Federal agents didn't have proper training and oversight during undercover storefront sting operations targeting illegal gun trafficking, leading to several mistakes in Portland and other cities, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a report Thursday. Among the errors were agents not following federal law that protects discrimination against people with disabilities.



The Justice Department's Inspector General issued the review after a two-and-a-half year examination of storefronts operated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The federal investigation examined operations carried out in Portland; Boston; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; St. Louis; Wichita, Kansas; and Pensacola, Florida.



According to the report, the ATF operated 53 storefronts targeting illegal gun trafficking between 2004 and 2013. The storefront operations were fake businesses used to target illegal gun traffickers and other gun- or drug-related crimes. They often appeared to be a legitimate business such as a retail store or tattoo parlor.

Read the DOJ report



The Justice Department launched its investigation after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found ATF agents there had guns stolen, overpaid for guns and used a man with brain damage and low IQ to promote the store in Milwaukee, then arrested him. The newspaper also detailed other shortcomings at operations throughout the nation.



The Oregonian/OregonLive later found that agents at the Portland storefront, among other shortcomings, didn't initially realize they leased store space near a middle school and that four people with mental disabilities were among the suspects arrested. It was also determined that none of the 80 guns confiscated during the store's existence between June 2010 and March 2011 were used in crimes and only 10 had been reported stolen.

The federal report, which is more than 100 pages, said at least one person with intellectual or developmental disabilities frequented the storefront operations in Portland, Pensacola, Milwaukee and Wichita. The regular customers helped undercover agents, but investigators found no evidence agents knew or suspected those people had disabilities.



The review also concluded ATF didn't specifically target people with disabilities to use in the storefront operations. However, it said agents didn't heed or aware of a section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Also, the report notes, while undercover operations can be useful tools for the ATF to police violent crime, the agency "failed to devote sufficient attention to how it was managing its undercover storefront operations."



"It lacked adequate policies and guidance for its agents, and in some cases supervision, necessary to appropriately address the risks associated with the use of this complex investigative technique," the report said.



The report also found that in some cases, children were allowed on storefront property. In Pensacola, agents reported that one juvenile was one of their main customers, providing 15 percent of the 260 guns purchased during a storefront operation that ran between February and October 2011. The report found no evidence the ATF sought to recruit or incorporate children into its storefront operations.



The report offered 13 recommendations to address training and security concerns, including at least one undercover agent completing advance undercover training before the storefront becomes operational. It also recommended a plan be created and implemented that ensures law enforcement operations comply with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and that written security assessments be completed for each storefront. The report says the ATF has agreed to make reforms.



The report includes an Aug. 22 dated letter to the Justice Department's Inspector General from ATF Deputy Director Thomas Brandon thanking the DOJ for the report, ensuring that the ATF will follow its recommendations and noting that in the five storefront operations examined except in Portland that the ATF stopped more than 780 firearms from entering illegal commerce and recommended 120 suspects for federal prosecution.



"While ATF agrees that enterprise-level cases and the development of investigative leads against organization leaders should be a goal of our enforcement efforts, we concurrently believe that community-impact operations such as storefronts are an appropriate and necessary option in the catalog of federal law enforcement techniques."

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey