By Rick Bella
The Oregonian
MILWAUKIE, Or. — Call Police Chief Larry Kanzler stubborn and he grins.
Call him impatient with politicians and he laughs, because he knows he doesn’t hide it very well.
But if you call him a problem-solver who isn’t afraid to experiment, get ready to hear a story.
“Really, that’s what police work is all about --problem-solving to keep the peace,” says Kanzler, 63. “These days, they like to call that community policing. But really, it’s just bringing police together with residents and businesses to solve problems. And now, looking back, I’m kind of proud of it.”
Today is Kanzler’s last day on the job, wrapping up nine years as Milwaukie chief and capping a 41-year law-enforcement career. He has handed over the reins in Milwaukie to Bob Jordan, retired FBI agent in charge for Oregon.
“I’m really going to miss working with him,” says City Manager Mike Swanson. “Police chiefs and city managers don’t always get along. But we’ve always worked well together. And besides, he’s my early-morning golfing partner.”
When Kanzler arrived in Milwaukie in 1999, he already had worked as security director for Beaverton schools and police chief in Toledo. But he got most of his experience with the Portland Police Bureau, where he began as a patrol officer in 1967.
Over the years, Kanzler’s solid pragmatic streak served him well. He helped to clean up a drug-infested apartment complex and to put the brakes on a spate of thefts by employees at Swan Island businesses. In fact, he did so well that he was tapped to establish the highly acclaimed horse patrol in 1979, followed by the Gang Enforcement Team in 1986. He retired as a lieutenant in 1995.
“Actually, I retired more than once,” Kanzler says. “I put in 33 years in the Army Reserve and retired as a colonel. I was director of logistics for Camp Rilea in Warrenton.”
But Kanzler wasn’t done solving problems --not by a long shot.
After signing on as Milwaukie chief, he began to ferret out long-festering problems. After an investigation, he fired a patrol officer who had sex on duty with a police cadet. The officer was charged with official misconduct, convicted and jailed.
Next, he fired a night-shift supervisor who had falsified his overtime pay records. The man was prosecuted for theft and sent to jail.
Finally, Kanzler began remaking the department along a more professional model. He developed a five-year strategic plan that addressed training, equipment and funds. He saved the city $2.8 million over the past five years by having Lake Oswego handle dispatching.
He also directed officers to use the problem-solving model to shut down a drug house in the 4200 block of Southeast King Road.
“We used the chronic nuisance ordinance,” Kanzler says. “When we were done, we put up a 4-by-8-foot sign that says, ‘This property under the supervision of the Milwaukie Police Department.’ That changed everything in the neighborhood.”
Earlier this year, the city began using photo radar to catch speeders, which consistently shows up on citizen surveys as a top concern. Police periodically station a van equipped with radar and a camera to issue citations.
Not all has gone smoothly, however. The city is still locked in a legal struggle over some officer transfers Kanzler made. The officers contend they were demoted, which Kanzler and the city deny. The case is now before the Oregon Court of Appeals.
But there is no quibble about the police department’s numbers: Milwaukie’s crime rate has dropped 50 percent in the past three years.
“This police department has traveled 100 miles --or maybe a million miles --in the past nine years,” Kanzler says. “It’s the same department only in name. And if I didn’t think it was in the best of hands, I might actually miss it.”
Copyright 2008 The Oregonian