Albany's Millions Dollar Police Bond and Why APD Should Not Get That Money

It is Albany, Oregon. Quiet, quaint, and suspiciously asking for twenty-five million bucks to build a new police station. Albany's Police Department needs ethics training, and not a new stationhouse.

The bond is actually a combination of emergency services, with part of that $25 million to go for a new downtown firestation. But nobody can deny APD's unsatisfactory performance, and few support a new police building.

Why? Aren't the police our local heroes? Not in Albany, where one officer recently fired her weapon at a "suspicious" individual in a "suspicious" car in the Walmart parking lot.

Two pending lawsuits, detail the squad's cutthroat approach to public relations, and other officers have been fired as well.

The days of Albany's police working as public servants, seems to be waning, in favor of a militarized force. APD has had dozens of recent complaints concerning aggressive and illegal interaction with the public. Two recent Facebook videos have documented those stops. Requests for interviews were declined. But the facts are such, that before we give an overzealous police force tens of millions of dollars, we should ask ourselves:

What does Albany get in return?

Very little, it would seem. Many complaints exist about the current state of APD, and most complaints are unknown. Local media simply do not have much access to those complaints. In one recent complaint, a Facebook video that documents only an opinion about excessive force. But the point is clear, the victim was stopped illegally, and subsequently roughed up and then released.

Albany has a history of police excessive force and shameful policework. Local attorney Kirk Tibbets said, "I've seen police reports that looked suspicious, like the officer was hiding something." That assessment came after APD's Glen Fairall made an ultra-aggressive arrest.

Fairall has been moved to the Sex Crimes Unit, where that sort of aggression is needed and is easier to hide.

In 2010, Albany Officer Rick Hawley was arrested on multiple sex-crime charges, and released by APD. Also in 2010, after six years of litigation and delay, APD's John Fowler accepted a plea for crimes attached to an affair with his girlfriend's teenage daughter. The same year, Officer Anthony Rose was found to have been sending nude photos while on duty, albeit to his own girlfriend.

Perhaps the most notorious of Albany's litigations, is the Michael Hudgins case, where Albany paid out over two million dollars in settlement costs, in addition to its own costs. Those costs were the consequence of running a crooked ship, as Hudgins' attorney accused APD leadership of a sting, a sting designed to "get" Hudgins for exposing APD abuses.

This is only the tip of the iceberg that defines the Albany Police Department. Complaints of abusive traffic stops and excessive-force arrests by APD, are numerous.

Officer Jeff Hinrich once approached protesters aggressively, and when one balked, Hinrich wrestled the man down, and repeatedly yelled at the protester. That protester was a Vietnam veteran who was protesting war in the Middle East. Hinrich also engaged spectators at the incident, and claimed that the spectators "did not know the man's crimes." Hinrich also claimed the spectators were "drunk or high."

And two pending lawsuits, are a good start in answering as to why APD does not need a twenty-five million dollar bond. The two suits, deemed inaccurately "whistleblower" suits by local media, are the culmination of two officers quest for power within their duties as officers.

Steve Corder, one-time Interim Chief of Police, is suing, based on passed-up promotion and inadequacy problems within the department. The odd thing about Corder's suit, is that until he was passed up for the head job, Corder hadn't spoke up in regard to the "problems." Perhaps, this is because Corder was part of the problem. Corder claims the suit is about APD problems, and that may be true, but Corder was an APD from 1993 to present, and I question why the claims against APD didn't come sooner. The Democrat Herald reported that Corder asked to be reassigned to patrol in 2005, after his former boss was fired. That is where the problems started, as Corder was Chief Joe Simon's right hand.

Simon was fired because of the cowboy-cop ideology that permeates police forces across the country.

Ryon McHuron, another former Albany officer, is also suing. McHuron was a central figure in the Hudgins suit, and like much of APD, McHuron was complained about. Even as McHuron won a service award for his part in an avoided suicide upon the Willamette Bridge, the officer was having issues regarding excessive force and poor quality policework. Those complaints would culminate in his being fired, and subsequent lawsuit.

Beyond the lawsuits, an atmosphere of arbitrary and discriminatory policework exists.

In 2013, Sergeant Jerry Drum reconstructed a fatal accident that happened on Foster Dam in Sweet Home, and concluded incorrectly, the details of that accident. Drum's assertions were countered by a defense scientist, and Drum's testimony was ultimately disregarded by everyone but the state.

On multiple occasions, Officer Troy Mikkelson has engaged in aggressive and inept policework. From falsely assuming DUII to disregarding local theft, Mikkelson has complied with APD's tendency to simply ignore real public service. A theft at the local college sent Mikkelson to the school. After the initial report, APD did nothing to catch the criminal. "Nobody ever called me," said Mikkelson, "nobody ever called and said 'I seen this guy.'"

Mikkelson never staked out the gallery where the art was stolen, even though the college had surveillance video that showed the thief. He was undoubtedly a student, and would have been easy to stake out.

In 2013, Officer Nate Ard took an assault report from a citizen, and supposedly created a criminal file, but that information was never relayed to the victim, even after multiple requests were made for it.

In 2013, Officer Bob Ledford twice left his partner in a traffic stop, to confront media who had set up half a block away. Ledford later claimed that the journalist was "circling the traffic stop."

In another faulty move, Ledford, during a traffic stop, left his partner and approached media and stated, "We have arrested you many times," but Ledford could not identify the media representative by name.

On YouTube, a video shows APD's Jim Estes during a traffic stop concerning "open carry" law. Estes remains professional, but questions persist. One glaring question is the officer's AR15, which is typical of APD expenditures: Overkill and unnecessary.

Estes once stopped a bicyclist for riding on the wrong side of the street, and took down that rider's camera info, but did not record any facts about the six-hundred dollar bike. It seems only cameras interest Estes. Bikes are just too hard too pursue, and not much glory in returning a bike to its owner. A camera, "now that is an quite item," said Estes.

Albany Police supposedly purchased high-tech thermal-vision goggles, but nobody seems to have information on this extravagant purchase.

Officer Jen Williams has also had issues with patrols. Williams, at different times, has ignored crime and instead focused on a personal problem with the victim. One of those instances, Williams failed to catch a pill-popping bike thief, a thief that ended up in jail days later. Williams lazy approach to her work, kept Albany citizens vulnerable to crime that APD is unwilling to pursue. Getting APD to pursue bike theft, for example, is akin to pulling teeth from an alligator...it doesn't happen.

Make no mistake, some cops do their job professionally. Many do not like Officer Robert Hayes, but Hayes has made an impact in lowering city DUII numbers. Even if some of those stops are illegal.

Jerry Drum, personable and friendly, has also been instrumental in regard to policing Albany. But in spite of Drum's openness and ethics, questions remain as to Drum's capabilities. The misconstrued accident reconstruction could have sent a man to prison, and illustrates the often compromised investigations by APD. Drum, as well as Lebanon PD, Sweet Home PD, and the Linn County District Attorney, all cut corners in regard to that case. The police investigation team also left much evidence at the scene, which was later taken by the defense in that case, and presented at trial.

Curtis Hyde, well known and friendly, did not respond to requests for an interview, nor did he respond to questions about a local theft. Officer Ken Fandrem took that theft report, and he too, did not pursue any of the case. The theft was later cracked by a citizen, who found the thief and the merchandise, in San Francisco.

Officer Damon Struble was also questioned in regard to false police reports filed by police, and said, "In your case, I had no facts." But Struble did have facts, and later, when the case was dismissed by the city attorney, that attorney said, "We call this Contempt of Cop."

What that means is that police have an air of aboveness, where they consider themselves to be the actual laws that govern citizens. Some cops merely believe they have instant credibility.

Struble later quit the force, as many were being fired. "I didn't like the direction the force was going," Struble said.

What we have here, is simply inadequate policework, and it encompasses Albany Police. The problem is not just a few inept cops, but rather an outdated ideology that compromises citizens freedoms and safety. Far too much tactical gear, and not enough footwork. And too many cowboy cops.

Which brings us back to the bond. The police say that they need a new building. Even the local paper went as far as to document the police building woes, quoting APD saying, "We have no room. We have boxes stacked up everywhere."

The police services building on Jackson was built in 1988, and a selling point was the opportunity to expand that building, saving taxpayers in the long run. Now, APD wants to move from that locale, and build a brand new building.

Three points here:

1. Why not expand the current building, especially since the jail sits there?
2. Currently, the amount of waste within APD warrants an examination of expenses, especially in the wake of such a large and expensive bond.
3. Reports of cramped spaces at APD have been grossly overstated, which brings the question: What else is being lied about?

Much of the public discussion concerning this bond, was about APD spending. APD has overpriced SUVs and overpriced AR15 assault rifles. APD has rarely used tactical gear and hardly deployed weapons, yet cannot find the time to chase down car break-ins and bicycle thefts. Often, traffic stops are aggressive and rude. Combining anti-citizen tactics, with lazy policework and overspending, taxpayers in Albany should not approve this bond.

The mere inclusion of Pepsi funds(won in a settlement) is a reason to not fund this bond request. Why would citizens want to spend that money on a police force that is so out of touch with its public?

Albany needs more resourceful police, not a new station that would cost close to fifteen million dollars.