Report: Ex-Portland mayor violated protocol in police chief shooting debacle

PORTLAND – The former mayor of Portland ignored protocol for police-involved shootings last year when then-Chief Larry O’Dea shot a friend on a Harney County camping trip.

The city’s Independent Police Review released a report Monday that calls then-Mayor Charlie Hales’ actions an organizational failure that angered the rank-and-file officers.

O’Dea first revealed the off-duty shooting four days after it occurred in a phone call to the mayor and in a meeting with his assistants.

The rules require an immediate internal investigation after an officer-involved shooting.

Hales did not immediately place O’Dea on leave and let Harney County deputies investigate.

But O’Dea had told those deputies his friend accidentally shot himself.

O’Dea retired last year under criminal investigation.

A charge of negligent wounding was dismissed in a deal with Harney County prosecutors.