Mayor Ted Wheeler Says Police Bureau Employee Who Leaked False Hardesty Allegation Should Be Fired

“I do not believe such an individual has the character required to be a police officer,” Wheeler said.

Portland police officers outside Ventura Park in September. (Alex Wittwer)

Mayor Ted Wheeler told Oregon Public Broadcasting's Think Out Loud on Friday that he supports the firing of any Portland Police Bureau employees who leaked information to right-wing groups and the press that incorrectly implicated Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in a March 3 hit-and-run crash.

"If it turns out that somebody in the Portland Police Bureau had leaked critical information related to an ongoing criminal investigation to a group of individuals for a political purpose, I would see that as an extremely serious offense," Wheeler told OPB. "It would be my preference to terminate such an individual because I do not believe such an individual has the character required to be a police officer."

Wheeler added that he, as the police commissioner, may not have the authority to terminate the employee or employees who may be responsible for the leak due to the police union's ironclad contract that allows officers to appeal disciplinary decisions to arbitration. According to the police union's contract, "the arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding."

PPB's Deputy Chief Chris Davis initiated an internal affairs investigation of the leak on March 5. That same day, Wheeler called for an outside review. As WW reported Thursday, that probe has yet to begin. Wheeler's office and Hardesty's office are still nailing down details of who will conduct the investigation and what scope it will include.

Wheeler defended the pace of launching an investigation on the radio today.

"Let's keep this in perspective. It's only been two weeks," Wheeler told OPB. "I know we live in social media world where people hope for instant results. But the reality on the ground is it doesn't work that way. We have to churn through the process."

UPDATE, 6 pm: Late this afternoon, Wheeler and Hardesty jointly announced they had signed a contract with the California-based consultant OIR Group to conduct the outside review of possible leaks of false allegations against Hardesty from the Portland Police Bureau to right-wing groups and the press. OIR Group previously conducted a review that faulted PPB's training for officers on when to use lethal force.

The two officials also confirmed they would split that inquiry off from a broader probe into the culture of the Police Bureau. The wider investigation—which does not yet have an agency hired, although the Western States Center is expected to assist—will look at three questions. Here's how the mayor's office describes those lines of inquiry:

Racial Bias: Are the Police Bureau's policies, culture, or actions influenced by racial bias? If so, what is the extent of any racial bias, what are the root causes of any racial bias, and what are the best practices to addresses those root causes?

Political Bias: Are the Police Bureau's policies, culture, or actions influenced by political bias? If so, what is the extent of any political bias, what are the root causes of any political bias, and what are the best practices to address those root causes?

Resistance to Change: Are the Police Bureau's policies, culture, or actions resistant to change sought by the community? If so, what is the extent of that resistance, what are the root causes of that resistance, and what are the best practices to address that resistance?

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