PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Police Chief Mike Reese is defending his officers’ use of force by saying they’re confronting twice as many suicidal calls as they were a decade ago.
Police took 1,200 such call in 2011, compared with 630 in 2001.
The Oregonian reports (http://is.gd/Bxgnht ) the actual number of suicides in Multnomah County did not rise as dramatically — 83 in 2001, compared with 111 in 2009.
Reese spoke to a public safety group Tuesday at City Hall as a grand jury is reviewing the Jan. 25 fatal police shooting of a suicidal man at a downtown parking garage. And, the city recently agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Aaron Campbell, a suicidal man killed by police in January 2010.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
