Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler won his first local public office by mocking the incumbent’s serious suggestion that Multnomah County hire a Klingon translator for the underprivileged. He ended one of his commercials by doing a perfect Klingon sign off, “Kuplah!” Translation: Success.
He won. At last, voters thought, the crazy people won’t be in charge anymore.
Oh, how wrong they were.
Well, earth to now Mayor Ted Wheeler: You’re no Captain Kirk. It’s time for the Federation to take over.
As mayor Wheeler has done his best impression of “The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight” the real live city he claims to love has devolved into a dystopic hellhole. Buildings are blackened by flamethrowers, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks flames, and Wheeler, who doubles as the police commissioner, is holding the match.
Portland Rioter ‘Celebrates’ 100 Nights of Riots by Tossing Molotov Cocktail—and Instantly Regrets It
He literally does nothing as his officers are assaulted, burned, and attacked every single night at the hands of antifa and Black Lives Matter, Inc™ rioters. Nothing. Night after night. Riot after riot.
Portland’s Shame
And now they are leaving. The cops, not the rioters. Nope, the county’s catch-and-release program for rioters sends these same criminals back out on the street in time for the next wave of rioting.
And now Portland, Ore., has set a new and disturbing record. While law-abiding Portlanders depend on police now more than ever in the wake of more than 100 nights of riots, looting, arson, vandalism, and violence, there are now fewer and fewer cops willing to take the call.
A record number of police officers are tapping out and retiring.
There have been more retirements in the month of August 2020 than in most years.
We saw the trend line last month. Here’s what I reported on August 8 in an exclusive report to PJMedia.
“Portland – Antifistan – is on pace to lose the most cops ever to retirement.
So far this month, 15 Portland police officers have put in their official paperwork to retire at the end of the month. That sounds like a trifle, but there have been multiple appointments made to finalize the paperwork for more retiring cops that haven’t been counted in that number. The Bureau is on-trend to lose a “record number” of officers – maybe as many as 42 by the end of the month, and 100 by the end of the year, according to multiple knowledgeable officers who spoke to PJ Media.
An executive with the Portland Fire & Police Disability & Retirement department tells me that “this is probably the biggest [number of retirements] we’ve ever had.”
But the official bean counters underestimated the number of retirements for the month of August by 14%. Instead of 42, there were 48 retirements for the month of August, including nine detectives, six sergeants, and an assistant chief who turned in their badges.
Portland Police Draw the Mayor a Picture
But that’s not all. Nine detectives left the Bureau in addition to the 48 retirees in one month. That’s more than in most entire years.
And it’s not a coincidence.
A retired Portland police officer said he’s not surprised at all.
I am not surprised by the record numbers of retirements compared to other years. Why would great cops want to put up with 100+ nights of verbal and physical assaults and then be portrayed by MSM and their local government as the aggressors, and complete abandonment by the police commissioner. I would suggest if they have the time in to retire ASAP, and if you are relatively new to look for a lateral position with a department where you know you will have the backing of your administration.
I feel Portland as a city will never fully recover from this, and PPB will never be the bureau that it once was. Which was a progressive and diverse department, with leading edge ideas and policies. The policing of Portland will do nothing but go downhill from the attack upon it, if the extreme leftist agenda ideas portrayed by Hardesty, Wheeler and worse Sarah Iannarone, a self proclaimed Antifa if she wins the mayoral race. It’s ugly when Wheeler who has completely failed and committed complete dereliction of his duties to PPB is the best candidate. So sadly I do not see it ever recovering and being the Nationally recognized bureau it once was, so I do not blame them one bit for leaving in droves! BLM has set policing back decades.
If they are supposed to be about promoting and advocating for black lives, what have they done for Carmen Best? SPD Police Chief- Retired 2020 their first black female Chief. The entire Rochester, NY command staff has retired and/or resigned. LaRon Singletary, Black Police Chief 40 years old stated that he felt he was not left with any option but to resign due to the attack on his character and integrity.
Why would any human being committed to serving their communities want to stay in this environment?
The writing is on the wall. Mayor Ted Wheeler has installed a Black Lives Matter, Inc™ approved police chief and promised to reduce the budget and size of the police bureau.
The Portland Police Bureau put out a news release with a handy infographic about the state of manpower for the upcoming year due to “defunding.” The disturbing realization is that the bureau is understaffed, even with lower staffing levels.
Who wants to be in a dystopic hellhole with no support from your command staff?
Indeed.
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