Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Encyclopedia
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) serves the close to 700,000 residents of Multomah County
, Oregon
, United States
. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is a County Law Enforcement agency that handles 9-1-1 calls and assists other city agencies such as Portland Police Bureau
. The current Sheriff is Dan Staton. The cities of Maywood Park
and Wood Village
contract out the law enforcement services of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff is elected by popular vote, and oversees a budget of $118 million.
; he served until 1862. In 1960, the Sheriff's Office created the River Patrol Unit, which has grown to be the largest river patrol division in the state.
In the past, as recently as the 1980s, the position was essentially the "top cop" in the county, performing law enforcement for the bulk of the county's population. , however, as the unincorporated areas of the county have diminished, 85% of sheriff's office employees work in corrections rather than law enforcement.
The sheriff's office oversees a budget of $118 million.
's wife while he as assigned to the governor's protective service branch in the mid-1980s, and allegations that he lied about his knowledge of Goldschmidt’s illegal sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s. In addition to ethics violations Giusto was thought to have managed the county budget poorly, and when confronted about such issues once replied with "They're not my bosses; they're my bankers, I'm not gonna debate how I do spend my budget. That's why I'm independently elected." Days after making that comment, he closed the county's restitution center, which was a program that was just created that year.
response and patrol. The Enforcement Division primarily patrols east Multnomah County. Every law enforcement deputy working within the patrol division is a sworn armed police officer
. Since 1965, each enforcement deputy has been required to hold a bachelor's degree
from an accredited college or university.
operations. The unit is responsible for 100 miles of river of the Columbia
, Willamette
, and Sandy
rivers.
. The Special Investigations Team performs raids, street-level undercover operations, and gathers evidence in civil forfeiture cases. The Special Investigations Unit is composed of deputies from Multnomah County, officers from the Gresham Police
and Troutdale Police departments, as well as an investigative technician.
The Reserve Deputy Program is a volunteer-based law enforcement support program operated by the Sheriff's Office. Reserve deputies are sworn peace officers within the state of Oregon, are armed and can perform the same duties as a full-time police officer, although they do not regularly take emergency or 9-1-1 calls. Reserve Deputies primarily cover officers, assist with prisoner transport, and work traffic details. Reserve Deputies also serve as the Sheriff's Office mounted patrol
.
responds to incidents within Multnomah County's correctional system. In 1977, CERT was developed to deal with the ever-growing number of inmates and violent crimes occurring within Multnomah County correctional facilities. CERT officers are trained in specialized tactics that differ from such training as that of SWAT
or other emergency response divisions would receive, because incidents that CERT would respond to mostly happen indoors and with violent offenders. The Crisis Response Team works closely with CERT to resolve hostage situations safely. CERT commonly responds and deals with barricaded persons, mobile booking/mass arrest situations, hostage rescue
, major/minor disturbances, less lethal situation
s, and lethal situations.
, Extraditions, and Mental Health Transport. This unit upholds all civil court mandated orders, consisting of but not limited to: the service-of-notice process
in civil lawsuits, enforcing county issued restraining order
s, and serving eviction
notices. The mental health
transport is responsible for the safe and efficient transport of the criminal or dangerous mentally ill.
and Willamette
rivers where they perform such tasks as rescues, recoveries, and homeland security missions.
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is a County Law Enforcement agency that handles 9-1-1 calls and assists other city agencies such as Portland Police Bureau
Portland Police Bureau
The Portland Police Bureau is the law enforcement agency of the City of Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. While oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City Commissioners, the Mayor has historically been assigned to the Police Bureau as the police...
. The current Sheriff is Dan Staton. The cities of Maywood Park
Maywood Park, Oregon
Maywood Park is a city in Multnomah County, Oregon. The name came from a comment made by the wife of the man who developed the original subdivision, E.F. Taylor, who remarked one winter night how attractive the woods were in May...
and Wood Village
Wood Village, Oregon
Wood Village is a city in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,878 at the 2010 census. Despite the name, Wood Village is classified as a city.-Geography:...
contract out the law enforcement services of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff is elected by popular vote, and oversees a budget of $118 million.
History
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office was established in February 1854, with William L. McMillen as the first sheriffSheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
; he served until 1862. In 1960, the Sheriff's Office created the River Patrol Unit, which has grown to be the largest river patrol division in the state.
In the past, as recently as the 1980s, the position was essentially the "top cop" in the county, performing law enforcement for the bulk of the county's population. , however, as the unincorporated areas of the county have diminished, 85% of sheriff's office employees work in corrections rather than law enforcement.
The sheriff's office oversees a budget of $118 million.
Controversy
Former Sheriff Bernie Giusto resigned on July 1, 2008 after a state police standards board recommended that he lose his badge because of multiple issues including using an official vehicle for personal use, lying about a relationship he had with former Governor Neil GoldschmidtNeil Goldschmidt
Neil Edward Goldschmidt is an American businessman and former Democratic politician from Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the governor of Oregon, Goldschmidt is widely considered the most influential figure in the state's politics, both as an...
's wife while he as assigned to the governor's protective service branch in the mid-1980s, and allegations that he lied about his knowledge of Goldschmidt’s illegal sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s. In addition to ethics violations Giusto was thought to have managed the county budget poorly, and when confronted about such issues once replied with "They're not my bosses; they're my bankers, I'm not gonna debate how I do spend my budget. That's why I'm independently elected." Days after making that comment, he closed the county's restitution center, which was a program that was just created that year.
Rank Structure
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Sheriff |  |
| Under Sheriff |  |
| Chief Deputy |  |
| Captain | |
| Lieutenant |  |
| Sergeant |  |
| Deputy | |
Enforcement Division
The Enforcement Division acts as 9-1-19-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
response and patrol. The Enforcement Division primarily patrols east Multnomah County. Every law enforcement deputy working within the patrol division is a sworn armed police officer
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
. Since 1965, each enforcement deputy has been required to hold a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from an accredited college or university.
River Patrol Unit
The River Patrol Unit was originally founded to help decrease thefts from property on Multnomah County's waterways and to assist with search and rescueMultnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue is a non-profit volunteer search and rescue resource for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States...
operations. The unit is responsible for 100 miles of river of the Columbia
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, Willamette
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
, and Sandy
Sandy River (Oregon)
The Sandy River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Measured by a United States Geological Survey gauge downstream of the Sandy's confluence with the Bull Run River, from the mouth, the river's average discharge is . The maximum daily recorded flow...
rivers.
Special Investigations Unit (SIU)
The Special Investigations Unit performs investigations of illegal drug activity within the greater Portland metropolitan areaPortland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
. The Special Investigations Team performs raids, street-level undercover operations, and gathers evidence in civil forfeiture cases. The Special Investigations Unit is composed of deputies from Multnomah County, officers from the Gresham Police
Gresham Police Department
The Gresham Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the city of Gresham, Oregon, United States.- Police explorers :The Gresham Police Department operates a law enforcement explorer program aimed at youth between the ages of 16 and 21. The program gives young people an opportunity to...
and Troutdale Police departments, as well as an investigative technician.
Reserve Deputy Program
Mounted police
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and...
.
Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT)
The Corrections Emergency Response TeamCorrectional Emergency Response Team
A Correctional Emergency Response Team , Special Emergency Response Team for Correction , or Special Operation Response Team is a team of highly trained corrections officers in the United States tasked with responding to incidents, riots, cell extractions, mass searches, or disturbances in...
responds to incidents within Multnomah County's correctional system. In 1977, CERT was developed to deal with the ever-growing number of inmates and violent crimes occurring within Multnomah County correctional facilities. CERT officers are trained in specialized tactics that differ from such training as that of SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
or other emergency response divisions would receive, because incidents that CERT would respond to mostly happen indoors and with violent offenders. The Crisis Response Team works closely with CERT to resolve hostage situations safely. CERT commonly responds and deals with barricaded persons, mobile booking/mass arrest situations, hostage rescue
Hostage crisis
A hostage crisis develops when one or more terrorists or criminals hold people against their will and try to hold off the authorities by force, threatening to kill the hostages if provoked or attacked....
, major/minor disturbances, less lethal situation
Less-lethal weapon
Non-lethal weapons, also called less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than are conventional weapons...
s, and lethal situations.
Civil Process Unit
The Civil Process Unit includes three separate divisions: Civil ProcessCivil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...
, Extraditions, and Mental Health Transport. This unit upholds all civil court mandated orders, consisting of but not limited to: the service-of-notice process
Service of process
Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...
in civil lawsuits, enforcing county issued restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
s, and serving eviction
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
notices. The mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
transport is responsible for the safe and efficient transport of the criminal or dangerous mentally ill.
Dive Team
The Dive Team are sworn members who are on call 24 hours a day. All members must be full time deputies and be willing to respond to emergency call outs 24 hours a day. The team primalry responds to the ColumbiaColumbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and Willamette
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
rivers where they perform such tasks as rescues, recoveries, and homeland security missions.
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, eight officers have died in the line of duty.| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Sheriff Robert Phillips | |
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Frank Walter Twombley | |
Gunfire |
| Superintendent Ed Diedrich | |
Explosion |
| Special Deputy Sheriff Walter William Leonhardt | |
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Ernest C. Loll | |
Gunfire |
| Sergeant Albert William Bowe | |
Gunfire |
| Reserve Sergeant Scott E. Collins | |
Vehicular assault |
| Reserve Deputy Sheriff Mark Alan Whitehead | |
Vehicular assault |
See also
- Faces of MethFaces of MethFaces of Meth is a drug prevention project run by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in the U.S. state of Oregon. The project uses mug shots of repeat offenders to demonstrate the deleterious effects of methamphetamine on its users...
- Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and RescueMultnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and RescueMultnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue is a non-profit volunteer search and rescue resource for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States...
- List of law enforcement agencies in Oregon
- List of contract law enforcement cities (US)#Oregon