PPB officer involved in expensive settlements gets promoted

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Police Bureau has promoted an officer who has cost the city more than a million dollars in settlements, causing disbelief from some who don’t understand how the officer has made it as far as he has.

Officer Leo Besner, who has been involved in five legal complaints, was promoted to sergeant in a ceremony on Thursday.

In November 2005, Besner fatally shot Ray Gwerder while Gwerder was on the phone with negotiators.

After a night of drinking, Gwerder had taken friend Jesse Cornett’s gun and threatened to commit suicide.

“Though Ray was complying with the police negotiator and going back into the house as he was asked, Leo Besner shot Ray in the back and killed him,” Cornett said.

The aftermath of the shooting cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in court costs and settlements, with the settlement for Gwerder costing $500,000 alone.

“As it stands, you can be Leo Besner and have offense after offense after offense against those you’re sworn to protect, yet because your peers think you’re doing a good job, you’re still going to get promoted and that’s not how it should be,” said Cornett.

Recently appointed bureau chief, Mike Reese, said he took Besner’s record into consideration but decided not to challenge or deny the promotion.

Besner was also among officers who responded to a report of a fight in downtown Portland in 2006 during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

A man involved claimed Besner punched him in the groin and used a knife to cut the seat belts he was wearing while he sat in a vehicle.

The city settled with two people in that case for $175,000.

Despite Besner’s history, the bureau said he has “an excellent record.”

“Anyone can file a tort claim.  All of them go through the process of - we investigate it,” said Lt. Kelli Sheffer with the Portland Police Bureau. “You kind of weigh out what’s there, what’s not there. Sometimes they’re valid, sometimes they’re not.”

But with Besner’s promotion comes change. Mayor Sam Adams said the city will now consider legal complaints during every officer’s annual review.

“I do think that this level and frequency of tort claims and lawsuits needs to be part of what’s looked at in evaluating a police officer,” he said.

Adams also said that while police Chief Mike Reese reports to him, Reese still needs to make his own day-to-day decisions. In this case, Reese opted to promote Besner.

“His decisions around promotions have to be good decisions, and they need to play out in a positive and constructive way,” said Adams. “I’ll hold him accountable to make sure that that happens.”

Adams said he hopes making legal complaints a part of evaluations will make the bureau more accountable.