MENTAL ILLNESS <<Legislative leaders often say they don’t want to criminalize mental illness. But data reviewed by KOIN 6 News shows that is literally what they’re doing. The bar is so high for involuntary civil commitment in Oregon — that is, forcing someone into treatment — just about the only way to get into the …
Tag Archives: homelessness
2/23/23 News Update
RIOT COPS <<In January 2022, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced the city had discovered an offensive meme in police training materials. The discovery of the meme, which depicts violence against protesters and is affiliated with the far-right movement, ignited a firestorm. Now, more than a year later, the Portland Police Bureau is disciplining the officer …
2/18/23 News Update
RIOT CHARGES <<A soldier stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington exchanged text messages with people on the street in Portland, egging them on to smash windows and damage property and broke out windows himself at the Blazer Boys and Girls Club during protests in 2021, according to an indictment filed in court this month. …
2/9/23 News Update
SHOOTING <<Two Albany police officers shot and killed a man in a mental health crisis Wednesday morning after the man pointed a gun at them, the Associated Press reports. The officers were initially responding to a welfare check for a man reported to be suicidal at a home in southwest Albany. The Albany Police Department …
2/2/23 News Update
CRIME STATS << Despite frequent negative media coverage, Portland is not even close to one of the most dangerous cities in the nation, according to FBI data. An article published Tuesday in the prominent business magazine Forbes lists the most dangerous and the safest cities in the United States, based on a new study that …
1/27/23 News Update
INSTEAD OF PRISON <<The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office launched two new programs last year to divert people accused of violent offenses from prison time. The first was profiled in this week’s paper: a treatment court for Measure 11 offenders. The second is called Restorative Roots. It’s a partnership among prosecutors, public defenders and a …
1/20/23 News Update
JANE’S REVENGE <<Multiple regional FBI offices, including the one in Portland, have begun offering a $25,000 reward for information as part of a nationwide investigation into series of arson and vandalism incidents at reproductive health care centers last year. Three of the 10 incidents were in Oregon. The other seven targeted facilities were in Colorado, …
1/19/23 News Update
LESS LETHAL <<Portland and Multnomah County are paying a combined $80,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a man shot with less-lethal munitions by a Portland police officer and a county sheriff’s sergeant during a declared riot downtown on July 4, 2020. The city will pay $75,000 and the county $5,000 to Erik Hoofnagle, …
1/12/23 News Update
SUSPENDED <<A recent candidate for Clark County sheriff, currently employed as a Vancouver officer, has been suspended from police work and is subject to four separate internal investigations that have been launched since September. Cpl. Rey Reynolds has had his “police officer powers” suspended and is on administrative leave, according to a recent email circulating …
1/7/23 News Update
LAWYER SHORTAGE <<The number of defendants held in Oregon jails without legal representation has tripled within the past two months. As of Thursday, 77 defendants are languishing behind bars – their criminal cases at a standstill – because there are no public defenders available to represent them. The longest a defendant has been jailed without …