Officer on leave after shooting 12 year old girl with beanbag gun

Officer on leave after shooting 12 year old girl with beanbag gun

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Portland Police officer investigated in the death of James Chasse has been placed on administrative leave after shooting a 12-year-old girl in the thigh with a beanbag gun during an incident at a MAX stop Saturday night.

Officer Christopher Humphrey shot the girl with a beanbag gun after she attacked officers trying to arrest her, police Chief Rosie Sizer said Thursday.

What makes this different then almost any case shown here on ATS is this:

“After reviewing the video, I am troubled by it," Chief Sizer said as she announced that Officer Humphreys had been placed on paid administrative leave. Sizer said the Internal Affairs Division would conduct an immediate and full investigation into whether the use of force was justified.

"The actions I witnessed on the video are not consistent with my expectations and what I believe are the community's expectations for a Portland police Officer," said Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman.

There are two videos in the news article, I highly advise watching the SECOND video clip: Addy here

www.kgw.com...

I was actually talking to an officer downtown just last week about his beanbag shotgun .. in the second video clip that I linked you see the officer swining a shotgun around .. it IS a real shotgun, if you put a shell in it, it would fire. These are packed with bean bag rounds, firing at the same rate as a shotgun only less lethal (I say less, not nonlethal) The Shotgun is painted a bright orange color. This is so as not to scare passengers when the Transit Officers carry it or have to use it.

There are THREE officer in the video, taking down a 12 year old girl! You can see almost point blank the shotgun is used. I was told by the cop I was talking to it leaves a nasty bruise and welt, depending on how far away you are and where it hits, they can break bones like ribs. I cannot imagine what the effects were this close to a 12 year old girl..

I deal with Transit and Portland cops almost everyday at my job, and almost all of them are very nice people, but every once in a while you do get a gun-ho jackass.. I don't know whether to say this is a case of poor judgment or pure cruelty.

www.kgw.com...

[edit on 11/19/2009 by Rockpuck]

ALSO:

It should be noted, the Officer being placed on leave for shooting a 12 year old girl at close range with a bean bag gun was placed on leave in 2006 for the DEATH of a 42 year old mental person. The Police department in Portland determined NO WRONG DOING.

HOWEVER:

In August, 2009, the Multnomah County Commission voted to pay the family of James Chasse $925,000 as a settlement to a civil lawsuit filed over the mentally ill man's death

His "no wrong doing" cost the count almost a million dollars.

www.kgw.com...

Why am I not surprised this went down, out there?

Yes, shooting the kid at close range seems wrong. The incident should be investigated.

Having said that, she should be charged with attacking the cop and resisting arrest. Both kids were known to the cops and both ignored an exclusion list (I didn't even know there was such a thing) so that indicates past involvement with the police. It's not looking like a good track record for them, either.

ETA: and WTH is a 12 year old doing attending a late night party with (suspected gang members) ... DHS needs to be looking at this.

ETA2: I agree, 3 cops should be more than enough. It looked like she was already down when he shot her.



[edit on 20-11-2009 by LadySkadi]

reply to post by LadySkadi


True.. but three officers couldn't take down a feisty 12 year old girl? Common.. And yes, the MAX has an exclusion of 30-180 days and a 2 year warning period for first offenses.

All Transit Officer carry OC (Pepper Spray) .. which I am sure would have been much more appropriate than a close range shot with a beanbag..

Interesting perspectives:

Being a cop is a tough job. You deal with the bottom of society, people who are hostile and unpredictably violent. This often leads to cops with hair-trigger responses to complex situations. Portland clearly has too many of that kind of policeman, someone who cannot quickly and calmly judge a situation and respond appropriately. The Chasse case is one example; this one may be another. And there have been all too many more. First of all, the union has to stop protecting these bad cops. Second, the city needs to get tough -- about training for these situations and about getting rid of these bad cops. There have been too many financial judgments against the city from these situations. And the city is not safer as a result.

In this case it sounds like officer Humphres did what needed to be done. To close? maybe, bummer for her. The lesson here is don't resist. I wonder if she learned anything?

Yep. He doesn't learn does he. They were looking for an excuse to get him and he gave it to them. Sit in your car. Roll the windows up. Turn on the good-times radio and do nothing and get paid for it. Its what this city expects. Let them run wild on MAX.

So, do you think this cop is being paid back for his involvement with the Chasse death? Ya have to wonder.

[edit on 20-11-2009 by LadySkadi]

reply to post by LadySkadi


I think the Chasse case has quite a bit to do with this. An officer that "accidentally" killed another human being is now found guilty of using extreme force at very close distance to a very young minor. It kind of puts into perspective that perhaps this specific officer needs to be let go.. he's a danger to society quite honestly. Those shotguns are not meant to be used at such close distance, if he had hit her in the head she could very well have been critically injured, even killed.. keep in mind it's a 12 year old girl. Either way with this case and the Chasse case, the city is going to throw him under the bus. You can mess up once and cost the city 1million dollars.. you can't mess up again two years later and result in another lawsuit (which undoubtedly this one will)

[edit on 11/20/2009 by Rockpuck]

reply to post by LadySkadi


I agree with your post fully on this.

I am not bashing cops at all and often defend them here on ATS when it is needed. This cop though seems to have some sort of anger issues. Maybe the stress of the job is getting to him if so he should have sought out some sort of counseling to help him through it.

I also wonder what a young kid girl or boy is doing at a party such as this as well. In my opinion they are certainly guilty of something and I would say some of those party members need to be looked into for may be having sex with minors.

Raist

I think we need to up the standards for hiring police officers.

If multiple officers cannot handle a 12 year old girl without employing the use of a beanbag-loaded shotgun, what chance are they going to have against a real criminal, with a real weapon?

Does anyone actually feel safe with these wannabe thugs roaming the streets?

this cop needs to find different employment,like one poster points out... 3 cops cant deal with a 12 year old girl without having to pull a #gun on her..? get real... either re-train or do something different.

The union is calling for a "no confidence" vote of the Commissioner and the Chief. What does that mean, exactly?

The Portland Police Association board unanimously voted Friday to put a "no confidence" vote to its members against police commissioner Dan Saltzman and chief Rosie Sizer.

KOIN.com




ETA: source of quote

[edit on 21-11-2009 by LadySkadi]

reply to post by LadySkadi


I just read this .. absolutely amazing.. a Police Commissioner actually sides with the public, and what happens? The Officers revolt.

A Portland Police Union spokesperson reacted angrily to the decision, saying the Police Chief and Commissioner were treating Humphreys unfairly. Union officials said they were outraged complained that the Commissioner and police chief were over-reacting because of Humphreys' involvement in another controversial case.

"Had they not already had the predetermined bias against officer Humphreys we would not be here today," Scott Westerman with the Portland Police Association said. "She was shot in the leg. That is appropriate. It's trained. It's taught."

www.kgw.com...

Actually.. the bean bag gun is meant to be used at longer ranges. In fact, they even have SCOPES on the shotguns.. this idiot used it practically point blank..

There has been little to no reaction from the public.

It should also be pointed out that the gun is used as a last resort before you pull your real gun. In any case an officer uses the beanbag gun on someone, it should have been in a situation where he otherwise would have had to use his real gun.

So the officer shooting the 12 year old girl on the ground is saying had he not had the gun he would have shot the girl dead. They carry an assortment of other weapons that are much less dangerous than the guns .. like pepper spray (oc). Or, I don't know..... three grown men?


[edit on 11/21/2009 by Rockpuck]

Originally posted by Rockpuck
ALSO:

It should be noted, the Officer being placed on leave for shooting a 12 year old girl at close range with a bean bag gun was placed on leave in 2006 for the DEATH of a 42 year old mental person. The Police department in Portland determined NO WRONG DOING.

HOWEVER:

In August, 2009, the Multnomah County Commission voted to pay the family of James Chasse $925,000 as a settlement to a civil lawsuit filed over the mentally ill man's death

His "no wrong doing" cost the count almost a million dollars.

www.kgw.com...

breaking 20 odd ribs in the mans chest (says your link)

Officer say's "i pushed him"


ya....

Johny Knoxvile getting shot by a beanbag shot .. from a good distance away at that. Imagine a 12 year old girl at very close range and no protective gear.

Beanbag cop on paid leave files stress disability claim

He's getting paid to not come to work and is now claiming disability because of the .. stress.. the investigation has caused him ...

www.kgw.com...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland police officer on paid leave for firing a beanbag shotgun round at point blank range and striking a 12-year-old girl in the thigh has filed a stress disability claim, according to the Oregonian.

The funny thing is that the people in Portland OR think of themselves as Progressives - the good guys - according to them - when in fact they are absolute NAZI's

I swear to GOD - They actually have people who cruise the streets on cold days just to see who is burning logs at their homes. And then they report them.

reply to post by factbeforefiction


I've found Liberal are far more authoritarian than Conservatives.. true Conservatives (not Republicans which are religious Socialist) .. by nature Conservatives have to oppose government intervention in our lives, where as the Liberals scream for Government to micro manage their lives. This supposed "Progressive" city has some major issues.