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Police departments in the Portland area have lost a great deal of trust and confidence from the public in recent years by misunderstanding their changing role within the community. Here again police administrators enlarge this gulf by hiding within a loophole.

Who watches the watchers? An age old question not to be defined by the watchers - in this instance they are public servants, paid by public dollars, hired to protect and to serve, not to hide and mislead.

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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What terrifies people about what happened to James Chasse is not aspects of mental illness or that something is wrong with all or even most officers (thanks Sara, for chiming in). It is the insufficient tools in the hands of the police chief and the police commissioner to immediately remove the officers involved from further police work. Their inability to act undermines trust and respect.

We've learned from extensive surveying in other police bureaus a few bad apples make the whole barrel reek. What's surprising to me is how the Portland bureau and Multnomah County Sheriffs deputies have remained collectively mute - or defended - the actions of these three individuals.

Read everything about what happened to James Chasse at http://jameschasse.blogspot.com/

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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Jane, consider using the term, "person with mental illness" as you would "person with leukemia." When you say, "mentally ill person," you make the illness singular the quality of the person. A parallel would be, "cancer person" or "leukemia person."

The same is true of people with mental illness who have committed a crime.

The word "insane" is obsolete and pejorative. Using this term creates stigma which acts as a barrier - especially for young people - to accepting and receiving treatment. If you support treatment for this illness, recognize language matters - especially if you're a person with a microphone or a press.

For more information about advocacy at the Oregon State Hospital, see http://www.mentalhealthportland.org/patient-remains.html

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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