Police leadership failures erode our community’s trust and respect

The Portland Police Bureau’s reputation and trust in the community has been badly damaged under the brief and lax administration of Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman. Worst of all? We’re nowhere near bottom yet.

Saltzman: Nice to assume desk duty upon return, KOIN.com, April 12, 2010

Officer involved in road rage gets desk duty – Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman made the decision to bench Sgt. Kyle Nice, Portland Tribune, April 12, 2010

Two Sentences: Chief Rosie Sizer Responds to Road Rage Cases, Willamette Week, April 12, 2010

Death inquests should be standard in police shootings, unsigned op ed in The Oregonian, April 12, 2010

“Road Rage” claimant sues off-duty officer, City of Portland, KOIN.com, April 12, 2010

Tuning an officer’s temperament, unsigned op ed in The Oregonian, April 12, 2010

Police Commissioner: ‘I am embarrassed by Sgt. Nice’, KATU.com, April 12, 2010

Portland police commissioner suggests anger-management counseling for two sergeants involved in off duty, road-rage cases, The Oregonian, April 12, 2010

Sgt. [Kyle Nice] accused of road rage taken off street patrol, KGW.com, April 12, 2010

Nice On Desk Duty After Road Rage Incident, Portland Mercury, April 12, 2010
Saltzman Puts Chasse Cop on Desk Duty after Road Rage Case, Willamette Week, April 12, 2010

From KATU.com, April 11, 2010

We [KATU.com] now have the 9-1-1 call from a Portland woman who says she was the victim of two separate road rage attacks … from the president of Portland’s police union.

“We were coming down the road,” Virginia Thompson tells the 9-1-1 dispatcher in the above video. “All of a sudden, this car pulls in front of us and slams on his brakes. My husband blinks his lights. The guy moved off into the other lane and pulled up next to us at a stoplight and came out yelling and screaming ‘Grow up’ and he stuck his head down by the window and I recognized him as the same guy from yesterday.”

[Scott] Westerman admitted to KATU Saturday that he got out of his car and yelled at Thompson two separate times in January.

The first time it happened was in Northeast Portland.

That time, Thompson claims Westerman told her he was police officer. Westerman says he doesn’t remember saying that.

The second incident was near Beaverton two days later, while Thompson’s husband was driving.

Westerman tells KATU he’s embarrassed and wants to apologize to the family – but doesn’t want to interfere with the internal affairs investigation that is now underway.

READ – Return Dan Saltzman and Nick Fish to the Portland City Council, unsigned editorial by the Oregonian, April 10, 2010
READ – Portland police union head Sgt. Scott Westerman under investigation for road rage incidents, Hillsboro Argus, April 9, 2010
READ – Head of Portland police union admits road rage, Corvallis Gazette Times, April 10, 2010

READ – Police Union Boss Scott Westerman In Road Rage Incidents: “See if he really is a cop with a problem, or just somebody pretending he’s a cop.”, Portland Mercury, April 10, 2010

READ – Portland Sgt. Kyle Nice under investigation for pulling gun and allegedly flipping off another motorist in Washington County, Oregonian, April 6, 2010
READ – Washington County Sheriff’s Department Report on Kyle Nice “road rage incident, April 2, 2010
READ – Portland officer files whistle-blower complaint, accuses bureau of punishing him for speaking out, Oregonian, January 29, 2010
READ – Motorist involved in road rage incident with Portland Sgt. Kyle Nice sues the city, Oregonian, April 10, 2010
READ – Driver to sue off-duty cop in road rage incident, KATU.com, April 10, 2010
READ – Police sergeant gets mixed up in road-rage incident, April 6, 2010