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Second 2023 Review Board Report Features Tenth Force
Violation at 2020 Protests, Hunzeker Double-Duty
Three Officers Resign Before Being Fired

Portland Copwatch (PCW) analyzed the December 2023 Police Review Board (PRB) Report in early January. In addition to two deadly force cases, one of which led to discipline for a Sergeant stepping out of his supervisory role (shootings article), the Report contained three other cases involving community members and five internal police investigations. In three cases, officers resigned before being fired. Community cases included the tenth incident at the 2020 protests where officers were found to have violated policy, mostly for excessive/inappropriate force (notably, one officer was not identified by the Portland Police Bureau--PPR #86). New details emerged about Officer Brian Hunzeker, who leaked the incorrect accusation that former Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was involved in a hit-and-run, and his deceit about being employed at another agency when he returned to Portland (PPR #89). The PRB is an internal, secretive body which includes a majority of police, one or two community members and a staffer from the "Independent" Police Review; the Reports are required by City Code to be published twice a year. It's not only difficult to discern when the incidents themselves occurred (except the deadly force cases, for which the PPB conveniently includes dates), but lately the dates the hearings were held and the summary memos were issued are also redacted.

Four cases involved officers facing termination for incidents involving drugs or alcohol. One was Criminalist Bradley McIntyre, who arrived and began collecting evidence at a shooting crime scene in February 2021, then drove away when a supervisor suspected something was off about his behavior (PPR #83). He was soon apprehended and charged with DUI for driving his police car with a blood alcohol level of .26. The legal limit in Oregon is .08. McIntyre resigned before being terminated. The officer in Case #8 was involved in a "one car accident" (ie, crashed their car) while drunk, got out of the car and tried to hide from deputies. This time blood alcohol level was .19. The proposed firing was mostly for being untruthful, but the cop resigned first.

Two other incidents involved officers initially trying to avoid a random drug test because they knew they would fail after consuming cannabis. Each received a day off without pay and a promise to go to rehabilitation. The first officer said they used weed because of PTSD caused by the 2020 "riots."

The protest case appears to have involved a Sergeant who stepped out of their supervisory role at a protest ("riot" per the PRB's narrative) and fired a "less lethal" munition at a protestor without cause. While the Board noted the Sergeant should have continued to supervise, they did not suggest discipline in this case (unlike the deadly force case), but did support giving them a Letter of Reprimand (the lowest form of discipline) for the use of force. Although it is mentioned that the person filed a federal lawsuit, it's not 100% clear who the community member or the Sergeant were.

As for Hunzeker, the PRB recommended he be fired for violating the policies on Extra Employment, Truthfulness, Satisfactory Performance and Ethical Conduct, since he was still working for the Clark County Sheriff's Office when he was reinstated to the PPB in early 2023. The PRB Report uses the phrase "corruption for monetary gain." Would Hunzeker have been the first cop to be fired TWICE by the PPB? Who knows, as his resignation made that question moot. (Another runner-up: Officer Alfonso Valadez was fired for one infraction, reinstated, and resigned before being fired again in 2018-- PPR #80.)

Also: an officer arresting a woman on a burglary charge at first failed to investigate her allegations of having been raped, and when called back to take her to the hospital said she would be taken to Washington County Jail because the Justice Center was full (it wasn't). He (PCW assumes this was a male cop) received two days off without pay.

And: the Board recommended that an officer who initiated a chase without notifying their supervisor be given a Letter of Reprimand; a second officer was not found out of policy in the same case.

The Board also made six recommendations for policy changes, of which the Bureau accepted four and rejected two.

Because the Bureau does not publicize the Reports when they are posted, Portland Copwatch has consistently published its analysis before the mainstream media even knows they exist. The Willamette Week picked up on the Hunzeker story and noted PCW's work on January 9, the day our piece went out.

May, 2024
Also in PPR #92

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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