News In the wake of several hate-motivated attacks against gays in Portland, Mayor Sam Adams, Q Center director Kendall Clawson and police Chief Mike Reese held a press conference today at the Q Center to discuss how police would better protect the gay community . On Memorial Day weekend, six men were beaten and had homophobic slurs shouted at them in a traditionally LGBTQ-friendly area on Southwest ...   More

News A year and a half ago, it was then-Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman's "Operation Cool Down." Today, Mayor Sam Adams didn't borrow Saltzman's operational title for his own effort to crack down on gang violence. But he might have. After the dreariest June on record, the mayor linked gang violence to hot weather. "Law enforcement data shows an increase in gang activity in the Portland area. ...   More

News Portland Police Chief Mike Reese released a statement this afternoon on yesterday's brief announcement by his bureau that it would re-open the investigation into sexual assault charges made by a masseuse against former Vice President Al Gore. The statement (PDF) is mostly a re-visit of the timeline about the first contact Gore's accuser had with police a couple months after she says Gore tried ...   More

News Mayor Sam Adams and Police Chief Mike Reese walked the beat Friday night with members of the Q Patrol, a newly formed citizen brigade hoping to curb attacks on the LGTBQ community in Old Town and entertainment districts in Portland. The mayor and chief joined the group of uniformed police officers, Q Patrol members in their signature orange vests and members of the community to spotlight the patrol ...   More

News Police Chief Mike Reese made an announcement today on discipline for two recent high-profile incidents. Reese said he found that Officer Christopher Humphreys' shooting of a 12-year-old girl with a beanbag gun last November was within police bureau policy. And Reese said the public will have to wait to hear his decision on discipline in the January fatal shooting of 25-year-old Aaron Campbell, ...   More

News At a news conference this morning with a murdered man's family, Mayor Sam Adams announced one of his solutions to Portland gang violence: a phone number for callers to connect with gang outreach services. Adams described the hotline as "one-stop shopping" for gang members to connect with "the bureaucracy." He said the hotline should be ready in three weeks. Meanwhile, Portlanders continue ...   More