June 26, 2003
(Updated) Breaking News: Chief Kroeker On Discipline Of Officer In Kendra James Shooting
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
Just across the wire, as it were, is a press release from the Portland Police Bureau regarding potential repercussions for Officer Scott McCollister. It is presented in full below.
June 26, 2003
CHIEF KROEKER ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING PROPOSED DISCIPLINE OF OFFICER INVOLVED IN SHOOTING OF KENDRA JAMES
"Following the conclusion of the Grand Jury reviewing the officer involved death of Kendra James that occurred on May 5, 2003, the Portland Police Bureau began the internal administrative review process that is standard procedure following any police-involved shooting.
The internal review involved members of the Police Bureau, City Attorney�s Office and the Independent Police Review Division. The review included a comprehensive weighing of the involved officer's actions against the Police Bureau's Manual of Policy and Procedure and the Bureau's training protocols.
After lengthy and thoughtful consideration, I concluded that while the use of force itself was within established Bureau guidelines, the officer's actions leading up to the use of force are of concern. I have forwarded to the Mayor a proposal for serious discipline, which includes a lengthy suspension for the primary officer involved. The officer has been notified, and I have shared this decision with the entire organization. During the next step in the process, the affected employee will have an opportunity to provide me with any information he would like me to consider prior to the imposition of the decision. Contractual obligations prohibit me from identifying further details at this time.
As always, I am committed to a full disclosure of all information, but at the same time, I am responsible for protecting the due process rights of the officer affected by this decision. For that reason, I must refrain from answering any questions or participating in any interviews."
I have a message in to the Mayor's office inquiring into the next steps, and the timeframe for them, and will post any response here when received.
Update
A spokesperson for the Mayor responds: "We do not have a statement. The Mayor is on vacation at this time."
Update
On the other hand, a spokesperson for the Mayor's office (no idea if it was the same one) had a totally different response for KGW:
A spokesperson for Mayor Vera Katz's office said the mayor is supportive of the chief's recommendation.
Pardon me, Ms. Hahn M. Ta (the person at the Mayor's office who responded to my request), but "supportive of the chief's recommendation" sounds to me as if your office does, in fact, have a statement.
Comments (3)
noah@alliancewatch on 26 Jun 2003
This just cracks me up: "We do not have a statement. The Mayor is on vacation at this time."
I don't really know why, but I think it is funny that they felt it was neccessary to tell you she was on vacation.
Dave Lister on 27 Jun 2003
Interesting to note that I e-mailed the Mayor's Chief of Staff, Sam Adams, yesterday. I received an automated response that Mr. Adams was out of the office until Monday. Could it be that they are cloistered somewhere working on damage control? Or are they perhaps strategizing as to how to put Sam Adams in Francesconi's council seat come the next election?
The One True b!X on 27 Jun 2003
It's definitely not damage control. I knew days ago that the Mayor and Adams had vacations coming up around this weekend. It's definitely a pre-planned absence.