Portland police commander sues for retaliation

Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 12, 2020

Acting Portland Police Burea Capt. James Crooker.

Acting Portland Police Capt. James Crooker has accused the Portland Police Bureau of retaliating against him, after he tried to block former Chief Jami Resch from promoting her fiancèé to lieutenant.

In the lawsuit, Crooker also said he was discriminated in his own effort to be promoted, when the city did not follow state laws requiring preferential treatment be given to veterans. Crooker served in Iraq with the Marines before becoming a police officer.

The lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, Nov. 11, also accuses the bureau, the Independent Police Review, Resch, and two other officers of violating his free speech rights, retaliation, abuse of process, defamation and race discrimination.

According to the lawsuit, Crooker is Hispanic.

The lawsuit says Crooker reported Resch to Human Resources and the bureau for violating the nepotism administrative rule after she tried to help her fiancèé move up. Crooker supervised Resch’s fiancèé and recommended he not be promoted based on his work performance.

“Plaintiff reported it was not in the public interest to promote an unqualified person based on his romantic relationship with Resch,” the court document states.

This is not the first time Crooker has made headlines.

In 2010, he became the subject of national attention when the owner of a Portland coffee shop kicked him out after Crooker ordered a cup of coffee. At the time, the owner of the Black & Red Cafe told KOIN 6 News he and his customers did not feel safe with police around.

Resch was promoted to Portland police chief on Dec. 30, 2019. She served in the role until June 2020, when she voluntarily stepped down during social unrest and turned the job over to current Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell.

Currently, Resch is the assistant chief of investigations.

The lawsuit claims Crooker was told by command staff that he would suffer consequences from the Chief’s Office because he did not recommend the fiancèé for promotion.

KOIN 6 News is a news partner of the Portland Tribune. Their story can be found here.