West Linn, OR Police Station
WEST LINN
Group demands police reforms
Maxine Bernstein
The Oregonian/OregonliveThe Oregonian/OregonLive A citizens group on Monday released a list of reforms it wants the West Linn Police Department to adopt in the wake of the city’s $600,000 payout to Michael Fesser, a Black man from Portland who filed a wrongful arrest and racial discrimination suit against West Linn police.
“Law enforcement must be fair and just for all,” Concerned Citizens of West Linn said in a statement. The group, formed in February after the city’s settlement with Fesser was publicized, has more than 300 followers on its Facebook page, according to co-founder Abby Farber.
It presented a list of demands to the city that members say are “aimed at ensuring that the community is served by professional and competent law enforcement providers who are capable of serving as guardians of our community, protecting victims of crime, treating all people fairly, and subject to civilian oversight of accusations of misconduct.”
The group is calling for an independent police oversight system with the power to subpoena officers, documents and witnesses; outside investigators to conduct inquiries into complaints against police; the firing of Police Chief Terry Kruger, who remains on paid leave as an outside review continues of the city’s handling of the Fesser lawsuit; and social support teams instead of school resource officers in the city’s schools. The group will host a panel discussion at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 19 via Zoom, drawing elected officials, leaders from the Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, and former and current law enforcement officers.
Litigation from Fesser’s civil suit uncovered that West Linn police investigated and arrested him on a theft accusation as a favor to a fishing buddy of then-Police Chief Terry Timeus. Timeus’ buddy was Fesser’s boss, Eric Benson, owner of A& B Towing in Southeast Portland.
Fesser said the arrest was retaliation for his complaints about a racially hostile work environment at the towing company. Theft charges against Fesser ultimately were dropped. The Oregonian/ OregonLive revealed in February that the city paid $600,000 to Fesser to settle the suit, and Benson and his company paid out $415,000 to settle a separate discrimination and retaliation suit.
In April, the City Council voted to hire an outside firm, the California-based OIR Group, to investigate how the city handled Fesser’s wrongful arrest and discrimination allegations against police. That month, the city placed Kruger, who also had a personal relationship with Fesser’s ex-boss, Benson, on paid leave, pending the outside investigation.
Transcripts of West Linn City Council executive sessions also revealed Kruger vigorously defended his department’s arrest of Fesser.
Kruger and his lawyer have urged the city to return him to work to carry out needed changes. He wasn’t chief when Fesser was arrested in 2017.
The city has established an 11-member Police Oversight and Accountability Task Force tasked with analyzing West Linn police policies and procedure and proposing an oversight system for police. It met for the first time late last month.
The city also plans to hire an outside firm to do an equity audit of its city programs, policies and employee training.
