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Rapping Back #86:
Portland Copwatch member Dan Handelman analyzes the Police "Union"
social media (formerly the "Rap Sheet" newsletter)
for the People's Police Report

Crime, Car Chases and Courteous Cops who Caused Community Carnage

For what it's worth, the Portland Police Association (PPA) Facebook page is once again visible to the community without needing to log into the social media giant. Between December and mid- April, they posted 32 pieces, fewer than usual. The majority (17) were links to mainstream news stories involving the Police Bureau or the PPA. The main theme once again was crime (nine posts), followed by the "bluewashing" officer friendly category (eight) and news about the PPA itself (four). Five of the stories had to do with officers who were shot or shot at; one of those involved a car chase from Portland into Vancouver, WA. A separate story about a police dog (K9) revolved around a very different kind of car chase (inset article). The PPA also posted a news story about body cams, which we cover elsewhere in this issue (see Body Camera article).

There was no mention of the February 19 white supremacist attack on a Black Lives Matter-related protest or the officer involved shooting that same day (see the Shootings article in this issue). However, when protestors committed vandalism after a Michigan officer shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black man, in the back of the head, Schamutz posted two pieces, one calling the protestors "violent cowards" (April 17).

It's not clear whether the infrequency of posts is related to the new President of the PPA, Aaron Schmautz, being in his first six months of tenure, or if the PPA was distracted by the negotiations for their new contract (below and the PPA Contract in this issue).

Less than Two Years After Uprising, Focus on Crime Ignores Race Issues

Three of four notable pieces about crime feature the new Focused Intervention Team (FIT), which took the place of the old Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT) starting in January (p. 9). A January 20 KOIN-6TV story on the launch of the FIT is accompanied by commentary from Schmautz tying the uptick in homicides in Portland to the dismantling of the GVRT in 2020. There is no mention about how the GVRT had been shown to overpolice Portland's small Black community. Schmautz says FIT is a step toward a "safe and vibrant community," thanking the "courageous" officers who volunteered for the assignment. The news story quotes Officer Whitney Anderson saying she wants to see Portland as a "safer place," and Chief Chuck Lovell borrowing from the community's wish list-- that everyone should be able to go home at night.

On February 18, Schmautz highlighted an incident which apparently involved the FIT the night before, where people eluded police in a vehicle. Officers who put down spike strips to puncture the car's tires were apparently shot at by the suspects, an action Schmautz refers to as a "heinous and violent act." Not that it's inaccurate, just such language can often be applied to officers as well. The suspects drove into Washington state, where the PPB was assisted in arresting the suspects by Vancouver Police and the Clark County Sheriff's office. Schmautz points to the PPB Detectives division (also members of the PPA) who quickly filed felony charges. The post, titled "on last night's violence and the importance of interagency cooperation," includes images of the alleged gun, and the car which appears to be missing at least two tires.

A KPTV-12 piece from March 21 outlined how the FIT arrested a man in a stolen car and found drugs and a gun.

Two other stories about officers who were shot/shot at were a rememberance of Officer Colleen Waibel, who was killed by a suspect on January 27, 1998 (PPR #14), and KPTV-12 coverage of the funeral for Officer Donald Sahota on February 8. The PPA says Sahota was a public servant and a hero, but doesn't mention he was killed by a fellow officer who mistook him for a suspect.

Officers Friendly: Two Shooter Cops Get Good Publicity

A few days apart, admittedly useful actions by two officers made headlines, repeated by the PPA. What's not mentioned by the media, or the Association, is that both had been involved in killing civilians.

On March 10, the PPA posted an Oregonian story about Nathan Kirby-Glatowski helping a woman deliver a baby on a downtown sidewalk, with commentary thanking the officers, first responders and community members who helped. The article notes Kirby-Glatowski is trained in Crisis Intervention Team training and the woman who gave birth was known to the Behavioral Health Unit. Interesting, then, that when Kirby-Glatowski shot and killed David Downs in 2019 as Downs was pretending he had explosives while holding a hostage, the specialized de-escalation training did not seem to kick in (PPR #78).

Another incident which apparently happened on March 8, but led to a news conference on March 14 covered by KGW-TV8, involved officers Justin Raphael and Tyler Wyatt coming to the assistance of a civilian-on-civilian shooting. Raphael was the officer who quickly shot Koben Henriksen with an AR-15 rifle in late 2019 when he pulled up and saw Henriksen holding two knives (PPR #79). One wonders whether Raphael saw this as an opportunity to make good on his karma, responding in this case to the survivor's request to hold his hand all the way until he was put in the ambulance. Raphael told KGW "we had to make a decision to sacrifice our safety and go into this scene to begin to save a life."

Two other key "friendly" stories were:

--Mention of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, for "those who give selflessly" (January 9), and

--Schmautz recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 17, reflecting on seeing a plaque commemorating the "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial with footprints worn into the flooring beneath it. Schmautz says we have to do better on equality, labor, and working together, but nothing about ending racism and violence. He also admires how King urged people to move forward regardless of challenges, which King likely didn't mean as reassurance for police to keep doing their thing in the face of protests against brutality.

PPA Somewhat Softens Stance on Staffing

Our last analysis showed the Police Association's fixation on crime has been part of their lobbying to get more money for increasing their ranks. This was still true in two stories posted on their Facebook page.

The first, from December 20, was an interview with KOIN's Ken Boddie discussing police morale and the uptick in homicides where Schmautz talked a lot about being short-staffed. Notably, the introduction to the story mentioned the lawsuit by Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty against the PPA for the false information leaked about her by previous President Brian Hunzeker (see article in this issue), with Boddie noting Schmautz had no comment on that.

Another news story from January 25 on KPTV focused on an increase in 911 calls leading to only 38% being answered in 20 seconds set against a goal of 95%. Schmautz told Channel 12 that 911 operators (who are part of the PPA) and police being understaffed makes it hard for cops to do their jobs, trying to "rebound" from decisions made to cut the police budget.

Schmautz's tone was much more conciliatory in a follow-up interview with KOIN on February 27, where Boddie noted the City had just voted to invest $56 million in police by adopting the new contract. Schmautz encouraged everyone to stop pointing to the police as the problem. Interestingly Boddie, who is Black, made no mention that Schmautz appeared to be in his office sitting next to a Blue Lives Matter flag (an American flag in black and white with a blue stripe representing police), which is seen as a white supremacist symbol in police accountability circles.

Chester the K9 Tells Couple: "Get a Room"

Amazingly, the story posted on January 4 did not seem to have made mainstream news, wherein a couple involved in "lewd conduct" in a car fled from police, crashed, tried to escape from officers who boxed in the car with police vehicles, then ran away on foot. The PPA's post was to highlight that the couple was found by Chester the dog, from the K9 unit, "ringing in the first capture of the new year." The article doesn't say whether Chester bit the suspects, but notes they were found under a shed. The driver, says the original story from the K9 Unit, was wanted on felony warrants. A quick internet search shows Chester's nickname is "Chester the Arrester."

In related K9 news, a crossposted PPB story from March 18 offers congratulations to Officer Sarah Burns, who made 10 captures in 2021-- more than twice any other officer. Perhaps we should be thankful the dogs weren't called in on more suspects than that. Burns received a letter of commendation and a "morale patch." Again, no mention of bites/injuries to the suspects.
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The Portland Police Association does not set policy. However, some PPA leadership express negative attitudes toward citizens and civilian oversight in their web postings. We worry these ideas may spread throughout Portland's ranks. The PPA's website is ppavigil.org.

May, 2022
Also in PPR #86

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 #86 Table of Contents
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