The office, Bend PD, must be on the same side | Editorial staff | Bend | The Source Weekly

ONAt this point in the year, it’s safe to say that it’s not just the weather that is scalding hot. Politics has reached a fever rise, and that temperature spans numerous branches of government. Failed Bend La Pine School Board candidates who didn’t bother to speak to anyone other than Fox News during their candidacy are now speaking out and packing up school committee meetings, creating a stir over masks in schools and apprehension that a more accurate account of American history could land rent-free in their children’s minds. Meanwhile, the Deschutes District Attorney is at odds with the Bend police over the flimsy arrests made while clearing a local homeless camp.

The dispute between prosecutor John Hummel and police chief Mike Krantz is currently driving the political temperature up. Bend police brought trespassing charges against several protesters and a homeless person arrested when they evacuated the NE Second and Emerson Avenue camp on June 23. In this case, prosecutor Hummel did not bring this charge.

The homeless man at the scene had asked to use the port-a-pottie, and when the officers refused, the man ran towards the toilet, a letter from Hummel to Krantz detailed. Police then grabbed him and took him into custody, allegedly fearing that a gun was in the Port-a-Pottie. Hummel declined to indict the man, saying “fear-based policing takes precedence over sensible and humane policing”.

In the case of the protesters, Hummel’s letter alleges that only members of a group of protesters were targeted for arrest and / or surveillance, while those not known to be associated with the group were not cited or arrested.

“A 62-page detailed report on the accusations of trespassing is alarmingly long,” wrote Hummel in the communication he received from the OPB on July 16 to Krantz. “I dare say this is the longest trespassing report in the history of the City of Bend.

The six-page letter goes on to describe Hummel’s justification for refusing to indict any of the people targeted by the Bend police. At the end of the letter, Hummel invites Krantz to “work with your critics to make the Bend Police Department the most ethical, fair and effective police force in the country,” and invites Krantz to work with him to achieve this.

Transparency and accountability are buzzwords that most of us have heard once or twice in the past few years. They are words to live by to be sure. In a very public way, Hummel is keeping the local police department at a higher level. The local prosecutor, elected by the public to uphold the law and to evaluate not only the actions of the suspected criminals but also the people they arrest, defines the rules for engagement related to the case in this case increasing activism we observe in this context community. That’s appropriate, but to be fair to Krantz, the letter is hyperbolic and tinged with shades of awe.

Our current prosecutor has spoken out as a criminal justice reformer working to reduce relapses among those in the criminal justice system. Local law enforcement agencies must conform to the prosecutor’s management style. Hopefully Krantz and Hummel can have a less public conversation about the police so that activists are not unnecessarily arrested, and we can all rest assured that we have made progress on the reforms our community wants. We expect more activists to stand up against actions they disagree with. That is their role. Our police chief is new to this community and is taught the role of his department in such incidents. We hope for the future that the lessons will be more collegial.

Certainly these times we are in are hot at all levels of the political spectrum, and with that comes a sense of instability. However, we would prefer to see less instability from the two entities charged with managing criminal – or less criminal – activity in the community. The community deserves better politics and better communication from both sides.