PORTLAND — Eighteen Portland police reserve officers defected to the county sheriff’s office last summer when they couldn’t convince the bureau to provide them federal-mandated training given to all other bureau officers.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the volunteer officers – who complete a reserve academy, carry guns, wear the standard police uniform and can make arrests — now back up Multnomah County deputies.
The switch came after Portland police in late November 2017 ordered the reserves off the street because their training didn’t meet the higher standard required by the city’s 2014 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over officers using excessive force against people with mental illness.
It’s unclear why it took the Police Bureau until then to recognize that its reserve officers were out-of-compliance.
