Recent articles in The Oregonian have charged that at least 30 Portland police officers have falsified their payroll records in order to receive thousands of dollars in excess overtime pay (8/7/99). As if the base pay were not adequate: the paper also reports that beginning officers with a BA degree earn $31,000 per year. After just six months, pay increases to $38,000, and after one year is $40,000; in five years the police pay is $51,000 (7/17/99). In contrast, entry level teachers with a BA plus their professional Ed. degree and state license begin at $21,000 to $23,000 per year. It takes a teacher with a BA, a Masters, and a PhD, over 20 years to make $51,000.
Comparison of the reported amounts of money being spent on police salaries in comparison to that spent on teachers is relevant to the local Lincoln County budgetary situation. In addition to paying high salaries for police, county taxpayers are in their 9th year of paying off a $10 million jail (with interest the cost comes out to just about $20 million). This money is for a jail that remains only a little over half full; among its primary occupants are unconvicted suspects who are unable to raise bail. Many suspects are counted as being incarcerated even though they are booked and released within hours.
The operating costs of the half-full jail have failed to reflect the "economies of scale" which were promised during the hard-sell campaign to win public approval for the project. The hi-tech "slammer" costs just about as much per inmate as did the old jail in the courthouse (almost $30,000 per inmate per year --counting only the inmates who spend at least 24 hours). Curiously, the increased operating costs were not factored into the county budget until the eleventh hour, as the jail was actually being readied for occupancy; in desparation, the county had to drastically slash budgets for other departments and services.
The jail expense makes it harder for Lincoln County voters to approve a "local option" property tax increase for schools, authorization for which passed the legislature and may or may not be signed into law by Governor Kitzhaber. This money is desparately needed to supplement the inadequate Oregon State budget for our schools. If we had the money back for the unused part of the jail, Lincoln County could provide for smaller classes and current textbooks and sufficient supplies, and perhaps help some of the kids avoid the more expensive facility in downtown Newport. The ironic fact is that, despite having had a 75-bed jail rejected three times in their decade-long campaign to persuade voters to approve the project, Lincoln County officials doubled the size of the proposed facility and it was approved in 1989! Now it is half empty. Go figure!
These stories about law enforcement costs also bring to mind the ongoing controversy over the March 12, 1999, killing by Lincoln City Police of Thomas Genge during an arrest for drunk driving N-T June 18, 1999). The latest coverage by the N-T indicates Genge's widow has filed a $7.8 million lawsuit against the police and Lincoln City (8/4/99). Genge's widow believes the police did not obey the law and used excessive and unnecessary force in her husband's arrest.
The widow is supported in her claim by the results of an investigation by the Oregon State Police, which concluded that the arresting officer, Craig Grabenhorst, intentionally used excessive force in a potentially lethal double-knee-drop to Genge's back while the suspect was lying on his side on the ground and under "good control" of a back-up officer. The autopsy describes Genge's injuries as including 3 broken ribs and a severely lacerated and "pulpified" spleen. The OSP report further desribes the injured man as writhing on the ground and repeatedly requesting an ambulance and at least five times saying he was dying. The officers delayed calling for medical help because they suspected Genge was faking to avoid going to jail.
A Lincoln County Grand Jury declined to indict the arresting officers. However, since grand jury proceedings are secret, the public has no way to know if the grand jury even saw the police video tape, which was made from Officer Grabenhorst's patrol car and was the basis of the OSP report.
The Don Quixote Society Website (http://www.quixote-quest.org/) has requested a copy of the videotape, as has The Oregonian. These requests, made as provided for by Oregon State Law, ORS 192.420 - 192.505, have been denied by Lincoln City Police Chief Doris Conley on the grounds that the department is being sued. While the law does provide for the withholding of public records pending lawsuits, an overriding clause, ORS 192.501, requires the prompt disclosure of information which may be in the public interest in a particular instance. The Don Quixote Society Website is appealing Chief Conley's decision to District Attorney Dan Glode. We believe the persistent denial of responsibility by the LCPD indicates the policies resulting in the use of excessive force, with the potential for unnecessary injury to suspects and great cost to taxpayers, is unchanged. It appears psychological testing and the level of training required for these highly paid officers is inadequate.