RAPPING BACK #21

Analysis of the Portland Police 'Union'
Newsletter, the Rap Sheet

Clean-cut cops cranky with chosen commanders
cause considerable concern

Griping at PPA Leadership

There is unrest at the Portland Police Association and it is reflected in the pages of their newsletter, the Rap Sheet. In May, PPA Vice President Jim McCausland takes President Greg Pluchos to task for not responding to numerous negative media stories about police, including the police pension fund and overtime scandals.

Liz Cruthers, the lobbyist for the PPA, responded to McCausland in the same issue, arguing that Pluchos had spoken to the press about the problems (actually, she only mentions the Oregonian), as well as the Mayor, the PPA attorney, and the (!!!) PPA Public Relations Consultant. Then she takes McCausland to task for "airing dirty laundry" because "management loves when we are divided...that is a basic, fundamental tactic used by management and anti-unionists at the local, state and national level." Wow! Geez, maybe you can advise the cops who are actively siding with corporate management all over the country--including here in Portland at Powell's Books--about how that tactic works and why they shouldn't be participating in it.

In July's Rap Sheet, PPA Vice President Kurt Nelson weighs in, stating that a "no comment" from the PPA makes the public suspicious since out on the street, "every cop knows if the bum takes the Fifth, the crook is guilty...the public thinks the same way: Those dirty cops are hiding something!"

Joining the debate in the June issue, PPA Secretary- Treasurer Tom Mack writes about why it is very important to respond to media criticism: with no response, the public will be "left with only uneducated speculation and the incitement of those who would do us harm."

He encourages public dialogue, stating, "Like it or not we are public employees who will always be subject to public questions...I honestly believe we should embrace the public and openly discuss emerging police issues with them." In a mildly disturbing addition to this line of thinking, he adds, "As we move forward with AR-15s [assault rifles], beanbags, rubber bullets, pepper spray foggers and...new technologies, educating the public will create allies, not enemies."

But all is not going well for Tom Mack. He was the subject of a recall petition from officers unhappy with his willingness to speak out, even when his opinion does not reflect that of the entire PPA. The last straw was when he criticized police performance on May Day (see article). Mack squeaked by with a 51.5% vote in his favor, so he will remain in office at least until the elections late this year (Oregonian, July 11).

In July's Rap Sheet, Officer Scott Westerman defends Mack, pointing the finger at another high-up in the "union," Attorney Will Aitchison. Westerman claims that Aitchison aided current President Pluchos in orchestrating the recall petition, fearing they would lose influence if Mack were to win the PPA Presidency in the fall. "While Will may still be retained for legal advice, he will no longer run the union the way he appears to now."

Officer Friendly: Name & Badge Number

Tom Mack takes a moment in the May Rap Sheet to advise officers to relate better to the community and be willing to give their name and badge number when asked. He suggests, "maybe you could start all your contacts with 'Hi, my name is Officer Mack #14015,' well don't use my name but you get the idea." His logic in not hiding your identity from citizens: "They find out anyway and it just makes us look bad to the rest of the citizens."

Traffic Division Ends Quotas

Officer David Hergert wrote a gushing article in April's Rap Sheet about the new captain in Traffic Division, Mike Bell. Bell has done away with the ticket quota system exposed in the press a few years ago. Instead, "we are now just tracking what officers do during their shift."

We think that's a great sign for all residents of Portland, and we hope that the tracking system will include the gender, race and age of all people being pulled over (see article on Racial Profiling).

Still Hanging Around

In our last issue, we analyzed a piece by editor Loren Christensen instructing the reader on preparations for hanging someone. The Willamette Week covered that story, interviewing a member of Copwatch. Incredibly conservative attorney Jim Simpson, who is sitting on the Mayor's PIIAC work group (see article), wrote a long letter to the April Rap Sheet criticizing both WW and Copwatch for questioning the appearance of such an article in a police newsletter, citing "a serious lack of either first-hand experience or understanding." (We're glad to note here that we have no first-hand experience of hanging people.)

Referring to the WW article, Simpson says Those whose professions may include the infliction or avoidance of death don't truly make light' of it."

Radio, Radio:
Kroeker Faces State Agency Scrutiny

Earlier this year, Lonn Sweeney, an officer who was involved in the 1992 shooting of Nathan Thomas (but has not registered a PTSD disability claim), filed a complaint against Chief Kroeker and the PPB with the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Sweeney informed other Portland officers in the June Rap Sheet that he did so having never heard back from the Chief two months after asking that a years-old problem with the police radio system be fixed.

Apparently, there's an orange "emergency" button on the police radios that does not work. It was disabled to install a "not allowed to interrupt" function which prevents officers from interrupting a transmission in progress. As a result, officers in extreme emergency situations are unable to break in and ask for assistance.

So Why Do We Keep Hearing About How Dangerous It Is to Be a Cop?

Officials at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund report that 1999 tied 1996 for the safest year for police since the '70s. They say for the first time, automobile fatalities outnumbered shootings (47 car wrecks, 45 shootings). The rest of the 134 deaths (42) were from being struck by vehicles, killed in plane crashes, stabbed, or by illness. The number of deaths in the line of duty were down 17% from 1998 (Rap Sheet, June 2000).