The Portland police commanding officers union that represents Lt. Jeffrey Niiya filed a grievance Tuesday against the city, citing a contract provision that says any reprimand of a police supervisor should be done in a way “least likely to embarrass" the officer in public.

The grievance stems from statements Wheeler, as police commissioner, and City Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly issued last week after the release of hundreds of text messages between Niiya and Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson in 2017 and 2018. Niiya and Gibson exchanged the messages as Gibson’s right-wing group ventured into Portland to stage rallies that drew counter-protesters and often resulted in bloody assaults.

The Portland Police Commanding Officers Association also filed a workplace harassment complaint against the mayor, Hardesty and Eudaly, writing that their comments last week were "derogatory and hostile and damaged Lieutenant Niiya’s professional work environment.''

Niiya’s texts and emails with Gibson show him sometimes telling Gibson about the movements of counter-protesters, telling Gibson if officers would be on foot or bike at protests and alerting Gibson to have one of his followers Tusitala John “Tiny” Toese, also a member of the far-right Proud Boys, take care of his outstanding arrest warrant before he showed up downtown. Niiya told Gibson that officers could arrest Toese if he acted out but it wasn’t likely to occur, though Toese ended up being arrested on a warrant and additional charges.

Niiya, a 22-year bureau veteran, served as the Police Bureau’s liaison to protest organizers as the supervisor of the bureau’s Rapid Response Team, which handles crowd control. Niiya’s job was to establish a line of communication with protest leaders to help the bureau prepare and plan on how to staff demonstrations.

In a Feb. 14 news release, Wheeler called the text messages “disturbing’’ and said they “appeared to cross several boundaries.’’ He raised questions about whether warrants “are being enforced consistently and what information is being shared with individuals who may be subject to arrest.’’ Wheeler suggested the text messages appeared to “unnecessarily encourage’’ Gibson.

The next day, Police Chief Danielle Outlaw said Niiya had been ordered to halt further activities with the Rapid Response Team and any communications with protest organizers while an internal investigation proceeded.

The union said Wheeler’s statement "about our communications with Patriot Prayer organizers is either disingenuous or shows willful ignorance of the situation. Either way it shows that during his two years as Portland police commissioner he has failed to develop an understanding of even basic police work.’’

Wheeler, in a news conference later Tuesday, defended his statements. He said his chief concern was that it appeared a police lieutenant was coaching someone “about how to avoid arrest.”

Hardesty and Eudaly and some community activists last week pointed to the text messages as confirmation of their beliefs that Portland police have shielded ultra-conservative demonstrators while targeting leftist opponents. Some have demanded Wheeler step down as police commissioner.

Hardesty, in a statement last week, said the texting "simply confirms what many in the community have already known - there are members of the Portland police force who work in collusion with right-wing extremists.''

Eudaly’s statement said, “This revelation has only served to confirm suspicions and deepen the divide between the PPB and the community. All members of our police bureau must follow our rules and uphold our progressive values, not aid and abet groups and individuals bent on doing harm to our communities and responsible for terrorizing our city.”

Niiya also has tried to reach out to counter-protesters and self-described anti-fascist demonstrators and their allies but has had less success since the 2017 publication of his months of text exchanges with June Davies, also known as “Gia,’’ according to Lt. Craig Morgan, president of the Portland Police Commanding Officers Association.

After those messages became public, critics accused Davies of being an informant for the police. In his exchanges with Davies, Niiya often discussed police presence at protests, how activists might respond and answered some of Davies’ inquired whether certain people were arrested during marches.

"Our job is to keep the people of Portland safe,'' Morgan said in a statement Tuesday. "That means building bridges and developing cordial relationships with diverse groups and individuals. We have regular open communication with the mayor’s office about our work and the tactics we employ. This situation is no different.''

DOCUMENT: PPCOA’S GRIEVANCE

The commanding officer union attorney, Hank Kaplan, called the mayor’s press release about Niiya’s text messages with Gibson "gratuitous political grandstanding,'' and urged the city "retract'' the public criticism.

The Police Bureau’s policy on crowd control directs officers to “make reasonable efforts to contact and engage in dialogue with known event or demonstration organizers.” That’s done to plan and to “develop a shared understanding of the organizers’ needs and objectives,’’ according to the policy.

Officer Daryl Turner, president of the rank-and-file Portland Police Association, also issued a statement to the union’s members. Turner said he believes the mayor’s office knew about Niiya’s communications with Patriot Prayer and other protest groups.

"Transparency, accountability and good leadership hinges on putting facts ahead of political agendas,'' Turner wrote. "Pushing out sensationalized soundbites and one-sided stories ahead of an investigation does a disservice to our citizens and our rank and file officers, who rightfully have grave concerns regarding the leadership of our city.''

Protest events in Portland have become hotbeds of violence. Protestors, often armed with makeshift weapons, have fought... Posted by Portland Police Association on Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Here’s a copy of the complaint by the Portland Police Commanding Officers Association, made to the city’s Human Resources Director Serilda Summers-McGee:

Ms. Summers-McGee,

Please accept this email as an official complaint against Mayor Ted Wheeler, Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty, and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. PPCOA believes all three violated HR Rule 2.02 with their various public comments about Lieutenant Jeff Niiya and his text messages with protest organizers. Their comments were derogatory and hostile and damaged Lieutenant Niiya's professional work environment.

A grievance based on Article 30 of the PPCOA collective bargaining agreement will also be arriving via separate cover.

We look forward to a thorough investigation of these allegations.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require any additional information.

Craig Morgan

Lt. Niiya’s text messages, released by the Portland Police Bureau:

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-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

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