PORTLAND, OR - In December 2019, Koben Henriksen was shot and killed by officers of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). At the time, then-Chief Danielle Outlaw said, “the mental health system failed,” a sentiment agreed upon by then-mayor Ted Wheeler. Outlaw questioned the “level of accountability throughout the mental health system,” which she said left police “in an impossible situation.”
Henriksen had numerous interactions with Portland police officers that ended with no use of force. In some of those encounters, he signaled he “needed someone to kill him,” a classic “suicide by cop” scenario. Officers were able to get him to a mental health facility.
Partially as a result of that incident and several other officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths in Portland, the city had an independent review conducted, which was released last week, KOIN reports.
All told, ten shootings that occurred between 2019 and 2022 were reviewed by California-based OIR Group.
OIR Group looked at the circumstances leading up to nine officer-involved shootings and one where the subject committed suicide. OIR made seven recommendations, with the Portland Police Bureau agreeing to all but one.
The group suggested the PPB modify its review process for such shootings to include a review of the decision-making process and any findings from the review board and commander to ensure the actions complied with department policy.
The PPB responded in a letter, agreeing with the recommendation and noting that it is already partially in place, with internal affairs reviewing supervisors’ actions leading up to a shooting. The updated policy will review the actions of officers leading up to a shooting.
Some of these recommendations are surprising, as they should already be in place. For example, another recommendation suggested that officers should be questioned if forensic or video evidence doesn’t align with the account of the incident. The PPB agreed and acknowledged that this was already partially in practice. The report also called for dispatchers to receive training in handling at-risk callers, and police said that too is already in place.
The parties disagreed, however, when it came to so-called “PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) maneuvers." The practice is used nationwide by police agencies and is considered a use-of-force tactic.
A PIT maneuver involves using a police cruiser to maneuver alongside a pursued vehicle (from the front fender to the rear fender of the offending vehicle) and push it to the side, causing the vehicle to lose traction and spin out of control. Most agencies already have strict policies about when such a maneuver can be used.
OIR recommended that, before a PPB officer uses a PIT maneuver, a supervisor approve it. PPB said they believed requiring approval would restrict the officers’ ability to end a pursuit, and noted that the previous policy recommended supervisor notification, but it was not a requirement.
Yet another recommendation was that outside review of critical incidents should proceed immediately, rather than wait until any legal action is complete. The report stated that city contracts prohibit reviewing cases before litigation is complete, which can delay completion. The PPB agreed, however, that public dissemination of information before legal proceedings were complete could complicate the cases.
The report noted that none of the officers involved in the cases reviewed were disciplined, although in one case, a supervisor was found to be out of compliance.
The findings will be presented at a City Council work session scheduled for Jan. 29 and will also be available at the Jan. 28 Citizen Review Committee meeting for questions.
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