry – interview summary by Detective Jon Rhodes, 10.10.2006
* Randall Stuart – interview summary by Lynn Courtney, 9.29.2006
* Randall Stuart – taped statement transcription, 9.21.2006

Portland Police Officer Reports & Testimony

* Officer C. Brown – special report, 9 17, 2006
* Officer Christopher Humphrey – special report – handwritten, 9.26.2006
* Officer Christopher Humphrey – special report to detectives, 9.26.2006
* Officer Christopher Humphrey – taped statement transcription, 9.20.2006
* Officer Christopher Humphrey – Use-of-Force report, 9.20.2006
* Officer Edward Johnson – special report, 10.01.2006
* Officer Gonzalez – special report, 9.17.200
* Officer H Singh – special report – property evidence, officer clothing, 9.17.2006
* Officer J A McCausland – special report – word picture of scene at 33rd and Clackamas, 9.25.2006
* Officer J Worthington – special report – contact two days prior with Jim Chasse, 10.06.2006
* Officer J. Shearer – special report – evidence inside squad car, 9.21.200
* Officer Jason Lile – special report, 9.18.2006
* Officer M. Bledsoe – special report, 9.17.2006
* Officer M. Bledsoe – taped statement transcription, 9.17.2006
* Officer N. Phothivongsa – special report – from MCDC intake, 9.17.2006
* Officer Pintarich – special report – follow ambulance to Providence ER, 9.17.2006
* Officer Troy Pahlke – special report, 9.28.2006
* Officer Troy Pahlke – taped statement transcription, 9.19.2006
* Sergeant G. A. Burke – special report, 9 17, 2006
* Sergeant Jason Pearce – special report, 9.17.2006
* Sergeant Jason Servo – special report – tow squad car, 9.17.2006
* Sergeant Jeff Niiya – special report – handwritten, 9.17.2006
* Sergeant Jeff Niiya – taped statement transcription, 9.17.2006
* Sergeant Kyle Nice – special report, 9.26.2006
* Sergeant Kyle Nice – taped statement transcription, 9.18.2006
* Sergeant Vic Doty – special report, 9.25.2006

Multnomah County Sheriff’s Deputies and Staff Reports & Testimony

* Brian Branch – information report, 9.17.2006
* Deputy Bret Burton – taped statement transcription – UNAVAILABLE
* Deputy Judith May – information report, 9.17.2006
* Deputy Martin McElhaney – information report, 9.17.2006 – UNAVAILABLE
* Deputy P Hubert – information report – combative inmate, 9.17.2006
* Deputy Thomas Hollenbeck – information report, 9.17.2006
* Deputy Thomas Hollenbeck, Deputy Judith May, Deputy Martin McElhaney – taped statement transcription, 9.18.2006
* Patricia Gayman, RN – special report – refusal of inmate at the door, 9.17.2006
* Patricia Gayman, RN – special report, 10.03.2006
* Patricia Gayman, RN – taped statement transcription, 9.18.2006

Miscellaneous Documents Presented to Chasse Grand Jury

* Autopsy of James Chasse – 9.17.2006
* Autopsy of James Chasse, attendance report from Detective Jon Rhodes, 10.12.2006
* Crime scene sign in sheet – 9.17.2006
* Detective Lynn Courtney – special report and summary, listing all people involved, 9.25.2006
* Detective Lynn Courtney – special report, defibrillator download, 10.16.2006
* Detectives acquire intake video from MCDC, 9.26.2006 – UNAVAILABLE
* Detectives acquire pre-hospital care report from AMR Ambulance, 9.25.2006
* District Attorney Report on County Jails – CHASSE – UNAVAILABLE
* District Attorney Report on County Jails – FULL – UNAVAILABLE
* Evidence Report – squad car, Officer Mark Johnson, 9.26.2006
* Evidence Report – “white powdery substance,” Officer J Mann, 9.17.2006
* Explanation of Jon Olson and the defibrillator – special report by Officer G Manougian, 9.17.2006
* Fingerprint Report – Officer Ken Jones, 9.18.2006
* Multnomah County Resolution 06-185, all county deputies must be CIT trained
* Property Evidence collected at Medical Examiner’s office – special report, Officer B McIntyre, (mistyped) 6.18.2006
* Property Evidence Receipts – items taken from officer & witnesses, various dates
* Report cover – undated
* Scene Response and Initial Investigation – Detective Jon Rhodes, 10.02.2006

Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare

* Ela Howard – Project Respond case worker – special report, 10.10.2006
* Yvonne Ingram – treatment counselor – special report, 10.12.2006

Portland Fire Bureau

* Bill Koppy – taped statement transcription, 9.21.2006
* Brian Malloy – taped statement transcription, 9.20.2006
* Donal Reeb – taped statement transcription – 9.22.2006
* Gary Szalay – taped statement transcription, 9.25.2006
* Robert Hawks – special report, 9.29.2006

Memos to Portland Police Officers

* Communication Restriction During Investigation Order for Officer Christopher Humphrey, Officer M. Bledsoe, Sergeant Kyle Nice, Officer Troy Pahlke, Sergeant Jeff Niiya, Officer C. Weldon

Untitled from pdx97217 on Vimeo.

This video is from a Multnomah County jail security camera over the door of a holding cell. It shows deputy Bret Burton and officer Christopher Humphreys carrying James Chasse into the cell, entering the cell to cut away his plastic holding ties (he had been tied hand and foot), and jail deputies reacting. At about 8 minutes, corrections health nurses enter, look at Chasse, and tell the officers to take him to a hospital. The re-tie him and carry him, shrieking in pain, out to their patrol car, where he dies about 10 minutes later.

From the Portland Mercury, September 23 2009

Police Chief Rosie Sizer has released the findings of an internal review of the 2006 death of James Chasse—a man suffering with schizophrenia—this morning, finding barely any wrongdoing by her officers apart from Sergeant Kyle Nice, at the scene, who failed to follow the bureau’s directives on transporting a subject to hospital in certain situations following Taser deployment.

Kyle Nice video still - by Sara Bubenik

Sizer and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman will now co-sign a letter ordering Nice suspended for an as-yet to be determined period of time. Nice will have the opportunity to appeal the suspension if he chooses. Saltzman had no comment on the findings this morning, but told the Mercury: “We certainly regret Mr. Chasse’s death.”

The bureau’s use of force board found that:

The initiation and termination of the foot pursuit of Chasse did not violate any bureau policy and that the force used during the struggle to stop, control and handcuff Mr.Chasse was within policy. As soon as the officers observed Mr. Chasse showing signs of medical distress, officers called for paramedics. At the time Mr. Chasse was transported to jail, officers had been told by paramedics Mr. Chasse was medically stable. There is no evidence in any report or witness statement that caused members of the Use of Force Review Board to conclude that any officer at the scene knew or should have known that Mr. Chasse had suffered a serious physical injury.

Those findings are surprising, to say the least, given facts in the case.

From a story earlier this year:

1. Chasse’s broken ribs were most likely the result of kicks or a dropped knee. State medical examiner Karen Gunson, who performed Chasse’s autopsy, told attorneys for the Chasse family during depositions that some fractured ribs in Chasse’s back were unlikely to have been caused by his fall to the ground, but that a “knee in that particular area on the back of the neck” was a “better scenario.” Gunson found 48 separate abrasions or contusions on Chasse’s body, including 16 possible blows to the head. Chasse would most likely have lived if he had been given proper medical care, Gunson said.

2. Chasse never urinated in the street. Deposition of Portland Police Bureau Officer Christopher Humphreys reveals he never saw Chasse urinate on the sidewalk—an alleged detail of their encounter, which has been widely reported as a possible legal basis for the officers stopping Chasse. At most, Humphreys thought he saw Chasse urinating in his own pants because there was possibly a wet patch on his trousers, he said. But Chasse was causing no distress or alarm, Humphreys admitted.

3. Chasse screamed before going unconscious. Several witnesses described Chasse’s screams during his struggle with police. “He seemed like a scared animal,” said witness Melissa Jane Gaylord. Electrician Tony Lee Carter “thought [Chasse] was dead” for a period during which Chasse was unconscious on the sidewalk, following his beating. Bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg, another witness, said: “I did hear Mr. Chasse yelling ‘mercy, mercy, mercy,’ and that was personally pretty disturbing to me.”

4. Paramedics did not adequately assess Chasse’s injuries. Sergeant Kyle Nice radioed for backup saying Chasse was “unconscious” on the street corner of NW 13th and Everett, but never informed paramedics of the extent of force used or of Chasse’s prolonged unconsciousness, according to the documents. Paramedic Tamara Hergert wrote only that Chasse had become “extremely quiet” on the sidewalk. “Police thought he may have passed out, he came to quickly,” she wrote. Hergert also apparently neglected to do a body check on Chasse, beyond checking his vital signs, which she wrote down were normal. Hergert also told lawyers she was directed by Nice to have Humphreys sign a medical release form on Chasse’s behalf.

5. Witnesses were shocked Chasse wasn’t taken to hospital in an ambulance. Local developer Homer Williams said Chasse looked like a “bag of bones” when police put him in a squad car.

6. There was mocking of Chasse’s distress. “There was clear vocal mocking, the mocking of Mr. Chasse’s cries for help,” said eyewitness Randall Stuart, referring to emergency workers on the scene. Later TriMet sergeant Terry O’Keefe, who was supervising Humphreys and Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Burton that night, sent them a message on their in-car computers: “NICE WORK BOYS. GLAD U R OK N HE ISN’T.”

7. Police experts say cops were in the wrong. An expert witness says Officers Nice, Humphreys, and Sheriff’s Deputy Burton did not follow police policies and practices in the treatment of someone who is at least suspected of being mentally ill. Lou Reiter, former Deputy Police Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, described the officers’ use of force as “unreasonable,” and their failure to disclose to paramedics the force used on Chasse as “unreasonable.”

“The findings of the investigation released today reaffirm our belief that the officers involved were within policy as it relates to their use of force in this incident,” said Portland Police Association Boss Scott Westerman, in a statement released shortly after the findings.

Update, 11:06:

“Nice’s suspension could be ten minutes long,” says Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Association of Portland. “The question is whether there is some sort of punitive measure that will cause police officers to not do this in the future. What we’ve learned over the past three years is that the relationship between persons suffering from mental health issues and police officers is complex.”

“It’s important that what happens to Kyle Nice be public,” Renaud continues. “So that officers know that they have a responsibility to care for people, even though they may be seen in their eyes as despicable.”

“The dilemma is that when police officers do the right thing as per policy and per training, and yet someone ends up dead, there is something wrong,” says Renaud. “That problem has not be solved yet, and it seems to be that the only way to solve that is by the penalty afforded from a civil trial.”

“This is the opening salvo in the police/city contract negotiation with the police union, and hopefully Dan Saltzman has the guts to negotiate on behalf of the citizens of Portland and not on behalf of the interests of police officers,” says Renaud—referring to the negotiations due to begin in November. “These negotiations between the city and the unions are almost always closed door stuff.”

Update, 11:10:

Attorneys for the Chasse family are reviewing the chief’s findings and will decide whether to release a statement shortly.

Update, 12:48:

Dan Handelman from Portland Copwatch has sent the following email to his members:

Looks like that Internal Affairs report finally made it to the Chief. Only one of the three officers involved—Sgt Kyle Nice—will be disciplined, and it’s for a relatively minor reason, though connected to Chasse’s death: That he didn’t transport Chasse to the hospital after using a Taser. Humphreys and Burton are exonerated, despite the fact that they applied blows to Chasse’s head (deadly force) and broke nearly all of his ribs. As I told one reporter, if that is within Bureau policy, we need to change Bureau policy.

According to a timeline released by the Bureau, one holdup in the investigation had to do with interviewing Deputy Burton, who was working for the Sheriff’s office but under the direction of the Portland Police Transit Division at the time.

http://www.portlandonline.com/police/pbnotify.cfm?action=ViewContent&content_id=1397

This issue is something we’ve been on about since the 2000 shooting of Justyn Galegos by Portland officers along with other jurisdictions—how do you hold such officers accountable when they are working with Portland Police?

The fact that the Use of Force Review Board was reconvened last Wednesday—one day before the three year anniversary of Chasse’s death—is very telling. However, that the members of that board, presumably including the two citizen members (whose identities we can only guess at, since they were picked from a pool of 20), found no other wrongdoing is disturbing. As we’ve also pointed out before, separating these serious cases from the more minor ones that are handled by the Independent Police Review Division (IPR) and can be adjudicated at public hearings by the Citizen Review Committee (CRC) is a disservice to the community. They should at least open the UFRB hearings if they are not going to integrate the system.

The Oregonian reports that Chasse family attorney Tom Steenson plans to hold the City accountable for releasing the information on the Internal Affairs investigation as it violates the gag order imposed by the judge. Steenson plans to ask the judge, once again, to lift the gag order—which would make sense now that the City has ignored the order.

I’ve included the Mercury’s blog entry on the findings below because they go into a lot of detail and point out some of the reasons the findings are bogus.

—dan handelman
portland copwatch

Update, 1:59:

The Chasse family’s attorney, Tom Steenson, has released the following statement, relating to a judge’s protective order in the case:

“Over two years ago, the City of Portland and other defendants in the lawsuit sought a protective order barring the parties from releasing to the public documents and information regarding the Portland Police Bureau’s investigations into the death of James P. Chasse, Jr. Over the strenuous objections of the plaintiffs (the Chasse family – dad, mom and brother), and the unsuccessful intervention by the media at that time, the Court entered a protective order barring the release of those documents and that information to the public. Since then, plaintiffs have renewed their opposition to the protective order and have sought to make those investigations public, while the City and Chief Sizer have continued to argue that a protective order should remain in place. Despite the Chasse family’s arguments to the contrary, the Court has ordered the parties in the lawsuit, including the City and Chief Sizer, to continue to comply with the protective order.”

“As a result of this protective order, the Chasse family and their attorneys have been unable to release documents and other information which they have learned in the course of the lawsuit about the Police Bureau’s investigations into James’ death. Unfortunately, that remains true today, preventing the Chasse family and their attorneys from commenting on the subject matter of the Police Bureau’s News Release today and from releasing documents and information about those investigations which it appears the City has not released to the public.”

“The Chasse family and their attorneys are very sorry that they cannot comment on these events at this time. However, they are taking immediate steps to ask the Court to set aside the protective order which the City and Chief Sizer have violated today by their release of documents and information which are subject to the order. If the Court grants our renewed motion, we will then be in a position to release documents and information about the Police Bureau’s investigations into James’ death which the City does not appear to be releasing and to comment, like the City and Chief Sizer have done today, on those investigations and related matters.”

From OPB.org, September 23 2009

Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer, has recommended that one of the officers involved in the arrest of James Chasse — who died in police custody — be suspended.

The recommendation comes as Sizer released the findings of the police Use of Force Review Board Wednesday, but not the actual report.

James Chasse died on September 17th — three years ago.

Two Portland officers and a Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputy chased him after one of them thought he was urinating in the street.

Chasse was 42 and suffered from schizophrenia.

Officers knocked him to the ground and then struggled to handcuff him.

The coroner’s report found he suffered dozens of broken bones and abrasions.

Chasse was taken to jail, where medical staff there suggested he be transported to the hospital. He died in the back of a cruiser on the way.

The case has been a call to action for mental health advocates, who are troubled by the way some sick people have been dealt with by police. Chasse’s family has filed a civil law suit, so Sizer and other parties are not answering questions.

In a written statement, however, Sizer says: “Many times, a police officer is the first responder to a person in mental crisis. We remain committed to ensuring our training and partnerships with mental health professionals remain solid.”

But Jason Renaud with the Mental Health Association of Portland, says Sizer is trying to control the message by releasing findings but not the complete report.

Jason Renaud: “This is not an investigation report, this is just a press release trying to ameliorate the hard feelings about what happened to James Chasse. But we asked for the internal investigation to be finished and to be published. That hasn’t happened.”

Sizer says the main findings of the investigation are that officers acted in line with police bureau policy.

She says the Use of Force Review Board found officers had been told by paramedics that Chasse showed no signs of medical distress.

Renaud says that’s one of the interesting findings in Sizer’s statement.

Jason Renaud: “Those EMT’s are the check and balance. They’re the fail safe that didn’t work.”

American Medical Response, the ambulance company that employed the EMTs who responded to the scene, failed to respond to requests for comment on the findings.

The company is named in the Chasse family’s civil suit along with the City of Portland.

Sizer also says the investigation found that one of the officers, Sgt. Kyle Nice, failed to send Chasse to the hospital, as is required when a Taser is used. Sizer has recommended that Nice be suspended, but she did not say for how long.

The police bureau has changed several policies as a result of the case. For example: more than 600 cops have gone through Crisis Intervention Training; and officers now consider things like the severity of a crime before chasing someone.

Multnomah County, which had one deputy on the scene, has settled out of court with the family for about $900,000.

Scott Westerman of the Portland Police union says he is pleased the investigation showed officers followed bureau policy. He released a statement saying: “As more documents in this case are made available, we are confident the findings of this investigation will be affirmed, and the appropriateness of the officers’ actions will be increasingly self-evident.”

In a statement, the Chasse family attorney said Sizer went against a judge’s gag-order by releasing the findings.

He says he’d like the order to be lifted so details that he’s learned could also be made public, adding that: “we will then be in a position to release documents and information about the Police Bureau’s investigations into James’ death which the City does not appear to be releasing.”

The family’s civil case is scheduled to start March 16th in federal court.

Sizer’s recommendation that an officer be suspended will now go through an internal review process.

Issued by Tom Steenson: Attorney for the family and estate of James P. Chasse, Jr.

Re: Chasse v. Humphreys, et al., Case No. CV-07-189-HU and PPB’s 9/23/09 “News Release”

Over two years ago, the City of Portland and other defendants in the lawsuit sought a protective order barring the parties from releasing to the public documents and information regarding the Portland Police Bureau’s investigations into the death of James P. Chasse, Jr. Over the strenuous objections of the plaintiffs (the Chasse family – dad, mom and brother), and the unsuccessful intervention by the media at that time, the Court entered a protective order barring the release of those documents and that information to the public. Since then, plaintiffs have renewed their opposition to the protective order and have sought to make those investigations public, while the City and Chief Sizer have continued to argue that a protective order should remain in place. Despite the Chasse family’s arguments to the contrary, the Court has ordered the parties in the lawsuit, including the City and Chief Sizer, to continue to comply with the protective order.

As a result of this protective order, the Chasse family and their attorneys have been unable to release documents and other information which they have learned in the course of the lawsuit about the Police Bureau’s investigations into James’ death. Unfortunately, that remains true today, preventing the Chasse family and their attorneys from commenting on the subject matter of the Police Bureau’s News Release today and from releasing documents and information about those investigations which it appears the City has not released to the public.

The Chasse family and their attorneys are very sorry that they cannot comment on these events at this time. However, they are taking immediate steps to ask the Court to set aside the protective order which the City and Chief Sizer have violated today by their release of documents and information which are subject to the order. If the Court grants our renewed motion, we will then be in a position to release documents and information about the Police Bureau’s investigations into James’ death which the City does not appear to be releasing and to comment, like the City and Chief Sizer have done today, on those investigations and related matters.

READ – Chasse family statement, September 23 2009, September 23 2009

From the Portland Tribune, September 23 2009

Chief concluded that bureau directives involving Tazer use were not followed

Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer is recommending that Sgt. Kyle Nice be suspending for not ensuring that James Chasse was transported to a hospital after being Tazered when he was arrested a little more than three years ago.

Chasse died around two hours after the arrest. He was initially handcuffed and driven to the Multnomah County Detention Center in a police car, but jailers refused to accept him because he appeared injured.

Chasse died in a police car while being driven from the jail to a hospital.

The Portland Police Bureau’s Use of Force Review Board concluded that bureau policies concerning Tazer use required that Chasse be transported to a hospital instead of jail. Sizer agreed with the conclusion and has recommended that Nice – the sergeant on the scene – be suspended.

The recommendation begins an internal bureau process that allows Nice to challenge the recommendation. Sizer will discuss her recommendation with Portland Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman as part of the process.

The board did not find that any other bureau policies were violated during the arrest, including those governing the use of excessive force. Although an autopsy found that Chasse has 26 broken or fractured bones and a punctured lung, the board found the amount of force used to subdue Chasse was within bureau policies.

The board also concluded that none of the arresting officers knew or should have known that Chasse was seriously injured.

Sizer agreed and has not recommended any other officer by disciplined.

The Chasse family, which is suing the city, the police bureau and its officers in federal court, said through their attorney that they hoped the release of information from the use of force report could lead to more documents made available in the case.

The family is battling a judge’s protective order that blocked the release of some police bureau documents in the case. Attorney Tom Steenson said in a statement Wednesday that the family would ask the judge to lift the order now that Sizer has released some of the information.

“If the court grants our renewed motion, we will then be in a position to release documents and information about the police bureau’s investigations into James’ death which the city does not appear to be releasing and to comment, like the city and Chief Sizer have done today, on those investigations and related matters,” Steenson said in the statement.

The Portland Police Association, which represents the officers, praised the release of the board’s decision and said it reinforced the belief that most officers acted according to policy at the time.

“The findings of the investigation released reaffirm our belief that the officers involved were within policy as it relates to their use of force in this incident,” said Scott Westerman, association president. “As more documents in this case are made available, we are confident the findings of this investigation will be affirmed, and the appropriateness of the officers’ actions will be increasingly self-evident.”

Sizer declined comment on the finding and her recommendation because a federal wrongful death lawsuit is pending in the case. It was filed by Chasse’s family and set for trial next March.

Chasse’s death in custody has been controversial since it occurred on Sept. 17, 2006. He was chased and knocked to the ground by police who thought he had been behaving suspiciously. Police and witness accounts of the pursuit and arrest varied widely, with police saying they acted reasonably and some witnesses claiming they tackled and beat Chasse, who fought back violently.

In a statement released Wednesday, Sizer said she was aware that the internal review of the case had taken a long time, but that it was complicated by a Multnomah County grand jury review that cleared the officers, an Internal Affairs Investigation and the lawsuit.

The Use of Force Board originally met in October 2008 and again on Sept. 16 of this year.

From KGW.com, September 23 2009

More than three years after the death of James Chasse in police custody, the Portland Police Use of Force Board completed its review of the case and concluded that, in most respects, police followed department policy.

James Chasse died while in police custody after an encounter with police in Old Town on September 17, 2006. Officers said Chasse appeared to be urinating outdoors and when he tried to get away they tackled him.

The Police Bureau was strongly criticized for its handling of the case.

In July 2009, the Multnomah County Commission voted to pay the family of James Chasse $925,000 as a settlement to a civil lawsuit filed over the mentally ill man’s death in police custody.

On the three-year anniversary of Chasse’s death, a citizen’s group recently launched a petition drive to pressure the bureau to complete its investigation.

After a three-year review, the bureau released a three-page statement Wednesday, including these conclusions:

“The UFRB concluded that the initiation and termination of the foot pursuit of Mr. Chasse did not violate any Bureau policy and that the force used during the struggle to stop, control and handcuff Mr. Chasse was within policy. As soon as the officers observed Mr. Chasse showing signs of medical distress, officers called for paramedics. At the time Mr. Chasse was transported to jail, officers had been told by paramedics Mr. Chasse was medically stable. There is no evidence in any report or witness statement that caused members of the UFRB to conclude that any officer at the scene knew or should have known that Mr. Chasse had suffered a serious physical injury.”

“However, the Board concluded that the sergeant at the scene did not adhere to the Bureau’s directive requiring EMS to transport to the hospital individuals in certain situations following Taser deployment. Chief Sizer agreed with the Board’s findings and in regard to the recommendation concerning the post Taser medical transport issue, found that the sergeant involved is subject to the disciplinary process in the form of a suspension.”“In addition, the Bureau’s training and directives have since been reinforced in an effort to ensure that medically fragile individuals are transported in an ambulance and not a police car. The tragic death of Mr. Chasse prompted additional policy changes, both in the Police Bureau and in officers’ contact with paramedics and the Multnomah County jail system.”

The report also addressed the lengthy review process. Chief Sizer issued this statement regarding the three-year time frame for the review: “I am respectful of the community’s desire for this information, but also recognize that speed cannot trump thoroughness and fairness in a review process.” she said. “I am also appreciative of the commitment of all those involved—especially the community members who volunteered so many hours of their time to ensure a comprehensive review was completed.”

Shortly after the UFRB report was released, the attorney for the family of James Chasse responded, noting that a protective order, sought by the City of Portland and imposed over the objections of the family, barred family members from commenting on details of the investigation:

“The Chasse family and their attorneys are very sorry that they cannot comment on these events at this time. However, they are taking immediate steps to ask the Court to set aside the protective order which the City and Chief Sizer have violated today by their release of documents and information which are subject to the order.”

The Portland Police Bureau did not disclose the length of the suspension for the sergeant who violated the department’s EMS policy.

This list of policy changes, a timeline of events, and a press release was distributed to the media on September 23 2009 in lieu of a direct response to the request by the Mental Health Association of Portland for release of the internal investigation of what happened to James Chasse, made on September 17 2009.

The death of James Chasse prompted several policy changes and additions to officers’ training:

CIT Training Bureau wide Training all uniform officers and supervisors in crisis intervention techniques.
As of December 2008, all officers and sergeants (except one officer on medical leave) in the Operations Branch were trained in CIT. This included 540 Bureau members, 70 Multnomah County deputies and 20 Gresham officers.

Advanced Academy CIT Training
Introduce CIT training, include scenario based training and reinforce person encounter doctrine. Began in January 2009 and is ongoing.

In-Service: Foot Pursuits
Provide a refresher course in foot pursuits with emphasis on outlining factors that should be considered at the onset of the pursuit, including severity of the crime, applicable statutes and policies, one’s own knowledge of the subject including physical descriptors and the immediate environment. Taught in 2008 Officer In-service.

Emergency Medical Transport Directive
A complete overhaul of the policy and procedures surrounding the evaluation and transport of prisoners who are possibly injured or suffering from a possible medical condition. Emergency Medical Custody Transport Directive (630.45) adopted July 27 2007, and amended March 11, 2009. Roll call videos explained these changes in great detail.

Bureau Mental Health Professional
The recruitment and hiring of a mental health professional whose responsibilities include the development and implementation of “best practice” procedures in connection with officers’ contact with mentally fragile individuals. Hired Liesbeth Gerritsen, Ph.D. on May 30, 2007. Acts as liaison for the Bureau to mental health groups, attends the Bureau’s CIT Advisory Committee meetings, works with individuals with mental health issues as well as families who need assistance. Continues to work closely with Project Respond. Works closely with the Hostage Negotiation Team and responds to all callouts.

Improved communication and intervention with chronic situations
Improvement in the Bureau’s communication with mental health professionals and action toward people with mental health issues who use police services frequently. The Bureau’s Mental Health professional, Liesbeth Gerritsen, works closely with mental health providers. She also works with Neighborhood Response Team officers and jail personnel to refer people who suffer from mental illness and frequently call police to Project Respond’s Intensive Engagement Team for intervention. This team partners with officers to respond to individuals and work toward connecting them with appropriate services.

Foot Pursuit Data
Track data related to foot pursuits. Committee was formed and recommendations were implemented that added foot pursuits data tracking to current system of tracking vehicle pursuits. A Training Bulletin has been written and computer programmers have added the new forms to the Field Reporting System for officers. It will be rolled out shortly in conjunction with a roll call video.

Foot Pursuits Roll Call Video
The development of a roll call video that reiterates the threat assessment doctrine taught at 2008 in-service. The video will also train officers on how to use the new data tracking system. Scheduled date: November 2009.

Sudden Death and Excited Delirium Conference
Send Bureau members to receive additional training on Sudden Death and Excited Delirium. Bureau members attended conference. Two videos regarding this subject were presented in roll calls in July 2007 and July 2009

READ – The death of James Chasse prompted several policy changes and additions to officers’ training:, September 23 2009

This press release press release, a list of policy changes, and a timeline of events, was distributed to the media on September 23 2009 in lieu of a direct response to the request by the Mental Health Association of Portland for release of the internal investigation of what happened to James Chasse, made on September 17 2009.

PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU NEWS RELEASE

POLICE BUREAU RELEASES USE OF FORCE REVIEW BOARD FINDINGS ON THE DEATH OF JAMES CHASSE ALSO RELEASED: FINDINGS OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATION REGARDING ENHANCED AUDIO OF JAIL VIDEO

Portland Police Chief Rosanne Sizer has released the findings of the Police Bureau’s Use of Force Review Board (UFRB) regarding Portland Police Officers’ actions in connection with the death of James Chasse. The Board originally completed its review late last year. However, before the Chief had finalized her review and decision in the case, the District Attorney opened a subsequent criminal investigation based on allegations made by the attorney for the Chasse family. The Chief held her final review until the District Attorney and Police Bureau had conducted an
additional investigation into the allegations that an officer involved had lied during the investigation. This investigation included consideration of an audio-enhanced video from the Multnomah County Jail. In May, the District Attorney’s office declined the criminal case and the Bureau’s administrative investigation into the allegations began.

The Police Bureau’s Internal Affairs Division conducted an additional investigation into the allegations of untruthfulness concerning the officer. The command review process concluded the truthfulness allegation was unproven. Recently, the members of the UFRB were asked to review the additional information from the video and decide if the new information might have changed any of their original recommendations. The members of the UFRB, which includes volunteer community members and Bureau personnel, concluded that the additional investigation, including the enhanced video, did not change their conclusions regarding whether the officers’ actions violated Bureau policies.

The Use of Force Review Board considered information from the investigations conducted by th Detective Division, the Training Division and Internal Affairs Division. As with any officer involved shooting or in-custody death, the UFRB conducts a comprehensive overview of all aspects of an event including the actions of every involved member of the Police Bureau.

The UFRB closely scrutinized the force used by the officers. The UFRB reviewed more than 1,200 pages of documents, including statements from all known witnesses, and spent approximately twelve hours discussing the investigation with experienced investigators and subject matter experts. The UFRB considered if the following actions were within Bureau policy and training: Failure to notify BOEC when initiating subject contact (Directives 612.00 and 630.15); Initiation of the Foot Pursuit (Directive 630.15); Push/Take Down to Terminate Pursuit (Directives 630.15 and 1010.20); Use of Force on Ground (Directives 1010.20 and 630.50); Post Force Medical Treatment (Directive 1010.20 and 630.50); Post Taser Medical (Directive 1051.00); Post Jail Transport (Directive 1010.20) and Training Issues.

At the conclusion of its review, the UFRB sent recommended findings to Chief Sizer. The UFRB concluded that the initiation and termination of the foot pursuit of Mr. Chasse did not violate any Bureau policy and that the force used during the struggle to stop, control and handcuff Mr. Chasse was within policy. As soon as the officers observed Mr. Chasse showing signs of medical distress, officers called for paramedics. At the time Mr. Chasse was transported to jail, officers had been told by paramedics Mr. Chasse was medically stable. There is no evidence in any report or witness statement that caused members of the UFRB to conclude that any officer at the scene knew or should have known that Mr. Chasse had suffered a serious physical injury. However, the Board concluded that the sergeant at the scene did not adhere to the Bureau’s directive requiring EMS to transport to the hospital individuals in certain situations following Taser deployment. Chief Sizer agreed with the Board’s findings and in regard to the recommendation concerning the post Taser medical transport issue, found that the sergeant involved is subject to the disciplinary process in the form of a suspension.

In addition, the Bureau’s training and directives have since been reinforced in an effort to ensure that medically fragile individuals are transported in an ambulance and not a police car. The tragic death of Mr. Chasse prompted additional policy changes, both in the Police Bureau and in officers’ contact with paramedics and the Multnomah County jail system. See the attached for more information.

Despite these improvements, members still struggle with a mental health system-wide crisis. “Many times, a police officer is the first responder to a person in mental crisis or a mentally fragile person involved in illegal activity. We remain committed to ensuring our training and partnerships with mental health professionals remain solid,” says Chief Sizer. “Even after this tragic incident, we still do not have enough beds available for individuals in acute crisis, there are still not adequate resources available for an increasing number of individuals suffering from acute mental illness, and the region still does not have a mental health triage center.”

Chief Sizer noted that the third anniversary of Mr. Chasse’s death was September 17, and to many, this review process had taken an inordinate length of time. “I am respectful of the community’s desire for this information, but also recognize that speed cannot trump thoroughness and fairness in a review process.” she said. “I am also appreciative of the commitment of all those involved—especially the community members who volunteered so many hours of their time to ensure a comprehensive review was completed.”

“The Portland Police Bureau has become a leader among law enforcement agencies in the United States for its major reform of the officer-involved/in-custody death review process. We have spent years revising our policies and procedures in concert with recommendations by the Police Assessment Resource Center [PARC],” said Chief Sizer. “We are now one of the very few agencies to include community members in our review, and I believe we have greatly benefited from the perspective they provide.”

Please refer to the Bureau’s website, www.portlandpolice.com for prior documents released on James Chasse.

READ – The Police Assessment Resource Center [PARC] Report on Officer-Involved Shootings and In-Custody Deaths, February 2009