Insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Portland detective over force used during protests, state investigators find

The Oregon Division of Justice discovered inadequate proof that Portland police Detective Erik Kammerer dedicated a criminal offense when he made arrests or used drive throughout 4 protests in June and September 2020 as a member of the Police Bureau’s Speedy Response Group, in line with a letter launched Friday.

Multnomah County District Legal professional Mike Schmidt had requested state attorneys to analyze allegations that Kammerer — recognized in pictures and movies as “Officer 67” — used extreme drive towards individuals throughout racial justice protests.

“After intensive investigation and authorized analysis, there’s inadequate proof to show past an affordable doubt that Detective Kammerer dedicated any legal act with respect to the 4 allegations investigated,” Jayme Kimberly, a senior assistant legal professional normal, wrote to Schmidt.

“As , the scope of our investigation was restricted to attainable legal expenses, and it didn’t embody evaluation for administrative, regulatory, coverage, moral, or different violations. Subsequently, we attain no conclusions as to the propriety of Detective Kammerer’s conduct exterior of our legal evaluation.’’

Kammerer confronted allegations that he pushed Leslie Mclam and put his fingers on her throat on June 4, 2020, close to the Justice Heart; struck a person within the head with a baton, inflicting an ear and head harm on Sept. 5, 2020, close to Southeast seventeenth Avenue and Washington Road; pushed Melissa Lewis to the bottom inflicting an ankle harm on Sept. 23, 2020, close to Southwest Broadway and Salmon Road; and pushed Tealana Lindseth to the bottom inflicting a leg harm.

Kimberly cited hurdles within the investigation, together with the confidential nature of inside affairs investigations and studies and issue acquiring interviews with officers.

The state Justice Division reviewed lots of of pages of police studies, greater than 100 hours of movies, lawsuit filings, social media accounts and transcripts of Kammerer’s statements to inside affairs. Additionally they interviewed three of the individuals who mentioned they have been injured by Kammerer.

Kammerer made bodily contact with protesters and impartial journalists, however there wasn’t proof to assist findings that he acted with the intent to harass or hurt them or that the drive he used was unreasonable, the letter mentioned.

From Could 29, 2020, by means of Nov. 15, 2021, through the peak of the protests in Portland sparked by the loss of life of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Portland police used drive greater than 6,000 occasions, in line with a federal Justice Division report.

Police generally focused individuals who attended protests however weren’t concerned in any violence by means of “guilt by affiliation” or centered on individuals just because they have been slow-walking away when ordered to disperse, federal investigators discovered.

Final February, the U.S. Justice Division discovered that the Police Bureau failed to fulfill 4 key reforms required below its 2014 settlement settlement, together with inappropriate police use and administration of drive throughout final 12 months’s protests, insufficient coaching and subpar police oversight.

— Maxine Bernstein

E-mail at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

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