Portland Police Chief Placed on Paid Leave After Shooting Friend

Mayor Charlie Hales placed Portland Police Chief Larry O'Dea on paid leave Tuesday morning.

This happens after new questions arose about what happened when O'Dea allegedly accidentally shot his friend in April while on a hunting trip in Harney County.

"We need our Police Bureau operating at its best, and our officers can’t do that when there’s turmoil and confusion surrounding their leader," Mayor Hales said. "Chief O’Dea has been providing excellent service as our police chief, and now needs to focus on these investigations. He and I agree that going on administrative leave during these open investigations is in the best interest of the Bureau and the city.

"I am awaiting the outcome of internal and external investigations before commenting about the incident, and urge all Portlanders to do the same."

Assistant Chief Donna Henderson will be acting chief while O'Dea is on leave.

With Mayor Hales in Washington, D.C. at a conference, the task of placing the chief on leave was left to the Mayor's Chief of Staff, Josh Alpert, to coordinate.

The mayor and Alpert drafted a letter placing the chief on leave.

Alpert was on the phone with the relevant parties for much of the morning and then was joined at City Hall by Chief O'Dea.

They met for about 45 minutes.

Assistant Chief Henderson joined the meeting for about the last 20 minutes.

After her appointment, Chief Henderson sent an email to Bureau members that stated the following:

"My pledge to you during this time is to communicate with you as we move forward. Headlines aside, we have a lot on our plate as an agency, including critical staffing issues, the ongoing (Department of Justice) DOJ-related items, budgetary issues and of course, we are headed into Rose Festival and a busy summer. I know you will continue to work hard and serve this city to the best of your ability.

"You have my support and commitment to do my best as your Acting Chief."

A spokesman for Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler said that Wheeler and Hales have traded messages and will be meeting face-to-face next week.

"As Mayor-Elect, Treasurer Wheeler is actively tracking developments at the City - including this matter. Several independent agencies are now investigating and the Treasurer looks forward to a full accounting of the facts."

In a statement Monday, the Harney County Sheriff's Office said when they were first notified of the shooting, they were told it was an accidental "self-inflicted" gunshot wound.

The chief has claimed that he told the mayor of the shooting by phone the morning of April 25.

In the statement Monday, the Harney County Sheriff said he was informed on May 16th that the tale of the "self-inflicted wound had bern contradicted by the investigation and that they had determined that Chief O'Dea had been involved.

A spokeswoman for the mayor said that the mayor was notified on the 25th of April but did not address whether the chief had told the mayor if he had or hand't been straight with the sheriff's office.

As for whether the incident has affected the mayor's confidence in his chief, Spokeswoman Sara Hottman said: "The mayor is sympathetic to the chief, who is heartsick about hurting his friend. There are ongoing internal and external investigations related to this incident, and the mayor is awaiting their outcomes before reaching any conclusions about what happened."

A spokesman for the chief said the chief would not comment on whether he would step aside while the criminal investigation is underway.

He would also not comment on the new timeline presented by the sheriff's office.

Meanwhile, a second investigation is now underway,

The chief is also being investigated by the city's Independent Police Review Board.

"IPR has opened an administrative investigation and will be interviewing witnesses," the board said in a statement. "As this is an ongoing investigation, IPR will not be able to comment further."

The incident happened on April 21 in Harney County.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, O'Dea had accidentally shot "a very close friend" who was treated and released at a local hospital.

While the chief informed Mayor Charlie Hales on April 25, there was no public acknowledgment of the incident until reporter Nigel Jacquiss of Willamette Week asked the Police Bureau about it last week.

A spokesman for the chief said O'Dea considered the matter to be private since he was off duty and on vacation.

On Monday, asked about the IPR probe, a spokesman for the police bureau said the chief would still not be commenting at this time.

"Chief O’Dea is unable to offer any comments on the ongoing investigation by the Oregon State Police or the internal investigation," said Sergeant Pete Simpson. "Chief O’Dea has been given a Communication Restriction Order (CRO) by the Bureau’s Professional Standards Division, which is a written order that restricts the Chief from discussing the facts of the case.

"The issuing of a CRO is standard procedure during any internal investigation."