From The Oregonian, July 28, 2010

The newly-elected Portland police union president released a statement this afternoon, citing his association’s support for the officers involved in the death-in-custody case of James P. Chasse Jr.

“The officers and supervisors who responded to the incident followed their Portland Police Bureau training according to the policies and procedures at that time. Since then, Bureau policies have changed, attempting to adapt to law enforcement’s changing role in society,” wrote Officer Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association. “The PPA will continue to support Officers Chris Humphreys and Bret Burton, and Sergeant Kyle Nice. We will work to vindicate their names, careers and integrity.”

The statement was released a day after the City Council voted 4 to 0 to pay $1.6 million to settle the Chasse family’s federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

The union’s full statement is below:

“Since 2006, the Portland Police Association has seen the death of James Chasse as a tragic accident. His family was devastated and the lives of the officers involved have been changed forever.

The officers and supervisor who responded to the incident followed their Portland Police Bureau training according to the policies and procedures at that time. Since then, Bureau policies have changed, attempting to adapt to law enforcement’s changing role in society. The PPA will continue to support Officers Chris Humphreys and Bret Burton, and Sergeant Kyle Nice. We will work to vindicate their names, careers and integrity.

Vilifying law enforcement masks the real issue of the broken mental health system in Oregon. The system has been stripped of its staffing, funding and resources by local and state government. A 2010 study by the Treatment Advocacy Center ranks Oregon 36th in the nation in per capita expenditures by its state mental health authority.

Across the country, law enforcement management is all too aware that jails and prisons have become modern-day mental hospitals, returning our mentally ill to conditions of the early nineteenth century where 15-20% of incarcerated inmates suffered serious mental illness.

We look forward to participating with the community and the City to find innovative and appropriate solutions to better protect and care for our mentally ill citizens.”

READ – Solutions to Chasse tragedy lie outside law enforcement, Portland Police Association press release, July 29, 2010