Leonard gives Adams support in appealing Frashour decision
PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Mayor Sam Adams picked up support Tuesday from City Commissioner Randy Leonard in his fight to keep officer Ron Frashour off the Portland Police force.
Leonard issued a press release after Portland Police Association president Daryl Turner held a press conference Tuesday morning blasting Mayor Adam's stance on reinstating Frashour, saying in part "we’re obviously upset about it, but more than that we’re also disillusioned with the fact that he’s our police commissioner."
Leonard opened by saying he "has struggled with Mayor Sam Adam's desire to have the City Council support his decision to appeal the Employment Relations order to hire back" Officer Frashour.
Frashour shot and killed Aaron Campbell during an encounter outside Campbell’s apartment in 2010. Campbell was unarmed. After an investigation, Frashour was fired for his actions during the shooting.
Last Friday, the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB) ruled that the city must adhere to an arbitrator’s decision and re-hire Frashour. Adams has stated in the past he would fight efforts to have Frashour reinstated.
In the press release, Leonard said he has "a long history of working with and even developing - while a member of the Oregon State Senate - Oregon’s public employee collective bargaining laws."
But he also said it was "implausible" the incident with Frashour and Campbell was in line with police training and he criticized Turner for remarks he made about Adam's integrity, saying:
Really, Mr. Turner? How do you characterize the integrity of your members’ actions that led to a complete breakdown of all the training the Portland Police Bureau provides officers to avoid tragedies such as the indefensible killing of Aaron Campbell?
And I don’t mean just the lack of integrity by the officer that pulled the trigger that killed Mr. Campbell.
I include the supervisors and negotiators on the scene that ignored the incident command system that led to a breakdown of the left hand not telling the right hand what it was doing. The result of this shockingly out-of-control incident was the killing of a man that should have had the police helping him- not shooting him as he ran for cover as a result of being hit with a barrage of shot gun bean bags as he was attempting to surrender.
Leonard said he doesn't think there is much chance the decision of the ERB will be overturned by the Oregon Court of Appeals, "but we do have a chance," he said.
He closed by saying he will support Adam's request to appeal the ERB's demand to reinstate Frashour.
Rehire Frashour or, believe me Portland, you will pay the price! It is your tax dollars that Sammy is about to waste!
I am proud of these two for standing up. If it fails and that officer ends up back out on the street sooner or later something else will happen. I recall that Mr. Cambell's wasn't the 1st life he took. If he does end up having to be hired back may he be assigned back in the records room or at a desk where there wont be a chance for him to make the mistake a 3rd time.
Officer Frashour didn't "take" a life. That choice was up to Mr Campbell!
How much more money are the portland tax payers going to let Sammie boy spend on a useless cause that he is not going to win.
Someone has to clean out the police ranks. And instill an ethical, law abiding police department. Who will that be - Charlie Hales or Jefferson Smith? It sure as heck hasn't been Sam Adams. Never. ever Sam Adams.Â
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It sure as heck hasn't been the city council members seated with our mayor. City council members who don't appear to be one bit interested in making THE OVERHAULING OF THE PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT their priority - ever. Amanda Fritz - will she even be re-elected ?- Why hasn't she championed for any substantive change in how our police department is operated? Dan Saltzman - he backs down every time he says he is tough on something or another. Nick Fish - what the heck. dude - are you even alive down there at city hall- what in the heck does Nick Fish do in regard to the public's safety - day in and day out? And ALL Randy Leonard ever does is the prostituted bidding of the fire department. In my opinion. Based on the public record of Randy's actions over the time he has chosen to be a city council member.Â
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Why do I get the feeling Scammy and Randy dress each other each morning.
Birds of a feather -
As the winds howl, Mr. Leonard - you are outgoing - and you want to "appear" to be strong on police corruption and police THUGGERY now? Only now? Where was your backbone six years ago when Kyle Nice and Chris Humphrey's were left on the police payroll and you did not dig your heels in back then and demand they be FIRED? Wrongfully killing is wrongfully killing, Mr. Leonard. JAMES CHASSE WAS CRUELLY KIDNAPPED AND WRONGFULLY KILLED. BY OUR POLICE. Of course Mr. Frashour needed to go - a long time ago. And Amanda Fritz should be joining in the call to keep Frashour a private citizen. And Dan Saltzman and Nick Fish, too. But where was the equal measure of a strong back bone SIX YEARS AGO when the very last thing that shoulda happened was this city continuing to employ Kyle Nice and Chris Humphreys - post James Chasse's cruel, senseless and viscious WRONGFUL killing by a mob of Portland's police.Â
Leonard is taking the right stance here. Â Frashour is a massive liability that has already cost the city millions of dollars through his actions and multiple reprimands for misconduct. Â Why would any business want to rehire an employee like that? Â Enough is enough. Â It's time for some accountability.
Frashour likely doesn't want to return to a job where his superiors don't want him and he would never fit in again. What he really wants is to cash in on all this, and the wonderful police union is trying to get the city to pay him a year's salary for the time he has been out of work, plus 9% interest (really, who earns 9% interest these days?). Â Disgraceful!
 @Daniel C Kyle Nice wants him. Frashour and Nice are cut from the same blue cloth. Nice still "trains" the police. Frashour and Nice - they are emboldened enough to keep on keeping on - as a matter of fact. To this day. Using Chris Humphrey's as their model of appropriate police conduct in 2012. And if Frashour is brought back on duty - there will be I AM RONALD FRASHOUR tee shirts aplenty boasting that fact. What do Portland Police care...
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Believe it or not - Frashour is just like ALL of Portland's blue line. The question is - when will the LINE be broken apart and brought into proper and appropriate order? If not now - then when, City of Portland. Allow Frashour to be a uniformed police officer for this city? No way, City of Portland. No way....
Get out of my face, Randy Leonard, you sick, deluded, filthy, individual...
 @Muttley Muttley - you holding on to your I AM CHRIS HUMPHREYS tee shirt a little too tight this morning? Get over it. WRONG IS WRONG. And Frashour is very, very, very (over and across the line) wrong. And bad.Â
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Enough of the "blue" mentality that promotes - when our city's police cruelly and wrongfully kill - there is always a TEE SHIRT to be printed up and worn by Portland's blue line and a job as a police officer to be retained. No matter what.Â
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wow. shocked. I am soo shocked. uh gasp.
I wish someone would do a study that shows how many "innocent victims" there are, that have been seriously hurt or killed, by the mentally ill. Personally, I am tired of reading all the stories about people being killed by "mentally ill people" . Remember the care giver killed by the person she was delivering medications to? Or, the mass shooting at the "Dark Knight" movie? Or, the guy who lost his face in Florida? Or the soldier accused of killing fellow soldiers at Fort Hood? There are so many of these stories that not everyone sees all the time, but believe me, they're there. And the ones you do hear about, are quickly forgotten ......... until the next one. Some of the comments that so many of you make concerns me, as I feel that you would "feel better" if it was the Officers that were killed in the line of duty, instead of these "mental persons" that someone was concerned enough to call the Police about because they were afraid of what they were capable of doing.
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These Officers are out there, day in and day out, trying to keep the peace. But, every day, it seems there are more and more of these mentally ill people everywhere I go downtown. Most of them seem harmless enough, but you never know when something is going to set them off. And, I hope and pray, that there's an Officer around if one goes off on me! I know someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got punched by one of these "mental persons", simply because the elevator doors opened.
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If the Police aren't allowed to do their jobs, and "Protect & Serve" their community, then we are left to fend for ourselves. And, God help us, if it comes to that.
 @Shintagirl So all mentally ill people should be subject to police brutality because you lump them into a sweeping category with violent criminals?  Interesting...
@Daniel C...Characterizing an event as "police brutality" when every independent review of the facts and circumstance has shown otherwise reveals your bias, which is likely why your evaluation of this is rationally flawed.  Regarding Shintagirls suggestion that it is the right and duty of police officers to exercise caution and act according to the gravity of the circumstance, your extension that the commenter was saying that all mentally ill are dangerous is fallacious. You are an excellent example of why it is difficult to deal with someone who has lost the ability to be rational.
We need some good ole rednecks in there
Now I know why Oregon is # 4 in drugs in all the states Portland is full of cridlers
Every black vote counts. Ask any politically correct, born-again, knee-jerk, limousine liberal.
To Mayor Pedofile and Mr Misappropriation its ok to leave your post early if you can't do the job...which you can't. You know why Bud Clark was such a good mayor? He ran a successful tavern, went into politics became mayor for 2 terms then left and went back to owning a tavern. That is the kind of politician I want, no more career politicians.
Well, Adams was a pedophile prior to election the first time, and kept at it! Great mayor ya got there!
Portland is turning into a microcosm of the entire USA. Spend like crazy on pet projects, while telling the residents of the City it's for their benefit. Liberalism gone amuck! Liberals also doesn't like to be criticized. Stick together then, maybe someone might believe you and vote for you. Remember liberals know better than you what you need, want, desire, and, most of all, have to have to be happy, without a doubt! Â
 @jpk Really?  Are you sure it isn't becoming a cesspool of conservatives who support the police union which defends officers like Frashour who cost the city millions of dollars?  You guys just spend, spend, spend on defending killers like Frashour. Â
 @jpk Yes god knows the conservatives never lie, never waste money and always do the right thing. (cow eyes are rolling)
do you have to mention cow eyes as I'm making Au Jus for dinner?
An interesting comment from Randy "The Commando" Leonard. Leonard is as much responsible for the dysfunctional city of Portland culture as anyone and more so than most.
Sammy & Lenny need to go drink some fluoride and chase that down with a cup of STFU....
Not that I want a law enforcement agent who is not wanted by his superiors back on the force, but really?
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Randy "FireMan" Leonard? Not sure if that's supposed to help or hurt.
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I would rather get support from Joe Paterno, at least more people still like him.
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Leonard  you need to leave office with sam....you dont repersent the interests of the people.
Randy, no one cares what you think. No one cared what you thought when you worked for Portland fire. Actually everyone wished you would go away when you worked for Portland fire.
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Now everyone wishes you would go away. We are tired of your crap and it's time to move on. You have done enough damage as it is.
RalphCramden & sortbait, please speak for yourselves.
Leonard does indeed represent many of my interests, and I care what he thinks. Reinstating Frashour would be a shameful tragedy. We have an ignorant, bigoted, poorly trained police force when it comes to dealing with people of color and/or with mental health issues, and I am VERY glad to see Leonard and Adams stand up to the joke of a review board that would reinstate the travesty known as Frashour.