PORTLAND, Ore. -- A group critcal of an officer put on leave for a beanbag gun incident involving a 12-year-old girl rallied in downtown Portland Wednesday.
The Albina Ministerial Alliance said the rally at the Justice Center aimed to hold Officer Christopher Humphreys accountable, after a police rally Tuesday in support of the officer on leave.
Humphreys was placed on paid leave by Chief Rosie Sizer and Commissioner Dan Saltzman last week after firing a beanbag shotgun round at close range into a 12-year-old girl's thigh. Previously, Humphreys had been investigated, along with other officers, for excessive use of force in the 2006 death of James Chasse.
Sgt. Scott Westerman, the president and spokesperson for the police bureau union, said he expected a few hundred cops and their family members from across metro Portland to rally in support of Humphreys.
"This affects all law enforcement. This affects public safety across the region. When a commissioner makes a political decision and disciplines an officer or suspends and officer for following his training -- this has a widespread affect," Westerman said.
"Let him come out here and let his daughter or son be Portland police officer,"Cathy McCarthy, the mother of one officer said. "I do find it hard whenever everybody acts like these folks are the enemy."
Police officers will also have the opportunity this week to cast a symbolic vote of no confidence in police leadership.
Officers will receive ballots in the mail asking whether to issue a statement of no confidence in Chief Rosie Sizer and Commissioner Dan Saltzman.
Saltzman recommended that Humphreys face a two-week suspension for his role in the death of Chasse, a 42-year-old schizophrenic who died in police custody three years ago.
On Tuesday, Saltzman released a statement of support for police and Chief Sizer.
"It's a tough time for him and for anybody that goes through that so we're showing our support for Chris," said Det. Todd Teat.
A rally and a no-confidence vote against a Chief and Commissioner haven't happened since 1981.
Officers rallied then after two of their own were fired for dumping dead rodents in front of a black-owned business.
As was the case then, officers today are saying politics is driving decision-making, not fairness.
Critics in the crowd disagreed.
"There should be some disciplinary action," said Jessica Bannister. "I feel that that they need to police themselves and they need to respect the higher authority."
"I support the police," said citizen John McGuiness. However, "there's a limit, you know, at 12-years-old," he added, referring to the girl subdued at the MAX stop.
Mayor Sam Adams' spokesman says the Mayor backs Saltzman's decisions on all these issues.
Results of the union's symbolic no-confidence vote. will go public by the the end of the month. In 1981, officers voted no-confidence overwhelmingly against then-Commissioner Charles Jordan and then-Chief Bruce Baker.Commissioner Saltzman was tapped to lead the police force last year by then mayor-elect Sam Adams. Traditionally, the mayor of Portland also has overseen the police bureau.
Humphreys, already on paid administrative leave, was reportedly unavailable to comment on the shooting or face discipline because of disabling stress, the Oregonian reported last week.
Westerman dismissed the newspaper report as biased and noted the city could discipline an officer on disability if it chose.
"The issue of going off to act as if this was a way of avoiding discipline is absolutely not true," Sgt. Westerman said. "Humphreys has indicated to me ... he will make arrangements to be interviewed because he wants to clear his name because he's done nothing wrong."
Humphreys shot the girl Nov. 7 at the NE 162nd Ave. MAX platform in Gresham. He and other officers were responding to reports of a large party that included "suspected gang members," according to a prepared statement from Chief Sizer at a Nov. 19 press conference.
A responding officer recognized the girl and believed she had been expelled from TriMet ridership, according to Sizer's statement. She resisted arrest and was subdued by a group of officers. During the altercation Humphreys shot her. The entire incident was caught on TriMet surveillance video.
Watch the raw, unedited surveillance video clips: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Less than three months before the beanbag shooting an internal police bureau investigation cleared Humphreys of wrongdoing in Chasse's death. Internal Affairs was also to investigate the beanbag shooting incident, according to Sizer.
(KGW Reporter Randy Neves contributed to this report)
