Skip to main contentWhen Portland Police Chief Mike Reese hopped behind the wheel of a Crown Victoria to take over a few patrol shifts in May, it was a double win.
One was his stated reason: Reese was pounding the pavement like a regular beat cop to cut down on overtime costs while officers got enhanced crisis intervention training.
The second: Some good PR. The Oregonian, KOIN and other media outlets picked up the story and captured B roll of the city's top cop doing patrol work.
But that good PR didn't go unpunished, or unnoticed, by the Portland Police Association.
The rank-and-file union filed a grievance May 23, saying that Reese took shifts that should have been filled by union members.
The grievance, obtained by WW, says Reese and a lieutenant violated labor agreements by performing the work of bargaining unit patrol officers for three shifts on May 21, 22 and 23. It says a lieutenant and commander also violated the contract when they did the work of a union sergeant earlier in the month.
Signed by PPA President Daryl Turner, the grievance asks that "that the City cease and desist from using non-bargaining unit members to perform the work of bargaining unit members," and asks that any affected officers be "made whole" with interest.
Turner declined to comment, saying he never talks about open grievances. PPB spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson says Reese was not immediately available to comment.
WWeek 2015