During what was referred to as the “Community Dialogue on Policing” in 2021, the Lake Oswego Police Department agreed to provide the City Council with annual updates on how it performed during the calendar year.
The department conducted this presentation for the third time at a council meeting Tuesday, April 2.
Here is some of what was discussed:
Overall activity
Both calls for service and incidents increased during 2023 compared to previous years. There were 23,405 incidents in 2021 and 27,303 in 2023. Calls for service jumped from over 17,000 to over 20,000 in that timeframe. However, incidents of more serious crimes like homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assaults decreased from 2022 as did lesser crimes like assault, fraud and forgery. Vehicle crash numbers also fell.
Use of force
The city department used or displayed force in 49 incidents in 2023, resulting in three injuries.
Two of those injuries, Captain Clayton Simon said, involved K-9 bites to the same subject. There were no claims filed against the city for use of force. Physical control was the primary use of force while displaying a handgun was the second most prevalent.
The city found that use of force was justified in all but one circumstance. In that case, the department deemed the deployment of a K-9 to not be justified. Upon an investigation, that employee’s employment was terminated. Police Chief George Burke said he could not comment further on the matter at this time.
Traffic stop analysis
The city also showed results from the traffic stop data it provides to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. This analysis looks for disparities in traffic stop data and particularly evidence of profiling. The city’s data did not show evidence of bias. According to the data, 78% of the people stopped for traffic were caucasian while 8.4% were Latinx and 4.3% were Black. The latest U.S. Census data shows that white residents make up about 80% of Lake Oswego’s population, while 4.8% are Hispanic or Latino and 1.2% are Black. Biracial residents account for 8.8% of the population.
Complaints
As mentioned earlier in the story, the city received one internal complaint that resulted in an investigation that led to the termination of an officer’s employment. The department also received an external complaint that resulted in an officer’s resignation and the department said it could not provide more information at this time.
Overall, the department received eight complaints compared to 11 in 2022. Two of the complaints were bias related and the department determined that the complaints were unfounded.
“A lot of that (the small number of complaints) is attributed to us having good people. We’re working hard to do the right things as best we can, trying to hold each other to high standards and accountable as the community expects,” Simon said.
Overdoses
The LOPD responded to 32 overdoses in 2023, up from 15 in 2022. However, fatalities from overdose were the same both years (four).
The age range of those who overdosed was 6 to 87. The city used naloxone, a medication that can counteract overdoses from opioids, to treat overdoses seven times last year, up from five in 2022.
“We’re saving a lot of lives. When we have the ability to respond and see folks in crisis, if we can get there quickly enough, we can have an impact on the outcome,” Burke said.
Prescription drugs were the primary cause for overdoses (13) while there were five cases of fentanyl overdose.
At the meeting, Burke commented on the state’s decision to recriminalize possession of drugs and said treatment should be the first option in addiction cases.
“We recognize the fact our jails don’t need to be full of people with issues centered around addiction. Let’s find ways to help people get the treatment they need,” he said.
Police hiring and retention
Burke emphasized the importance of making sure the department retains quality employees. He said the current staff is relatively young and acknowledged that some get the urge to work in a bigger city where there is more action. This necessitates the department, he said, to give officers opportunities outside of Lake Oswego like joining task forces or coordinating with other agencies. He also noted that four officers are set to retire at the end of the year.
“Getting people involved in things outside the city of Lake Oswego, giving people an expanded horizon, is something we will do to get people to continue working in the city,” Burke said.
Behavioral health
Burke discussed the work behavioral health specialist Amber Hambrick does to respond to incidents involving mental health in Lake Oswego and West Linn, while also hosting trainings on topics like suicide and crisis intervention. He said the department is monitoring how best to utilize her time.
“Amber is spectacular at what she does and the amount of time that she has committed to doing training and teaching and educating and all the different things she has done in the county and the state impacts the ability to have her respond to more things,” he said.
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