Keep the Skipper at the Helm

I had this letter printed in today's Oregonian newspaper. They also put it online here. I am always happy to be published!

Basic training alternative

I am dismayed at the state's handling of the issue of whether Multnomah County Sheriff Bob Skipper has to re-attend the state's basic police academy ("Sheriff insists he hasn't lost a step; state says prove it," May 30).

Earlier in the year, the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training announced that it would reduce the number of basic police classes due to budget cuts. Prior to this, it sometimes already took several months for new police officers to obtain an entry date into a basic police class.

Forcing Skipper to return to the basic academy means that a never-before-certified officer could be forced to wait months for a new class to begin.

Arguments that laws and procedures change and that Skipper or the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office could be subject to liability for not being current on both are less than convincing.

Sheriffs are surrounded by advisors and experts on these subjects. Some police skills are, of course, perishable, which is why Skipper has been attending agency training.

The obvious solution here is to have Skipper sign a stipulation that he will not perform hands-on enforcement or corrections work and will instead administratively run his department. No one disputes that his leadership is timely, solid and necessary. Removing him from his agency for 16 weeks is unnecessary and a waste of time and limited financial resources.

ROBERT L. ROOKHUYZEN
Southwest Portland

(For more background on this issue, see the original article here.)