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THE GARVEY FILES: INTERNAL INVESTIGATION OF GAY COMMANDER TOO HOT TO HANDLE?

Portland Copwatch previously refrained from reporting on the very high-profile case of Capt. Mike Garvey of the Portland Police, an openly gay man who was accused of hiring prostitutes. But now the Internal Investigation done by Portland Police's IAD has become a hot topic. From the members of PIIAC, whose function is to audit Internal Affairs investigations, to the Oregonian, people asking for a peek at these files are being denied access.

Now, the Portland City Attorney's office is being challenged by the District Attorney's office. Oregonian reporter Dave Anderson asked the District Attorney, Michael Schrunk, to legally get a release of information on the Garvey case. The Oregonian wanted the files released, claiming that the records should not be exempt from public disclosure. The D.A. agreed, ordering the City to release the files.

City Attorney Jeff Rogers disagreed, claiming that because of a possible lawsuit by Garvey, it is not in the best interest that information regarding Garvey be released to the public.

Garvey was put on paid leave in June of 1996 when the allegations were filed against him. A grand jury refused to indict him and he returned to work, demoted from Commander to Captain.

After all of this, the City Council voted to file a lawsuit to block the order from the D.A. Council members are quoted as saying they just want a court to define which parts of an officer's personnel record should be made public.

Garvey is claiming that harmful information has already been released by city officials and is considering a lawsuit against the City for damages.

The reluctance of the City Attorney to release the files to the media is of some concern. Of more concern is that when the City no longer feels the files are needed for legal purposes, PIIAC must have access to all the information to determine if the investigation was fair, unbiased, and thorough.

January, 1998
Also in PPR #13

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.

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