By Maxine Bernstein
The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland’s police chief said he was angry and disappointed that supervisors allowed three officers involved in a fatal shooting to see video surveillance from a nearby restaurant before they were interviewed about what happened.
“I had admonished Assistant Chief of Investigations Donna Henderson, who made the decision, and Detective Division Commander George Burke, who recommended the decision to her, that this will not happen again,’' Chief Larry O’Dea wrote in an Aug. 25 letter.
Yet O’Dea said that he won’t abolish the practice. Instead, any future decision to show a video to an officer before an investigative interview will require the chief’s approval, he said.
A report released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that the bureau had allowed officers involved in the June 28 shooting outside a WinCo Foods store to view video surveillance from a nearby Taco Bell before detectives interviewed them.
Federal justice officials are reviewing Portland police practices on use of force and officers’ response to mental health calls to ensure the Police Bureau is adopting mandated reforms that are part of a negotiated settlement approved by a federal judge.
The Justice Department said the video, coupled with the bureau’s hours-long delays in ordering the officers not to talk to one another, presented a “serious impediment to compliance.’' The video wasn’t even mentioned in the bureau’s 604-page case file on the fatal shooting, the federal officials noted.
Detectives showed the video to the officers despite objections from both the bureau’s Internal Affairs Division and the city’s Independent Police Review Division, the intake center for complaints against police. It also took the bureau two-and-a-half hours before it notified internal affairs or the review division about the police shooting.
“Both occurrences are unprecedented in the five years that (the Independent Review Division) has acted as a monitor,’' wrote Constantin Severe, the division’s director, to the chief on July 20.
Showing the video was “against investigative best practices,’' Severe said.
O’Dea, in his written response to Severe obtained through a public records request, said he wasn’t aware his detectives had shown the video to the officers until after it was done.
According to the chief, Henderson and Burke made the decision based on “their first-hand knowledge’’ that the video didn’t show anything and couldn’t influence the officers’ interviews. By granting the officers’ request to review the video ahead of an interview, the police union allowed a detective division sergeant to join detectives and participate in the interview process, the chief learned from Henderson and Burke.
But O’Dea didn’t agree with that reasoning. “While I understand that rational, I find it shortsighted at best and offensive to our ongoing work on this,’' O’Dea wrote to Severe.
O’Dea said he directed Henderson and Burke to document everything regarding videos obtained, whether they’re viewed or not, and circumstances surrounding any viewing, in case documents.
The chief also said he held a special meeting with Henderson about “her failure to consult with me regarding such a critical issue.’'
“I felt the decision was contrary to our thoughtful and deliberate ongoing process,’' O’Dea wrote.
But the chief wrote that he’s not convinced that showing videos to officers ahead of interviews is a bad practice, noting that the New York and Los Angeles police departments do it. He also cited support from the Police Executive Research Forum regarding video from body cameras that capture events from an officer’s standpoint.
As Portland police move to equip its officers with body cameras, the issue is likely to become of greater concern.
Severe, in an interview Thursday, said he appreciates the chief considering his concerns and writing a response. But he said the chief needs to put his orders in writing.
“There needs to be a written policy on how video evidence is used, particularly as the bureau moves to use body cameras, so everybody understands the rules of the road,’' Severe said.
before their interviews, saying it will undermine investigations, the credibility of an officer’s statement and create an appearance of bias. Some police agencies, including Oakland police, don’t allow such viewing.
If a civilian was being investigated for a fatal shooting, “are they going to let that suspect see that video before they’re interviewed?’' Severe asked.
Copyright 2015 The Oregonian