ThePortland Police Bureau (PPB), officially thePortland Bureau of Police, is the law enforcement agency of the city ofPortland, the largest city in theU.S. state ofOregon.
As of December 2025, the Bureau has a staff of 816 sworn staff, 342 non-sworn administrative personnel, and 42 Public Safety Support Specialists.[4]
Prior to 2025, when Portland operated under acity commission form of government, oversight of Portland's bureaus shifted among the fiveCity Commissioners, with themayor being assigned to the Police Bureau as thepolice commissioner due to tradition.[5] As of January 1, 2025, the chief of police acts as the primary executive of the agency.
From 1851 to 1870, Portland was policed by a town marshal. After 1861, the marshal was empowered to hire deputies, but they did not have permanent jobs until late in the 1860s.[6] In 1870, thePortland City Council established the police bureau, originally called the Portland Metropolitan Police Force.
On April 1, 1908, the bureau became the first in the United States to hire a female police officer,Lola Baldwin, who became the Superintendent of its newly established Women's Protective Division[7]
PPB was involved in an ongoing series ofprotests beginning in May 2020 following themurder of George Floyd. The PPB were supplemented with federal agents deployed byPresident Donald Trump who have reportedly arrested rioters andAntifa off the streets from unmarked police vehicles for detainment without readingMiranda Rights, providing cause, or identifying themselves.[8][9] During these protests,Mayor and police commissionerTed Wheeler was tear gassed.[10]
In response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, theOregon Legislative Assembly passed a law exempting law enforcement officers from vaccine mandates due to pushback from officers and the Portland Police Association.[11]
The Portland Police Bureau divides Portland into threeprecincts,[3] with each precinct divided into as many as 20 districts.[12] The divisions are generally based onneighborhood association boundaries, but also take into account the number ofpolice calls generated in each district.[citation needed] The district serves as the basic unit of territory within the bureau, and most districts are assigned between one and twopatrol officers. As such, busier districts are geographically smaller and slower districts are larger.
The infrastructure of each precinct is essentially the same, though the number of officers in each precinct is adjusted continually through transfers, new hires and attrition.
Police officers receive the rank of officer immediately after hiring. Sometime after hiring, they go to theOregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training police academy inSalem, followed by an "advanced academy" at PPB's training center in theWilkes neighborhood. Depending on class space at the state academy, officers may perform limited, primarily administrative, police functions while waiting for the academy. Following training, officers have a 18-month probationary period with afield training officer.[14]
After 4.5 years of service as a police officer, 3 of which must be at PPB, officers may take a promotional exam to become either a detective, sergeant, or criminalist.[14]
Public Safety Support Specialists are unsworn and unarmed officers who respond to non-violent crimes to take reports.[15] Police cadets are teenagers learning about policing. They assist with community events, traffic control, and learn leadership skills. It is similar to thePolice Explorer program.[16]
ThePortland Independent Police Review is a civilian oversight board that hears and investigates complaints related to law enforcement.[17] When the office receives a complaint, it attempts to obtain physical evidence, makes a list of people to talk to, and interviews everyone involved.[18]
The duties of this office will be overtaken by the Community Police Oversight Board, which should be operational by late 2025.[19] In June 2020, during theGeorge Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon, the office recorded 185 complaints.[20]
The 'Portland Community Police Oversight Board’ was authorized to be created in 2020 when Portlanders voted to amend the city charter to include it.[21] It will replace the Portland Independent Police Review.[19]
As of September 2024, a Judge gave the city one year operationalize the board.[22]
In 2014, PPB began exploring the idea of issuingbody-worn cameras as part of a US Department of Justice lawsuit about unconstitutional use of force,United States v. City of Portland. After years of negotiations on body-camera policies, On June 17, 2024, PPB officers in the Central Precinct were outfitted with cameras as part of a pilot-program. In August of that year, all officers were outfitted with the cameras. Portland had been the largest city without police body cameras.[25][26][27]
Most of the bureau's rank-and-file employees are represented by the Portland Police Association union. The union also represents 911 call takers and dispatchers, who work for the Bureau of Emergency Communication.
On July 1, 2020, the city and the PPA renewed its annual contract, with an agreement to permit a newly formedPortland Street Response team, promoted by CommissionerJo Ann Hardesty, for emergency situations that don't require firearms, and an agreement on the delay of cost-of-living adjustment due to city budget issues related to COVID-19.[28]
The 2011-2017NBC dramaGrimm starringDavid Giuntoli andRussell Hornsby follows a Portland PoliceDetective who fights mythological creatures. Multiple characters on the show are members of the PPB.
The 2015Fox seriesBackstrom follows a team of 'eccentric criminologists' in the PPB led by an "overweight, offensive, irascible" commanding officer played byRainn Wilson.
TheABC showStumptown follows a Portland-based private investigator played byCobie Smulders who frequently works with officers from PPB.
Larry O'Dea (January 2, 2015 – March 27, 2016, resigned after attempting to cover up an incident where he accidentally shot a friend while drunk on a hunting trip)[41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]
Donna Henderson (Interim) (March 27, 2016 – June 27, 2016)
Michael Marshman (June 27, 2016[50] – August 24, 2017)
Chris Uehara (interim) (August 24, 2017[51] – October 2, 2017[52])
^Nigel Jaquiss (June 29, 2016)."Meet Mike Marshman, Portland's New Chief of Police".Willamette Week. RetrievedSeptember 17, 2020.O'Dea tainted the four assistant chiefs in line to succeed him by telling them about the shooting weeks before it became public. Because none of the four assistant chiefs referred the incident for investigation, they lost their chance for promotion.
^Beth Slovic (June 27, 2016)."Mayor Charlie Hales Blames "Trial by Media" for Portland Police Chief Larry O'Dea's Departure".Willamette Week. RetrievedSeptember 17, 2020.By picking Marshman, Hales made an unusual move. He skipped over O'Dea's top aides, including Mike Crebs, Bob Day, Kevin Modica and acting chief Donna Henderson, who are all under investigation by IPR for possibly violating bureau policies
^Budnick, Nick (June 21, 2016)."Police chief's top aides under scrutiny".Portland Tribune. RetrievedSeptember 17, 2020.Why they are now under scrutiny remains unclear. It has been widely reported that O'Dea informed them, as well as Hales, of the shooting on April 25. Under city code, IPR was supposed to be notified, but was not.
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