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Posted on 01/26/2022 3:01:08 PM PST by NoLibZone
Only two recent retired officers among 81 contacted by Police Chief Chuck Lovell have expressed interest in helping fill Portland police vacancies under the city-approved retire-rehire program.
The chief urged them to consider returning in a letter last month, acknowledging that those who had retired since August 2020 left “at a time of great despair for the Bureau and the City of Portland.”
The Police Bureau is now rebuilding with support from elected officials and residents, Lovell wrote, and urged the retirees to help this “once vibrant city come back to life.”
Officers have been leaving faster than the bureau can hire to fill their spots, so the retire-rehire program was considered the fastest way to fill vacancies.
The City Council in November approved about $448,000 to hire back 25 retired officers as part of the fall budget adjustment.
“We want to continue to make a difference and build a legacy following what was the most historic and darkest time in the Portland Police Bureau. We believe we can do this, but need a team of dedicated professionals to help us bring up the next generation of officers,” Lovell wrote. “We want you to be a part of this effort and hope you will consider the retire/rehire program.”
The chief’s office asked the retirees to alert the bureau of their interest by mid-January and several command staff members made personal calls, but only two had shown interest by the deadline.
And one retired officer sent a blistering response to Lovell, the deputy chief and assistant chiefs, saying she was insulted by the bureau’s letter and characterized it as “tone deaf.”
Stephanie D. Hudson, who worked as an officer from October 1994 until last May, wrote that the reference to “considerable support from elected officials” was “laughable.” She also said she was offended by the clause in the letter that referenced the city’s ban on bringing back officers found to have violated policy by “cooperating with federal agents to attack Portland residents.”
“Your letter indicates that nothing has changed. It simply highlights why those who could leave, did leave. I suspect it will take a decade or more to repair the damage that has been done,” Hudson wrote.
Hudson started working for Hillsboro police the day after she retired in Portland, according to state records.
The Police Bureau now has 96 vacancies in a budgeted force of 882 sworn members of all ranks, the bureau’s lowest authorized strength in 28 years, according to police figures.
Lovell is considering expanding the eligibility to hire back ranks beyond officers, such as sergeants and detectives, to fill the positions but hasn’t made that decision yet, according to Sgt. Kevin Allen, a bureau spokesperson.
The bureau also anticipates another large wave of retirements this July and will be working to encourage those veteran officers while they’re still working for the bureau to consider coming back under the program as well, Allen said. About 80 Portland officers will be eligible to retire by June 30, and another 17 can retire before the end of the year, according to the bureau.
The retirees would return at their top pay and collect their city pensions at the same time, but they would lose seniority, meaning they would typically work the night or afternoon shifts. They can return to the bureau for two years.
Lovell said he expects the bureau will have a greater response with officers who may be eligible to retire later this year. Some who retired from the Police Bureau since August 2020 already have found jobs at other police agencies, where they can work beyond another two more years, the chief said.
Sam Adams, who serves as Mayor Ted Wheeler’s director of strategic innovations, said the difficulty in attracting retirees reflects a “tough time for big-city police departments to keep and hire staff.”
“We’re not looking to bring back people who are not top notch folks,” Lovell said.
The reference to “cooperating with federal agents to attack Portland residents” drew the most criticism from retirees, many who left the bureau after working nightly protests during the mass social justice demonstrations in the city after the May 25, 2020, murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Had the Police Bureau received substantial interest in the program, Lovell intended to give priority to officers who live in Portland, his letter said.
Assistant Chief Mike Leasure, who oversees the bureau’s personnel division, said other retirees still can express interest past the mid-January deadline that had been set in the chief’s letter. He said he’s hopeful “we’ll get some more responses trickling in.”
“Obviously we want to have as many people working here as possible, and I think our retirees offer a lot of experience and professionalism,” said Sgt. Aaron Schmautz, president of the Portland Police Association.
The two who agreed are idiots. Likely to be either dead idiots or scapegoats soon enough.
What happened to social workers answering some calls?
The two who agreed are idiots. “
I’d guess they are in some financial squeeze or other.
Bust a black who goes feral on you and there’s a damn good chance you’ll go to jail for it. No hyperbole there. It’s even out of local control. They’ll swarm in from all over the country to hang you.
I don’t believe only two expressed interest. All 81 likely told them what it would take to come back and the city of Portland wasn’t willing to get rid of anti-police politicians, lock up and charge criminals, give the cops back pay for days they were out, promotions, etc.
The Portland cops operate in a hostile work environment.
The city should double their salaries—minimum.
“Welcome to Malfunction Junction, USA!”
They are the morons, along with the Soros DA, That Portlanders elected. Portlanders didn’t just vote for third world status, they went out and marched for it. Portlanders took their toddlers out to march and then masked them and lined them up to get clot shots.
Portland, most atheist city in the US, 74.6% democrat.
These Democrats are really, really STUPID!
I don’t like cops. They are a necessary evil.
They spend most their time giving traffic tickets( a civil infraction) rather than dealing with crimes, but you can’t expect to treat your workers like crud and then demand loyalty.
People don’t work that way.
Cops ARE NOT SUPERHUMANS they are people
like the rest of us and you can’t expect
to mistreat them and get good results.
Everyone in the ranks is going to eject at the first opportunity. Any new hires are going going to be mercenaries who want their academy paid for but will jump to another department at the first chance.
The future Portland police are going to be a collection of misfits and washouts from other departments. That or they'll be the turnover department that young recruits join, get their certifications, and then leave for other departments at the first opportunity. Either way, it's going to have a lot more problems, all of which could have been avoided if city hall wasn't filled with deranged Communists.
If you would like more information about what’s happening in Oregon, please FReepmail me. Please send me your name by FReepmail if you want to be on this list.
I can’t believe 90 percent of big city cops haven’t flat out quit!
Maybe some of them enjoy being enforcers and hired guns for the extreme leftist and their Communist bosses. I guess they haven’t figured out if things go south, they’ll be the first thrown under the bus.
Too many of these people in responsible positions just don’t get it. They have formal educations but no common sense.
I would not want those two watching my 6.
You know it’s bad when the chickens don’t come home to roost.
Enjoy you leftist idiots, y’all deserve yourselves.
You built your hole now live in it.
Tough sale.
I’ve been retired from teaching for ten years and I can’t imagine what the state could offer to get me back in a classroom.
I firmly believe that a lousy day of retirement still beats the hell out of the best day of work.
What they were subjected to by their own bosses would have caused a private employer to be sued out of existence for violating the same laws these police were to enforce.
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