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Another Sheriff Hits the Dusty Trail Following in the footsteps of his disgraced predecessors, Multnomah Sheriff Dan Staton announced in May he would resign on August 16, two years earlier than planned. The position was filled by former Portland Police Chief Mike Reese, whom Staton appointed as his undersheriff in June. An election to permanently fill the position will be held in November, though the County Charter Review Committee recently voted to put forward a ballot measure on whether the position should be elected or appointed. As noted in PPR #68, Staton became Sheriff after his predecessor, Bob Skipper, was forced to resign when he was unable to pass two required certification tests, with Skipper having taken over for ethically challeged Bernie Giusto. So, the pattern continues. Staton had been accused of many things, also outlined in our last issue: a $300,000 settlement for a female deputy's claims of sexism, threats and background checks on members of the Charter Review Committee supporting the appointed Sheriff measure, and other accusations of threats, retaliation and bribery. The final blow seemed to come with the purchase of a car outside established procedures. To say it was "tricked out," is an understatement. The $33,623 Dodge Charger R/T had a sunroof, satellite radio, leather seats and polished aluminum wheels (Willamette Week, May 18). The furor caused Staton to transfer the car to a "first responder." With all the accusations, lack of support from County Commissioners, and calls by deputies' unions and newspapers for him to step down, the writing was on the wall and Staton retired. Given the history of Multnomah County Sheriffs, one wonders how Reese will fare. After all, Reese stepped up as Chief the day Keaton Otis, a 25 year old African American man, was killed by 32 police bullets (PPR #51). He exonerated the cops and skipped appoint-ing a black Assistant Chief to hire his band buddy, businessman Mike Kuykendall. |
September, 2016
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#69 Table of Contents
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