On June 28th, Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw will promote Lieutenant Stephanie Lourenco to the rank of captain of the Traffic Division. We follow that position closely here on BikePortland because it’s the Traffic Division captain who has the most influence over street safety and transportation-related issues.
Lourenco will replace Michael Crebs, who is taking a position in parking enforcement with the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
The promotion of Lourenco to Captain is notable for several reasons: Stephanie is the first transgender person in the Bureau’s history to hold that rank, the first non cis-gendered person to lead the division since at least 2005, and just the latest in a long-running trend of short-lived captains at the Traffic Division. Since I started keeping track we’ve had Bill Sinnott, Marty Rowley, Vince Jarmer, Larry O’Dea, Eric Hendricks, Bryan Parman, Todd Wyatt, Eric Schober, and Michael Crebs. This frequent turnover makes it much more difficult to establish the the type of relationships with city staff, advocacy groups, and the community-at-large that we need to fix complex problems.
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Lourenco comes to the Traffic Division as a 19-year PPB veteran and has worked as a patrol officer in several precincts throughout the city. Her record includes stints in the Family Services Division/Domestic Violence Reduction Unit and as lieutenant of Central Precinct. A statement from the PPB says Lourenco has numerous commendations letters for her community policing efforts, professionalism and compassion.
Now Lourenco will put those leadership and policing skills to use running a division that’s in charge of vital programs like DUII enforcement, enforcement actions, the Major Crash Team, the Photo Radar/Red Light program, and more.
Welcome to Traffic Division Capt. Lourenco! We look forward to meeting you and working with you on transportation issues.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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