James Chasse

James Philip Chasse, Jr. (May 7, 1964 – September 17, 2006) was an American from Portland, Oregon. In 2006 his death while in the custody of Portland law enforcement officers caused an outcry over civil rights and an examination of the lack of mental health crisis management training given to Portland police officers.^[1] At the time of his death, he was living in an apartment in downtown Portland and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.^[2]

James Chasse from his memorial

Death

 

James Chasse, surrounded by police and medical personnel. He later died of the injuries inflicted during his arrest.

Chasse died after a physical confrontation with two Portland Police officers and a Multnomah County deputy on September 17, 2006. Officers at the scene described Chasse as a homeless person and said that he ran away from them and fought with them.^[1] He was beaten and a Taser was employed multiple times on him. After the incident, Chasse was cleared medically by fire and ambulance personnel. He was then restrained and driven to jail, where nursing staff refused to admit him because of his injuries. The officers were told by jail staff to drive him to a hospital across town. He died en route.^[2]

Chasse suffered fractures in 16 of his ribs and had a total of 26 broken bones, as well as a punctured lung, broken collar bone and torn spleen.^[1] The Multnomah County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be both "accidental" and the result of "blunt force trauma".

Over 500 friends and family members remembered Chasse at a candlelight vigil and memorial on October 14, 2006.^[3][4]

Reports

After three years and public pressure, the Portland Police Bureau released an internal investigation on the death of Chasse. The investigation included six items, a "detective notebook"^[5] with six photos by witness Jamie Marquez, two separate two page disciplinary letters^[6] to Portland Police officers Kyle Nice and Christopher Humphreys, suspending them for 80 hours without pay. Both were disciplined for unacceptable conduct and violation of the department's taser policy. After arbitration in July 2012 with the police union, both letters were revoked and Nice and Humphreys were repaid for time lost.^[7] "IAD" or "Internal Affairs Division"^[8] is a 389-page report including witness, expert and officer interviews, case chronology and exhibits. Detectives included Portland's training^[9] manual about mental illness, and a 623-page narrative (archived here in three parts)^[10][11][12] review of Chasse's killing with redacted training materials.

The city's auditor commissioned an investigation^[13] on the investigation of the death of Chasse in July 2010.^[14]

Public outcry

Chasse's death produced an outcry in the Oregon media, with hundreds of news stories, editorials and front-page articles following the case, and from civil rights and mental health advocates. Although Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk failed to bring an indictment against the officers, he did release all testimony presented to the grand jury. Portland mayor Tom Potter apologized to the Chasse family, convened a Mental Health Task Force to review the city's policies, and implemented a crisis intervention training program to improve the way in which city and county police respond to situations involving mental illness, but failed to discipline the officers who beat Chasse: Kyle Nice, Christopher Humphreys and Bret Barton.

A documentary film about Chasse, Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse, made by Oregon filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, premiered on February 15, 2013, in Portland.^[15]

See also

• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States

References

1. Demsky, Ian (November 1, 2006). . Willamette Week. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
2. Budnick, Nick (September 11, 2008). . Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
3. Friesen, Mark (October 19, 2006). "Chasse family says police distorted facts". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
4. "Remarks From The Memorial Of James Chasse, Jr". Chuck Currie. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
5. "Detective Notebook" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
6. "Disciplinary" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
7. Bernstein, Maxine (July 12, 2012). "Arbitrator reverses discipline against Chris Humphreys, Sgt. Kyle Nice in the Chasse case". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
8. "Internal Affairs Division" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. November 2006. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
9. "Mental Health Training Materials" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. November 2006. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
10. "Review of PPB Case 06-84962 James Chasse 1 of 3" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. October 2008. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
11. "Review of PPB Case 06-84962 James Chasse 2 of 3" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. October 2008. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
12. "Review of PPB Case 06-84962 James Chasse 3 of 3" (PDF). Portland Police Bureau. October 2008. Retrieved 2014-11-23 – via Wikimedia Commons.
13. "Report to the City of Portland Concerning the In-Custody Death of James Chasse" (PDF). OIR Group. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
14. Bernstein, Maxine (2 October 2009). "Portland auditor launching review of investigation into Chasse death". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
15. Alien Boy, Mental Health Association of Portland, Retrieved November 13, 2020