PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon State Police troopers are set to join Portland Police Bureau officers patrolling downtown as part of a pilot program to beef up enforcement and deter crime in the Rose City.
Portland Police Officer David Baer announced the partnership Friday morning, standing on a street corner where open-air drug use is common. Baer is one of the four officers that make up PPB's Central Bike Squad that patrols downtown, and he said a handful of state police troopers will now join their patrols, following a directive from Gov. Tina Kotek.
"At this point, being asked to do so much again with four people, I'm willing to take help from anybody," he said.
The troopers are going to be talking and riding bikes in uniform alongside members of the squad, he said, working on high-visibility enforcement that will ease the police department's capacity crunch and hopefully be a more visible deterrent for crime — although there could be some growing pains.
"Some folks, maybe they haven't ridden bikes in a while," Baer said. "But you know, it comes back to you. You'll be fine."
The team's focus is on reducing crime, including drug deals, and getting guns off the streets. The OSP partnership will allow the team to split its resources and focus on different areas of downtown, covering more ground and investigations, Baer said.
In a news release Friday evening, OSP said the combined team had a successful first day including issuing controlled substance citations, arresting wanted fugitives, arresting a fentanyl dealer, processing drug evidence, deploying Narcan at least once and interacting with many downtown business owners and visitors.
It's a welcome change of pace for some Portland residents, who said the drug crisis feels out of control.
"Yeah, that makes me feel safer," Terry Shelton, who lives in downtown Portland, said about the state police support.
"They need to, because they're turning into zombies. It's like the walking dead, the whole city is turning into zombies," added Seymour Overstreet, who lives in Southwest Portland.
The partnership is the latest step in a growing collaboration between state and city law enforcement. Earlier this year, Kotek directed state troopers to help with DUII and street takeover enforcement, and last month she directed them to crack down on fentanyl. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has consistently pushed for greater OSP involvement in Portland this year, at one point requesting that nearly 100 troopers be deployed.
The troopers will partner with PPB units for the time being, according to PPB public information officer Kevin Allen. The exact times for the joint patrols have not yet been established, he said, but PPB wants the troopers to be involved in operations with the Central Bike Squad, which typically works during the day with some targeted evening missions. But the partnership is starting out in a pilot phase, he added, so the two agencies will test out multiple approaches.