Riot-hit city that championed defunding law enforcement is trying to reverse course after homicides rose to all-time high
Faced with surging violent crime, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is trying to rehire former officers. However, the vast majority of departed cops have reportedly shown no interest in coming back so far.
Only two of the 81 recently retired officers who were invited last month to rejoin the force have expressed interest in being rehired, the Oregonian newspaper reported earlier this week. Some not only declined to return but were reportedly offended by the offer.
At Wheeler’s direction, police chief Charles Lovell last month sent a letter to former officers — including many who took early retirement amid budget cuts and disputes over tactics used in dealing with nightly riots — inviting them to “be a part of rebuilding Portland.” He acknowledged that the officers left “at a time of great despair” and said the community is now demanding beefed-up policing.
Nearly 98% of the letter’s recipients were unmoved. Former officer Stephanie Hudson, who retired last May, called the offer “laughable” and said some of the exclusions for rehire eligibility were offensive. For instance, the letter said that any police who cooperated with federal law enforcement agencies to “attack Portland residents” when a US District Courthouse was under siege by rioters are disqualified.
“Your letter indicates that nothing has changed,” Hudson replied. “It simply highlights why those who could leave did leave. I suspect that it will take a decade or more to repair the damage that has been done.”
Wheeler said in October that he hoped to rehire 100 former officers, and the Portland City Council later approved a budget for bringing back 25 retired police. However, nearly 100 of the department’s currently budgeted positions are still vacant, and staffing is at the lowest level in almost three decades.
The city had 90 homicides in 2021, exceeding its previous record by 36%. Portland’s death toll exceeded those of such larger cities as San Francisco and Boston.
Portland witnessed violent riots in 2020, which broke out after the police shooting of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis. Initially peaceful protests quickly spiraled into civil unrest, including looting, arson, vandalism and violence. When the riots were plaguing the city for more than three months, Wheeler moved to ban officers from using tear gas – a commonly used crowd-control tactic – to quell the unrest.
source: RT
Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.
absolvent WEB DESIGN Academia Britanică de Comunicare Iasi - absolvent COMUNICARE IN AFACERI Academia Britanica de Afaceri si Comunicare -absolvent JURNALISM EDITORIAL - London School University - 2019 inscris la echivalare diploma la Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara - absolvent studii de Drept Universitatea Europeană Drăgan, cursuri in Drept la Universitatea de Vest Timisoara, absolvent studii de proiectare, pastor coordonator in Biserica Protestanta Evanghelica,
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