Why the lazy Portland cop is really in trouble
The Portland police officer who refused to do anything to help in yesterday's downtown drug store robbery ought to be fired. That won't happen, of course -- there is no meaningful discipline in the Portland police bureau -- but he's definitely going to catch some serious unofficial shinola from Chief Mike Reese's office.
Why?
Because he stepped on the chief's big publicity moment. The night before, Reese was personally involved in taking a gun away from a 20-year-old kid in a traffic stop. Oooo, big deal, press release and all. It was a pretty slow news day locally, and it was probably going to get some camera time for the chief. He's going to need it, because when his BFFs the Sam Rand Twins leave the building in December, he could be looking for work. But no -- all the reporters want to talk about is "Call 911, I'm off-duty."
It's pretty hilarious, actually, but it won't be for that worthless cop.
| Posted at 6:47 AM | Permalink |
|
Comments (10)
So if you had to choose between,
A) Cops that are "trigger happy", or
b) Cops that have been conditioned not to take any personal risk or violate procedures...
Which would you prefer?
Posted by Mister Tee | July 27, 2012 8:29 AM
Stepping up to stop a crime or mis-behavior is often discouraged, but highly under-rated. I remember an obnoxious drunk at a blazer game taking a pee in the sink while kids were walking right by him. I had a serious discussion with the guy that resulted in a bit of a problem, but ended better for me than for him when others took my side. Ignoring crime or people who get out of line results in an acceptance of bad acts, and ultimately even worse behavior. Standing by like a dolt is to condone such actions.
As for as the cop who drove away. An embarassment and a loser, and I would bet the exception. Most cops I ever have met would jump in with both feet on or off duty. Heck, most people I know aren't cops, and just about all would jump in given the chance to catch a real robber. So take heart to know it's generally good to have the cops nearby, but there is no need to depend on anybody in a uniform to correct a wrong.
Posted by Gibby | July 27, 2012 8:36 AM
Mister Tee,
Can't we have option C....a police officer who does his or her "duty" no matter what time it is.
Posted by Portland Native | July 27, 2012 9:25 AM
This is exactly the type of behavior you'd expect to see in an organization where employees have zero fear of consequences, and zero fear of their management.
Can't wait to see the union come out to kiss this officer's a**, call him a hero, and somehow blame elected officials for the whole thing.
Portland cops are only as good as their worst member, which is not very good at all.
Posted by Snards | July 27, 2012 9:58 AM
Can't wait to see the union come out to kiss this officer's a**, call him a hero, and somehow blame elected officials for the whole thing.
Oh, it's very predictable what they'll say, something about how with such an "anti-cop" administration that demonizes officers, cops are afraid to do anything that might jeopardize their employment prospects, or something along those lines.
Posted by Dave J. | July 27, 2012 11:33 AM
"cops are afraid to do anything that might jeopardize their employment prospects"
Ha ha. A Portland cop in danger of losing his job over misconduct. That's a good one.
Posted by Snards | July 27, 2012 11:42 AM
Welcome to the Depolicing of America.
Posted by Mister Tee | July 27, 2012 12:21 PM
Ignoring a citizen report of an in-progress armed robbery is a breach of regulations worthy of termination (in *any* police agency.) The internal affairs investigation should be fairly brief. Reese should fire the officer.
Posted by HMLA-267 | July 27, 2012 12:31 PM
How long before someone copyrights the phrase and prints a T-shirt?
"I'm off duty. Call 911"
Posted by concordbridge | July 27, 2012 4:06 PM
Depolicing? Hah hah!
Posted by Andrew | July 27, 2012 9:01 PM