Portland officer accuses bureau of punishing him

PORTLAND — A Portland police officer transferred to work at a property-evidence warehouse has filed a whistle-blower complaint against the Portland Police Bureau claiming he is being punished for speaking out.

Officer Thomas Brennan said he was worried his sergeant seemed to be under too much stress while working the streets after his involvement in the heavily publicized police-custody death of James P. Chasse Jr.

The death of the mentally ill man in 2006 after his ribs were broken during an arrest resulted in widespread publicity and lawsuits, including a federal lawsuit that is still pending.

Brennan told The Oregonian newspaper that he met with his precinct commander last fall, provided details of a call in which he thought the sergeant "grossly overreacted" and recommended the sergeant be moved to a lower-profile assignment.

When his concerns seemed to go nowhere, Brennan went public with them last fall, sending an e-mail to two city commissioners and the media.

Five days later, Brennan, 41, became the first rank-and-file officer who has been assigned to work at the property-evidence warehouse.

Now he also is facing a police internal investigation.

"If a police officer who speaks up is being treated like dirt, how does that reflect on the general public?" Brennan said. "You've got this fine line here. Do you keep your mouth shut and pretend there's not a problem? At some point, you have to do what's right."

Police Chief Rosie Sizer declined to respond to questions about the matter.

Detective Mary Wheat, speaking on the chief's behalf, said Brennan was moved because internal affairs is conducting a "performance review" of Brennan.

"None of this was done for retaliatory purposes," Wheat said. "This has nothing to do with the e-mail. Our officers talk to the media all the time. We don't discipline people for it. We don't even question them about it."

But on Brennan's first day back to work after his e-mail was sent to commissioners and the media, his precinct commander, Mike Reese, asked him why he took the matter outside the bureau. Reese told him it was unprofessional.