Portland Police Chief Mike Reese and Mayor Sam Adams moved Wednesday to fire Officer Ronald Frashour for improper use of deadly force and suspend another officer and two sergeants for actions leading to the

About 9 a.m. Wednesday, Portland's police chief presented letters of proposed discipline to Frashour, Officer Ryan Lewton and Sgts. Liani Reyna and John Birkinbine.

Reese stressed that the bureau's policies are more restrictive than state law, that multiple policy violations occurred and that the Police Bureau is committed to holding itself accountable and learning from such tragic incidents. The mayor, who serves as police commissioner, said he accepted the chief's recommendations.

"My thoughts at this time are that significant policy violations occurred that have factored into my proposals for discipline," Reese wrote in a statement. "In this incident, I believe each bureau member involved was attempting to do their best to resolve a difficult situation. However, it is my responsibility to acknowledge and address these policy violations."

By 9:45 a.m., Officer Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association, called the chief's moves political and vowed to challenge them. He expressed confidence any firing of Frashour or serious discipline of Lewton, Reyna and Birkinbine would be overturned.

"This decision by Chief Reese and Mayor Adams sets a dangerous precedent," Turner said in a prepared statement. "It teaches us that even if Portland police officers follow the Bureau's policies and training, they act at the peril of their career if political pressure is great enough."

Aaron Campbell shooting

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Turner agreed Campbell's death was a tragedy but said officers "reasonably believed" that Campbell was armed and dangerous. If Campbell had complied with commands, Turner argued, then deadly force wouldn't have been necessary.

"What cannot happen is for Portland police officers to face termination and substantial discipline for doing their jobs correctly," Turner wrote. "If that occurs, as it has today, public safety is deeply compromised."

Each of the officers will have a right to a hearing before the chief before a final determination is made.

, citing inadequate training, lack of central command and communication. The shooting spurred hundreds of protesters to march to City Hall and the mayor's office,

, and led then-police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Adams to call for a federal review.

The Rev. LeRoy Haynes, vice president of the Albina Ministerial Alliance, said Campbell should never have been shot. "It happened because of negligence, a total breakdown in the command structure, a total breakdown in communications and a total breakdown in training."

Haynes said firing Frashour is justified. "I think it sends a clear message to the community and the bureau that when mistakes are made they will be appropriately corrected and officers will be held accountable," Haynes said.

But the real question will be whether the firing can stick. If history is any indicator, it's likely a state arbitrator will reverse it.

The last firing stemming from a Portland police shooting was overturned. After former Mayor Tom Potter fired Lt. Jeffrey Kaer in August 2007 for his "poor judgment and decision-making" leading up to the Jan. 4, 2006, fatal shooting of Dennis Lamar Young, who parked outside Kaer's sister's home, an arbitrator later ordered the city to give Kaer his job back, repay him for lost time and suspend him for 30 days.

Before that, former Chief Charles Moose terminated Officer Douglas Erickson who fired 23 shots at Gerald Frank Gratton as he fled from a bus in North Portland on July 19, 1993. The suspect was struck in the back and arm and survived.

He had a gun in his waistband but didn't pull it or use it, and Moose found Gratton was not endangering anyone. But two years later, an arbitrator ordered Erickson reinstated.

In moving to fire Frashour, Reese is following the recommendation of a Use of Force Review Board, a panel of police and citizens that examined the police internal investigation, the training division's analysis and commander's findings.

North Precinct Cmdr. Jim Ferraris wrote that Frashour should not have viewed Campbell as a threat when he fired an AR-15 rifle at Campbell's back. Campbell had been shot numerous times by beanbag rounds while walking backward out of the Sandy Terrace apartment complex. Frashour was placed on administrative leave Aug. 27.

The incident started when Campbell, 25, was at his girlfriend's apartment, distraught over the death that morning of his brother. His girlfriend's aunt called police, telling them that Campbell was armed and suicidal. Police made contact with Campbell through phone and text messages, and got him to emerge from the unit, walking backward toward police with his hands on his head.

The review board found that Lewton, who fired six beanbag rounds at Campbell, acted outside policy with his first two rounds because Campbell was not "physically aggressive." Lewton told investigators that Campbell, who had his hands locked behind his head, was not following orders to put his hands up and that Lewton shot him with the beanbag to gain compliance.

The board recommended Lewton and Reyna, the initial on-scene supervisor, face two-week suspensions without pay; that Birkinbine, who came to assist Reyna, get a one-week suspension without pay; and that Lt. Derek Rodrigues and then-Capt. Bob Day, who were being briefed by Reyna when the shooting occurred, receive written reprimands. Day was promoted to commander less than a month after the shooting.

Adams, meanwhile, expressed his appreciation to the Portland police for the jobs they do. "I realize these review processes are difficult for all involved. However, I am confident that these processes are integral to bolstering the trust between Portlanders and their peacekeeping professionals."

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