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Portland police respond to a fatal shooting during a traffic stop near in Northeast Portland near Lloyd Center that left driver Keaton Otis dead.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

A

of six Portland police shootings and one death in custody highlights a series of problems that continue to plague officers' use of deadly force and the bureau's internal reviews.

, the California-based

found in multiple cases:

-- Police used Taser stun guns inappropriately and ineffectively.

-- Officers violated policy when chasing armed suspects or reaching into and firing at moving vehicles.

-- Training division reviews failed to compare what police did to their training.

-- Reviews by commanders and detectives included inaccurate accounts of what occurred.

-- Investigators held witnesses to shootings for an unreasonable amount of time.

-- Officers failed to preserve crime scenes by moving evidence.

-- Investigators didn't do adequate follow-up or interviews of witnesses.

The shootings and death in custody examined by the auditors happened from 2005 through 2010. Each of the shootings followed a police foot or car chase, or standoff with a suspect in a vehicle.

They involved Marcello Vaida in October 2005; Dennis Lamar Young in January 2006; Scott Suran in August 2006; David Hughes in November 2006; Osmar Lovaina-Bermudez in August 2009; and Keaton Otis in May 2010.

Auditors also looked at the March 2006 death of Timothy Grant, who struggled with police after they received reports he was screaming and running into traffic. He died at the scene after police punched and used a Taser as they tried to get him in handcuffs. His death was ruled an accident, resulting from a cocaine overdose.

The consultants zeroed in on Lt. Jeffrey Kaer's 2006 fatal shooting of Young, a suspicious man sitting in a car idling outside Kaer's sister house.

for inappropriate tactics leading up to the shooting. But an arbitrator ordered Kaer back to work with a 30-day unpaid suspension instead.

The report, done at the request of City Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade, concluded that the Police Bureau failed to learn from its mistakes in Young's death.

"Unfortunately, the bureau did not use this (arbitration) decision as a learning opportunity and did not consider or change any practices as a result of the arbitration decision," the consultants said. "This report notes a number of reforms that could have come out of an exacting review and urges the Bureau to consider them now."

For example, police never adopted any written protocols to dissuade officers from responding to a call involving a family member. The bureau kept Kaer in his lieutenant's role while he was being investigated, and he now serves as executive officer to the assistant chief of patrol operations.

The consultants also suggested that the bureau broaden its policy that prevents officers from shooting at moving vehicles to address an officer's approach to a parked car that could take off.

The consultants recommended that the bureau work to dispel the often-repeated refrain from officers and command staff that the actions of the suspect "dictated" an officer's use of force.

Kaer's commander in writing and Kaer's union representatives at arbitration argued that the actions of "a drug-addled criminal forced him to use deadly force." The arbitrator embraced that, finding that Young "wrote the script that led to his demise."

The auditors found the argument objectionable and urged the bureau to ensure that officers put themselves at a tactical advantage to handle suspects with the least amount of force.

"To place the onus of any outcome on the suspect provides an excuse for the outcome and does not sufficiently credit well-trained officers and their ability to bring suspects into custody intelligently and safely," the report said.

In response to the audit, Police Chief Mike Reese wrote that officers have the goal to control tactical scenes "to the greatest extent possible."

"However, it is the reality of many tactical situations that a subject can influence the course and outcome of the event," he said.

Reese thanked the consultants and said he found their 31 recommendations helpful.

Among them:

That the bureau tighten its recently revised Taser policy even further; strengthen its restrictions on foot pursuits of armed suspects and require officers to notify dispatch of their location; develop a safer method to extract an uncooperative suspect from a car; and encourage sergeants to be supervisors and not get involved in tactical situations.

Members of OIR Group will present their report to Portland's City Council next Wednesday, July 17, at 2 p.m. in council chambers in City Hall.

-- Maxine Bernstein