Damage to a Sheriff's patrol car after it
was involved in a collision with another vehicle.
(Photos: Washington County Sheriff's Office)

A collision in Aloha (about 11 miles west of downtown Portland) last night led to minor injuries and the arrest for 44-year-old Christopher Shostak. Shostak was operating his bicycle on a residential street when he became involved in a collision with a patrol car operated by a Washington County Sheriff's Deputy.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Shostak was bicycling eastbound on SW Blanton Road at 7:49 pm (about 30 minutes after sunset). The patrol car was headed in the opposite direction and then turned left into SW Pinewood Place. Here's what the official police statement (titled, "Bicyclist Arrested After Crashing Into Patrol Car") says happened next:

"It was reported that as the Sheriff's Deputy was turning onto SW Pinewood Place, the bicyclist ran into the front of the patrol car."

(more...)

The Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division is looking to hire a "Bicycle Liaison Officer."

The job listing (posted in its entirety below) calls for an officer to be the "point of communication to the various bicycle advocacy groups" and to be the Bureau's go-to expert on "matters of bicycle and other forms of human powered transportation."
(more...)

Bikes in the Grand Floral Parade in 2009.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Portland Police Bureau is once again turning to the community to help them save money and work the crowds at the upcoming Grand Floral Parade. Lieutenant John Brooks says he hopes for a repeat of last year's parade when 40 bike-riding Portlanders teamed up with police officers to staff the event.

Lt. Brooks tells us that not only did last year's event turn out to be, "A very positive experience for both the Police Bureau and the citizens who participated," — it also saved the bureau $69,000.
(more...)

Bart Simon Paul
(Photo: Mult. Co. Sheriff)

The Portland Police have arrested a man who turned out to be the same person who was caught on camera last week attempting to saw through a u-lock in broad daylight.

38-year old Bart Simon Paul (booking photo at right) was arrested Sunday (4/24) just before midnight on an unrelated charge. He was charged with Possession of Methamphetamines (Class C Felony) and had an outstanding warrant for Theft in the Third Degree (Class C Misdemeanor). He was released a day later on his own recognizance. (more...)

The door zone bike lane on Williams.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On April 7th, the Portland Police Bureau cited a man for Hit and Run in a dooring incident that occurred back in January.

According to the PPB, on January 23rd a man opened his car door after parking on N. Williams Avenue, just as a 34-year old woman happened to be biking by. The door knocked her off her bike and sent her to the pavement. The woman wasn't seriously hurt but did have some bumps and bruises and her bicycle was damaged. (more...)

Two weeks ago we reported on a case of alleged road rage involving a man on a bicycle in Northwest Portland. That man was off-duty police officer Sgt. Joe Santos. He was biking into work when he was nearly run over and then allegedly assaulted by Larry Fornshell. The PPB arrested Fornshell shortly thereafter for hit and run and attempted assault.

It seemed like the classic bike vs. car road rage incident; but this one just happened to involve a Portland Police officer on the bike-side of the equation. For that reason alone, the story spurred considerable discussion in the community (233 comments at last count).

Yesterday, Fornshell's son-in-law Gordon Neitling left a comment about the incident, saying that the two parties had met and that had both admitted some degree of fault. Neitling also referred to Sgt. Santos' conduct as being much more aggressive than the PPB let on. Here's a snip from his comment: (more...)

Captain Todd Wyatt.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Todd Wyatt is the new captain of the Portland Police Bureau's Traffic Division. Wyatt, 41, takes over the position from Eric Hendricks who held the position for just 13 months before being reassigned to a job in the Chief's office.

Wyatt comes to Traffic from his previous post as Captain of the PPB's Records Division. He held several administrative positions after serving as a beat cop in various precincts throughout the city for nearly two decades.

Wyatt lives with his family in Southwest Portland. He attended last night's City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee, a practice his predecessors have made a priority. During a brief chat at that meeting, I learned that he's no stranger to area bikeways. He said his family of four has six bikes and they take regular rides on the Waterfront and the Springwater Trail. Wyatt says he "dabbles" in biking ("When I ride with my friends who ride all the time I can barely keep up") and also does a lot of kayaking on the Willamette. (more...)

Horse mounted cops survived budget
process, bike mounted cops didn't.
(Photo © J. Maus)

With the passage of the budget yesterday, a rare opportunity for the Portland Police Bureau to add bike patrol officers has passed us by.

A proposal by the Police Bureau that surfaced back in January would have cut the PPB's Mounted (horse) Patrol Unit and transferred four of its officers to full-time bicycle detail covering the Old Town and downtown neighborhoods. The move would have saved the bureau about $570,000. (more...)

Cops on bikes.
(Photo © J. Maus)

When it comes to police enforcement of bicycle traffic laws or bicycle collisions, discretion is very important. If you've watched the recent bicycle traffic enforcement video produced by the Portland Police Bureau, you'll notice the concept figures prominently.

PPB Bicycle Liaison Officer Robert Pickett opens the video with this:

"This video is also meant to advise officers' discretion in bicycle enforcement situations. Discretion is an indispensable part of police work, as it allows officers to reasonably apply a written code to the huge variety of specific enforcement situations they encounter everyday. We expect officers to take the suggestions as advice, not as a mandate..."

(more...)

The Portland Police Bureau has just released a new internal training video meant to educate officers about bike-related traffic laws.

This is an internal training video for the Portland Police Bureau. It is narrated by Officer Robert Pickett, who serves as a liaison for bicycling issues, Bicycle Transportation Alliance advocate Michelle Poyourow, and a team of police officers who worked together to come up with the points in the video. The video is meant to educate officers, the two say, remind them of relevant laws, and "to advise officers' discretion in bicycle enforcement situations." (more...)