The link to Jesse's plan doesn't go anywhere for me.

A simpler plan would be to demilitarize the police. The whole paramilitary set-up is the root of the "us v. them" mindset, made all the more ironic because cops are civilians too.

Not Chief>Captain>Lt.>Sgt.>Officer. . .but Chief>Sr. Inspector>Inspector>Jr. Inspector>Lead Constable>Constable. Get away from the combat and utility fatigue look and make the force look more professional and deserving of respect.

Burn down the paramilitary structure, take away the M-16/AR-15 and "sniper" rifles from all but a "flying squad" of constables for ACTUAL threats that require that level of force and return the majority of the force to being "peace officers," not a quasi-militarized reaction force.

Robert Pickett for Chief of Police.

If you are going to make them wear tie's as well, at least make them clip-ons. We don't need them getting strangled again.

Also, make the cities pay for the expensive uniforms as well. That was a major reason in moving to the cheaper BDU's and tshirts.

I am happy to agree with Boats (possibly a first) on this one. Thanks too, Pat, for the topic and the follow up reference. I found a fuller article with your quote regarding the Menlo Park uniform change here.

Making the cops where ties seems a bit too conservative for Portland...?

In keeping with the "Keep Portland Weird" motto, I think the cops should wear clown suits. Although, I will admit, it would be hard to chase bad-guys with those big shoes on. At least people like James Chasse would still be alive.

I would also place "Dingo the Clown" in charge of the cops and the tall bike people, could patrol the streets for corporate jay-walker types.

I'm not advocating ties. I am also not saying that clothes are the entire answer. However, no good can come from fostering an "occupier" mentality amongst police officers, and like it or not, encouraging a soldier style look with soldier style gear fosters a soldier style mentality. Unfortunately, the "enemy" is the populace.

The RCMP up in Canada is an example that I like. The dress uniform is legendary of course, and it is paramilitaristic, but in an antique way. The uniform there was always evocative of power and respect, but it is clearly meant to stand out, not stand apart from the larger populace.

Of course that uniform is impractical for daily use dismounted from a horse, but even the daily RCMP uniform makes Portland's look intended for schlubs, with their cargo pockets and baseball caps. The vest over a light service shirt along with a classic badged lid with a brim and a very yellow service stripe is smarter looking and less threatening than the military surplus look.

Menlo Park abandoned the blazer based uniform because criminals lost respect for cops dressed like auditorium ushers. That said, Portland has swung way too far into the fakey-army look. They should be forced to go back to their navy double brass button tunic from the days of yore as a autumn/winter uniform, along with the patent leather brimmed uniform cap, and the vest look over a white or light blue shirt and the same cap for spring/summer wear.

That, and re-engineering the force to purge the largest fraction of the force of both militaristic ranks and firearms would go a ways towards reconnecting the force with their employers.

In my Portland Police Bureau there would be no camouflage allowed anywhere on anyone at anytime. The battle dress utilities would be gone. The ball caps would be relegated to photos in the museum. No combat boots. No sunglasses. No contracts with Glock, a sidearm wholly made in the United States would be required. No general issue AR-15 rifles. Just a start.

I think a robust community relations program, which all officers would be required to rotate into for a year at a time every three or four years, would go a ways towards mitigating the "us versus them" mentality. Going to the schools and giving presentations. talking to neighborhood watch associations. Attending every community meeting or neighborhood association meeting in the city, etcetera would keep many officers from forming a permanent war footing.

I also think the "brass" should have to walk the beat two weeks a year.

Attending every community meeting or neighborhood association meeting in the city

I don't know about that one. The one time I went to my neighborhood association meeting the old ladies there went on for about 30-45 minutes detailing every single instance of graffiti they could think of. By the end of it, I wanted to shoot someone.

Graffiti offenders should be publicly flogged at the sites of their offenses.

@Pat, I too think Jesse has some good ideas. You asked for thoughts on his plan, so here goes..

Recruitment:

"(PPB)....stopped requiring a four-year college degree"

While favorable, there was a recent time when it became impossible to fill open police vacancies across the country with college educated folks. Some agencies were down as much as 33% of their workforce. Now, the job market has changed and may be worthwhile for PPB to explore once again.

Training:

The trainees will only be as good or as bad as those doing the teaching. It might be wise to focus not only on the curriculum, but those providing the instruction

Return to Community Policing

"We should create incentives such as home loan subsidies for officers who live in Portland so they better understand the community they are employed to protect and serve".

Seems like a good idea. Most uniform folks probably don't have the time between crisis calls for service to dedicate work time to the community policing model we would all like to see. Living in the area they serve would help.

Eliminating Racial Bias

I would bet that most cops "get it". Repetitive diversity training for all to reach the small % who don't seems like a waste of time. Hold those with a problem accountable, and keep hiring a diverse workforce.

Taking Care of Officers

Not sure what PPB does for its people, but a strong wellness program to include fitness and those concerns mentioned by Jesse seems like common sense.

Police Accountability

A big one. Police go to crisis call after crisis call and most turn out well. When they don't there needs to be accountability.

Indictments? Maybe if egregious and outside the scope of their job, but who wouldn't close ranks with the threat of arrest lingering over your head all the time. Make a mistake and go to jail? Can you imagine police shooting scenes with only a dead person and every officer on scene taking the 5th?

A proper review of actions by the police is merited when tragedies happen. A decision about his/her fitness for duty needs to be made by a professional review board.

Good list of proposals. He needs to add one more: Don't shoot people in the back. It's cowardly. It's wrong. It's what the bad guys do.

Handgun control? Would that be because criminals obey gun control laws or something?

Suspicious how Jesse Cornett and no one here has brought up the organization which goes to the nails for any gripe no matter how slight against individual police officers.

The Portland Police Association.

Is it so hard to come to grips that unions have both positive AND negative affects? For example, name me one individual Portland, OR police officer who has been fired or sued in civil court for millions of dollars for their action in the Chasse death.

You cannot. The Portland Police Association is protecting police officers no matter how negligent and harmful their actions are to the PPB.

Until we agree that individual police officers do not need the degree of legal protection normally afforded to Goldman Sachs, then we will continue to have individual police officers who feel protected by the Blue Shield and will act like thugs with a badge.

"..fuck your asshole daily. You fund them with your tax dollars. Complaining about police behavior is like paying a 60 year old, crusty dicked queen to buttfuck.."

And yes, they are sworn to protect the likes of Alyssa too. The hate talk does little to resolve the problem.

I am a big picture person. I see the forest, while most of the time I cannot tell you what species the individual trees are.

I pointed to the Portland Police Association protecting individual members as if that single member encapsulated the entire Portland Police Bureau.

First, police officers have to uphold the law and do their job. If they can be held criminally liable when they have reasonable suspicion, then no police officer could do their job and no one would want to be a police officer. Henceforth, police officers should have a higher standard of protection than the average citizen when it comes to criminal law. Much higher.

Second, if it can be found that an individual police officer's actions will lead to a multi-million dollar lawsuit or million plus settlement, then have the law require the forced resignation or automatic firing of the culpable police officer. This decision should be made during the Grand Jury process.

Individual police officers when they are out on the beat are the public face of the entire Portland Police Bureau and Association to the public that they are sworn to serve. The status quo where the Portland Police Association goes to the mat for each culpable officer presents a "corrupt, protect our own at any cost" image to the public.

I don't believe the police officers need a plethora of fixes. I believe that they need personal responsibility and real, personal consequences when it comes time for decision-making.

All of what Jesse Cornett presented is great and so is the discussion here. My comment is intended to supplement. My comment is not a silver bullet because they do not exist in the real world.

if it can be found that an individual police officer's actions will lead to a multi-million dollar lawsuit or million plus settlement, then have the law require the forced resignation or automatic firing of the culpable police officer.

So all I have to do is file a multi million $$ suit against an officer that is making it hard for me to sell my drugs and I can get rid of him. Cool.

mp97303,

I do not think it would be that easy. After all, the top cop in each county (County DA) is the one picking and choosing what evidence to present in front of a Grand Jury.

Through selection of evidence, the DA can either make the case for dismissal easy or obfuscate it to the point where there is no standing for a case.

Like any hypothetical and preliminary suggestion, my argument has holes that those opposed to can pick and choose to snipe away at the integrity of the suggestion.

As for your suggestion, were the cops following the rules by acquiring search warrants after months of investigation due to reasonable suspicion?

If not, then they broke their own rules and have proven that they are not fit to serve the public. Cops are constrained by the same laws that they swore to uphold. Just because they have "reasonable suspicion" does not mean that they have a right to cut corners and infringe on individual liberties despite the character of the suspected perpetrator whether they have no criminal record or a rap sheet a mile long.

<h2>If you give the police too much power and leeway, as is the status quo, then you have individual officers who think that they are the "LAW."</h2>