The most common citizen complaint against Portland police in 2011 was for rude behavior or language, followed by inadequate assistance and then use of force, according to

.

Last year, the Independent Police Review Division opened 97 cases resulting from complaints about officers' rude behavior or language; 89 cases involving complaints of inadequate police action; 63 cases stemming from use of force complaints; 51 cases alleging improper or unjustified arrests; and 34 cases alleging inadequate police communication.

The 63 use of force complaints in 2011 were the highest in three years - up from 42 such complaints in 2010, 53 in 2009 and 51 in 2008. Nine officers had more than one force complaint, the report said. It did not identify the officers.

Portland's Independent Review Division, the intake center for citizen complaints against city police, dismissed 72 percent of the complaints received in 2011.

The two most common reasons complaints are dismissed without investigation is because staff have determined that even if the allegations are true, no misconduct occurred, or it's determined that "it is more likely than not that no misconduct occurred," the IPR report said.

Of the 34 community complaints investigated in 2011, 26 percent – or 9 - resulted in sustained findings against officers involving their conduct, courtesy or police procedure; while 74 percent – or 25 resulted in non-sustained findings.

In 2011, there were 25 complaints initiated by Portland police employees, supervisors or commanders regarding officers' interactions with community members, and 23 bureau-initiated complaints that solely involved alleged police misconduct.

The most common bureau-initiated allegations involving officers dealt with alleged unprofessional on-duty conduct of police; followed by unprofessional off-duty conduct by officers, and untruthfulness.

Of 18 bureau-initiated complaints fully investigated against officers in 2011, 83 percent, or 15, resulted in a sustained finding, while 17 percent, or 3 were non-sustained.

The report identified complaints and commendations received resulting from police actions during Occupy Portland events. In 2011, IPR received 14 community complaints and 53 community commendations resulting from Occupy Portland incidents.

It also contains a demographic profile of community members who file complaints: split evenly between men and women; most are white, with 9 percent Latino and 6.3 percent African American, with nearly a third 24 years or younger.

The three patrol precincts account for three-fourths of community complaints, followed by the Traffic Division.

One employee received five complaints in 2011, and 132 others received two or more complaints.

Two bureau members were fired in 2011, 3 resigned or retired while investigations were pending against them.

The report does not include names of officers or specifics on any complaints.

--