The 411 on 67
Willamette Weed has a fascinating story up this morning about Portland's infamous Officer 67, who allegedly got so out of hand whacking protesters over the summer that they pulled him off street duty. He's apparently a detective who plays a prominent role in "investigating" use of deadly force by police.
[Erik] Kammerer has been a homicide detective for the bureau since 2007. That job includes responding to the scene of murders and interviewing witnesses. And it means Kammerer has played a role in exonerating police officers who fatally shot Portlanders. He has regularly been called as an expert witness in Multnomah County grand jury proceedings dating back to at least 2010.
Court records indicate Kammerer has testified in grand jury proceedings for several fatal high-profile officer-involved shootings, including those of Aaron Campbell, Keaton Otis, Quanice Hayes and Andre Gladen.
In some of those proceedings, Kammerer provided testimony that may have contributed to officers' exoneration.
And he's back on the case in a recent shooting of a civilian by federal cops:
On Dec. 8, the U.S. Marshals Service announced Kammerer is one of two detectives who will investigate the wounding of Jonathan Crowley, 31, by deputy marshals in North Portland.
The discipline system for law enforcement officers is bad enough, even with the right people doing the work. WW asks a good question: whether the people we have are the right ones.
No offense intended to Officer 67, (Erik Kammerer) who I have never heard of before now, but with the issue of continuing shootings (and killings) of Afro-American men in Portland and elsewhere, when do the financial costs of paying monetary judgements/settlements and/or insurance premiums for Portland police reach the point where city funds are insufficient (without new taxes) to pay for existing levels of services? I don't mean to ignore the tragedy of civilian deaths in Portland, but it seems like Officer 67's time and expertise have been and will continue to be spent attempting to reduce the city's potential financial liabilities rather than provide police services. And speaking as someone who has lived in Portland for almost 40 years now, sometimes I wonder how far the Portland police have really come since the days of Stan Peters, the Portland possum ;patrol, and a bunch of bullies. That isn't intended to be a broad brush to tar every officer, some of whom I 'm sure are thoughtful, helpful, and at times also kind and heroic people doing a tough job, but for a supposedly "liberal" city Portland had,, and continues to have, a reputation of having continuing problems with police and civilian interactions. From what I have heard about civilian oversight, it has not seemed to work, apparently at least in part due to the power of the police union, and a contract with the city of Portland that allows any officer discipline to be passed upon by outside arbitrators under a very "officer friendly," and deferential standard. That tends to send a signal that "you can get away with a lot" as a Portland police officer, a message that I think we might wish to, at long last, change.
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