Thank you to Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner for objecting to the Mayor Ted Wheeler's job description for a new police chief.
The required qualification "to protect and serve" should be it - without references to past injustices committed, often, against minorities. Police should protect citizens against those who commit crime, no matter what their race, gender or ethnicity.
The more the police stop crime before it happens, the better for all Portlanders. Why not just appoint Mike Marshman to the job he has been handling so well after the departure of former Chief Larry O'Dea?
Rufus Carter, Lincoln City
Having read the job description for the new Portland police chief, I'm embarrassed for the city, thanks to Mayor Ted Wheeler. I don't blame Portland police officers for being upset by Wheeler, who decided it was necessary to include "Oregon's racist history" and claimed the city and its police force suffer from "systemic racism."
The Oregon Constitution, which included language that supported racial exclusion, was written 160 years ago. But Wheeler makes it sound as if we're holding weekly Klan rallies in Pioneer Square. The fact that this job description went out across the country is just mind-numbing.
You pander to your constituents, Mr. Mayor. It seems to be the sign of the times and standard operating procedure for all Oregon elected officials who brag about being in the "resistance movement." I believe, too, you're scared to death that if you don't hire an African American police chief, then those who blocked City Hall while protesting against the Quanice Hayes shooting will be right back.
I have no problem with an African American police chief, an Asian American police chief, or an Hispanic American police chief. I just happen to think that the best person for the job currently works for the Portland Police Bureau and that a national search is unnecessary.
Rev. Charles Heath, Beaverton