Police firing of Jensen upheld
DJ
The mayor cites several reasons for terminating the captain, an agency veteran
03/13/04
MAXINE BERNSTEIN
Portland Police Bureau Capt. C.W. Jensen, who rose steadily through the ranks
and became well-known as the bureau's spokesman, was fired Friday after Mayor
Vera Katz upheld his termination.
Katz's disciplinary letter cites Jensen, 48, for violating the Police Bureau's
general orders on professional conduct, misuse of an official position and
truthfulness for seeking as much as $100 in reimbursements for meal expenses
that he did not incur on an April 1999 business trip and for directing a
subordinate to do the same.
"My only comment is to note that Mr. Jensen was afforded the opportunity to
exercise his due process rights in contesting the termination," Katz said.
Jensen and a union leader called the firing too harsh, especially when compared
with discipline given to other officers for more serious misconduct, such as
the cover-up of a police assault or thousands of dollars in cell phone abuse.
They pledged to file a grievance.
"Discipline generally has to be fair, equitable, and, as a practical matter,
defensible. We believe this action fails on all three tests," said Cmdr. Dave
Benson, president of the Portland Police Commanding Officers Association.
The Multnomah County district attorney's office and the state attorney
general's office earlier decided not to prosecute Jensen. In March 2001, the
attorney general's office cited Jensen's alcohol use and a time lag in filing
the claims as possible mitigating factors, and called it an isolated incident.
But Katz concluded in her letter that Jensen's abuse of public funds was
"deliberate" and not due to "sloppy bookkeeping."
Jensen went on disability pay in July 1999 on a post-traumatic stress claim. He
was captain of the training division and had 21 years on the force. He
eventually worked for two years as a KGW TV news reporter. In July 2003, his
benefits were reduced, and last year, he chose to return to police work. He was
taken off disability leave Sept. 25 when doctors reported him fit for duty.
The Police Bureau continued its internal inquiry and put him on paid leave.
Assistant Chief Stan Grubbs and Katz recommended the firing after Chief Derrick
Foxworth, a friend of Jensen, recused himself.
Katz held two hearings where Jensen challenged the firing. Before her final
discipline, Katz had Jensen see a city-hired psychologist, who found him "unfit
for duty" after questioning Jensen about past alcohol use.
"You did not honestly answer the questions," Katz said in her letter, adding
she was concerned about a "pattern of deceptive behavior." The union will
contest the fitness-for-duty evaluation, arguing it should not have been a
factor in discipline.
"It's hard for me on a human level to think after all I've done over 21 years,
I make one mistake, and I'm just thrown away. . . as if I don't have any value
for this organization," Jensen said Friday. "I've been in a shooting, but this
is the scariest day of my life."
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"The gravest abuse of power - and the gravest threats to personal liberty and
security - are those in which the very individuals to whom we look for the
preservation of law and order turn out to be the predators."