An Oregon legislator wants mental evaluations for police officers as little as “once a year” for one reason: Ferguson.

Democratic Representative Lew Frederick appeared at a Portland town hall meeting over the weekend to announce a series of bills inspired by the Missouri incident involving teenager Michael Brown and police officer Darren Wilson.

“I want to have a regular psychological evaluation of every law enforcement officer,” Frederick told the crowd, which responded with cheers.

He suggested a time range from once a year to once every two years.

“Why is this such a high priority? One word: Ferguson,” the Democrat said to applause.



Frederick implied his proposed laws aren’t based on facts but perceptions and generalizations.

“The other thing is it’s a personal situation. I don’t know of a single black man in the country who has not had to deal with concern when they see the blue lights behind them.

“For me, I always begin to think, ‘Am I going to die today?'” the legislator said.

Frederick says he has other bills dealing with the police, including requiring body cameras for officers, as well as allowing citizens to film or photograph officers.

Citizen Journalist Dan Sandini – who published the video at Daylight Disinfectant – calls the latter a “red herring.”

“It’s already the law citizens can film the police,” according to Sandini.

Fredrick explained his rationale for the legislation: “Every cop that I know can tell me about a PTSD experience they’ve had and they always say they aren’t effected by it.

“Well they are,” he insists, adding they “will have something through this session.”

Frederick’s biography includes a background in education, not psychology.