Portland 
Copwatch - a project of Peace and Justice Works

 

Site Navigation

Home
About us
People's Police Report
Shootings & deaths
Cool links
Other Information
Contact info
Donate
 

 

City Pays Racist Sergeant $100K to Go Away; Cop Helps Hotel Racially Profile Patron

In PPR #76, we reported briefly on Portland Police Sergeant Gregg Lewis being fired for making an inappropriate comment shortly after the police shooting death of African American teen Quanice Hayes in 2017 (PPR #71). It turns out Lewis told a "joke" during a police roll call in response to community criticisms of the killing: "if you come across a black person, just shoot them." Although his horrifying call to do harm to people based on race initially led to Lewis being fired, the Portland Police Association pushed back, noting Lewis had no disciplinary history and the Discipline Guide only allows for him to be put on unpaid leave for three weeks. Calculating they would lose at arbitration and pay out even more money, City Council voted 4-1 on February 6 to give Lewis over $100,000 in back pay (for his time off past three weeks) with an agreement he cannot work for the PPB any more. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who is African American, refused on principle to vote for the settlement, saying they should have gone to arbitration anyway. The other Commissioners voiced their unease, but for pragmatic reasons voted yes. This discussion shows that the arbitration process, which frequently ends up in officers' favor and is binding, and the Discipline Guide both need to be changed.

Profiled Guest Focuses on Hotel More than Rude Officer

PPB officer at the Doubletree.In another incident, Jermaine Massey, a man from Kent, WA, was staying at the DoubleTree Portland hotel and made a phone call in the lobby on December 22. A security guard confronted him and, although Massey showed his room key card, then worked with a manager to call police who trespassed Massey out. A video shows the responding officer was rude, but under the law he did not do anything wrong by helping remove Massey from the hotel. The two employees were later fired (Oregonian, December 30). When Portland Copwatch raised concerns about the officer's demeanor, Chief Outlaw acknowledged there are different ways he could have approached the situation in terms of procedural justice, saying sometimes community members' bias leads police into situations that amplify that bias. Massey's lawyers at Kafoury and McDougal are focusing their concerns on the hotel's owners, the Hilton chain.
Back to top.

  People's Police Report

May, 2019
Also in PPR #77

Council Votes to Leave Terrorism Task Force
Portland Police Kill 4th Black Man in Two Years   Oregon Cops: 12 Shootings in First 15 Weeks of 2019
Scandal Over Protest-Related Texts
2nd Civilian Board for DOJ Agreement Gears Up
Training Council Pushes for Race in Force Data
IPR Director Quits; Only One Appeal Hearing Held
Shootings Review Finds Tactical, Policy Issues
Police Review Board Report Shocks Conscience
PPB Seeks Houseless Liaison, Business District Info
Chief Pledges Cop Support, Meets Copwatch Again
Legal Briefs: Asset Forfeiture, Cell Phone Privacy
Body Camera Program Grinds Down Again
School Resource Officer Agreement Suspended
City Pays Racist Sgt $100K To Go Away
  • Cops Help Hotel Racially Profile Patron
Sheriff Posts Policies, Meets PCW
PPB Policies: Little Change in 5 Years
Rapping Back #77
 

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.


People's Police Report #77 Table of Contents
Back to Portland Copwatch home page
Peace and Justice Works home page
Back to top