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Portland Police Implicated in West Linn Calls Notorious PPB Task Force
The connection between Fesser's case and the PPB came when the tow yard owner's trumped-up
theft charges precipitated an arrest. In 2017, West Linn Lieutenant Mike Stradley contacted the
PPB's Gang Enforcement Team, where he worked as a Portland Police Officer, to help arrest
Depositions in the lawsuit revealed Benson was trying to retaliate against Fesser for complaining about racism in the workplace. Fesser tried filing a state Bureau of Labor and Industries complaint, but it was dismissed for alleged lack of evidence. The investigator, Katherine Kestell, now works for the city's "Independent" Police Review (IPR), but is apparently not involved in the inquiry into the PPB's part of Fesser's arrest (Oregonian, February 22). Another former Portland Officer, Terry Kruger, was promoted to West Linn Chief after Timeus retired following being cleared of drunk driving charges in late 2017. Kruger shot and killed Deontae Keller, a young black man, in 1996 (PPR #9) and Ronald Riebling, a man holding an umbrella wrapped in a towel, in 2005 (PPR #35). Hearing Kruger was defending the officers involved, West Linn residents have called for Kruger's resignation (Oregonian, February 19). In addition to the IPR inquiry, the FBI is investigating the entire incident for civil rights violations. Statistics: No Slow Down in Over-Representation of African Americans The quarterly report on stop data released in January shows 18% of both drivers and pedestrians stopped by Portland Police were African American in a city which is just 6% black. This was the same rate for traffic stops in 2018 (PPR #79) and a slight increase for pedestrians. More detailed information, such as the search rate, contraband found, and other stop outcomes is expected in the 2019 annual report, but those reports tend to be delayed by months or even years. Facial Recognition Ban Could Be Strongest in Nation
At a January 28 City Council Work Session, local and national experts presented on limitations of
using facial recognition technology to identify suspects. Portland Police, while noting they do not
yet use such tech, seemed to be angling for a carve-out in City policy to make limited use of the
flawed software. Numerous studies have shown matches were far less reliable for people of color,
particularly African Americans, and for women. An op-ed by the City's "Smart City" program
defended the proposed ban on public and private use of the technology, pointing to an American
university student mis-identified as a bombing suspect in Sri Lanka (Oregonian, February
12).
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May, 2020
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#80 Table of Contents
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Fesser (Oregonian, February 19).
Even though Fesser has acted to help at risk youth avoid
gangs based on his experiences from nearly 20 years ago, Stradley told West Linn Detective Tony
Reeves that Fesser was a "Gang Associate." Eric Benson, owner of the tow yard, had hoped Fesser
would be arrested in Clackamas County so there would be "some real racist boys" involved.
Instead, five Portland officers assisted a West Linn officer make the arrest in SE Portland
(Oregonian, February 12). Stradley has since left the West Linn Police to be part of the
state's police training academy.