Deputy Christopher Donald Green is a Pervert

[WaTcHeR]

09.09.2006 - A Multnomah County deputy who asked several women he stopped in 2004 to either lift their shirt, remove their bra or unzip their pants to search for a "flower tattoo" remains on patrol despite prosecutors' pleas to keep him off the street.

Sheriff Bernie Giusto said Deputy Christopher Donald Green was disciplined appropriately after an internal investigation. The deputy was suspended without pay for an undisclosed period and faced other "corrective action," which the sheriff would not describe. Since Green returned to patrol duty about eight months ago, the sheriff said he has performed at a satisfactory level and above.

"In this profession, you make value judgments from time to time," Giusto said. "I believe that he's in an appropriate place. I have no reason to move him at this point in time."

Yet prosecutors are adamant that they won't call Green as a witness, considering his prior conduct.

"We told the sheriff we wouldn't use him in court," District Attorney Michael Schrunk said Friday. "Our position was that we'd have to disclose this to the defense. That's obviously not the kind of conduct sworn officers ought to be engaging in."

One victim interviewed Thursday said she was "nauseous" to learn other women experienced what she went through.

The district attorney's office declined to bring charges against Green in March 2005 after reviewing the sheriff office's criminal investigation. But prosecutors called his case "very disturbing."

Investigators say Green claimed he was looking for a female suspect with a flower tattoo when he pulled over three attractive women, between the ages of 23 and 43, and asked to see their tattoos. Fearing arrest for not complying, they either lifted their shirts or unzipped their pants to reveal their tattoos. Green later lied to his supervisor when asked about the incidents, according to a memo from the district attorney's office.

The inquiry found there was no female suspect with tattoos being sought.

In the fourth case, the deputy asked a woman arrested for drunken driving to remove her bra once he took her to jail and stayed in the room as she did so, the investigation found.

Prosecutors said they had probable cause to charge the deputy with coercion and official misconduct but they didn't have the evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Motive unclear

"Simply stated, Deputy Green asked several young, attractive women to engage in some very demeaning conduct," wrote John Bradley, a prosecutor, and Jim McIntyre, who also was a prosecutor at the time, in a March 4, 2005, memo to Schrunk. "It is not clear to us what his motive was, but it is clear it had nothing to do with his police function."

Prosecutors said they had probable cause to charge the deputy with coercion and official misconduct but they didn't have the evidence to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.

www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/new

[WaTcHeR]

09.09.2006 - Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto said Friday he plans to remove Deputy Christopher Donald Green from street patrol next week and reassign him to the training unit because prosecutors won't take his cases.

Giusto's move marked an about-face from his public stand Thursday, when he told The Oregonian, "I have no reason to move him at this point in time."

Green was suspended without pay for an undisclosed period and returned to patrol eight months ago after a sheriff's investigation found he had asked several women he pulled over in 2004 to lift their shirts, remove their bras or unzip their pants, pretending he was looking for a suspect with a flower tattoo.

An investigation also showed Green lied about what he did when questioned by a supervisor. In one case, he asked a woman he took to jail for drunken driving to remove her bra in front of him, falsely claiming it was part of the booking process.

Multnomah County district attorney's office officials found that they had probable cause to charge Green with coercion and official misconduct but that they didn't have enough evidence to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, and declined to bring criminal charges in 2005.

Yet, they called the case "very disturbing," and advised the sheriff in a March 2005 memo not to return Green to the street "unless the sheriff was sure that this type of behavior would not be repeated because the liability to the county and the citizens of Multnomah County is too great."

Giusto said Friday he was aware of Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk's concerns about using Green as a witness in any case, but he was awaiting a formal letter from Schrunk before taking action.

Giusto contended Friday that the district attorney's office has called Green as a witness on drunken driving and other cases in the past eight months.

Schrunk said the sheriff was well aware of his concerns based on the 2005 memo and subsequent meetings.

"Green may have slipped by on some things, but hell, we've had to dismiss cases because of the guy," Schrunk said Friday.

Green, a nine-year member of the sheriff's office, will work in the training unit, teaching hazardous materials, firearms, defensive tactics and other subjects, Giusto said.

The sheriff said he plans to reassess Green in 12 to 18 months to determine "if he's viable on the street."

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[WaTcHeR]

Prosecutors won't take his cases? The prosecutors should be pulled from their offices and shot in the street. What are they afraid of, the officer actually being found guilty in a court of law and the county having a big law suite on their hands? I say put this before a grand jury.

So Deputy Christopher Donald Green is not only a liar and a pervert, but now he's going to be a police teacher? Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto hasn't got any balls!

[WaTcHeR]

Sheriff Bernie "No Balls" Giusto should have fired deputy in 'tattoo' case

Coercing women to undress and then lying about it are ample grounds for dismissal


09.15.2006 - Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto has made some astonishing errors of judgment in his discipline of a deputy who in 2004 coerced women into lifting their shirts, removing their bras or unzipping their pants so he could search for a bogus "flower tattoo."

Giusto should have fired the officer. Instead, the sheriff sent him back out on patrol. He'd still be there today if it weren't for a Sept. 8 story by The Oregonian's Maxine Bernstein, calling attention to the matter. As heat from the news coverage mounted, Giusto reassigned the deputy, Chris Green, from street patrol to the training unit -- another stumble.

A sampling of other large police agencies in Oregon turns up none who wouldn't have dismissed an officer who did what Green did. Few if any police chiefs and commanders in the Portland area buy Giusto's line that he couldn't fire Green because the dismissal would be reversed on appeal.

Even if Giusto sincerely believed Green couldn't be successfully fired, the sheriff should have done so anyway. That's especially true in light of a damning report by the Multnomah County district attorney's office, which reviewed the sheriff's department investigation of the case and called it "deeply disturbing."

"Simply stated, Deputy Green asked several young, attractive women to engage in some very demeaning conduct," prosecutors wrote in a 2005 memo to District Attorney Michael Schrunk. "It is clear it had nothing to do with his police function."

According to investigators, Green pulled over three women one day in November 2004 and asked to see their tattoos, claiming he was searching for a female suspect with a flower tattoo. However, no such suspect with tattoos was being sought, the inquiry determined.

That alone should be been grounds for dismissal. However, according to a district attorney's office memo, Green later lied to his supervisor when asked about the matter, and that should have been further grounds.

"If average citizen Joe Smith did what this deputy did, he'd be in jail," says one angry police commander in the Portland area.

Yet Giusto handed out mild discipline and put the deputy right back out on the road. That lasted eight months, until Bernstein broke the story last week. Then, when Giusto announced Green's transfer to the training squad, he did so not on grounds that Green had done wrong but because prosecutors refuse to call Green as a witness on any case, considering his prior conduct.

The sheriff's shaky judgment sets a poor tone, tarnishing all law enforcement and diminishing public faith in the badge. Giusto has created a climate of toleration for outrageous, even illegal behavior by officers in uniform and a potentially damaging precedent for dealing with such misconduct.

It's disappointing that the district attorney's office declined to go after Green, even though prosecutors no doubt expected, wrongly, that he would at least be fired. It's also frustrating that Green's union representatives are sticking up for him.

On Sunday, columnist Steve Duin of The Oregonian raised the best question of all in this disheartening case: "Don't any of these guys have a daughter?"

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[Angela]

It is evident that Bernie is a bit distracted lately...not making good decisions with his subordinates or with his budgeting actions...perhaps he is taking a bit too much time with his "fiance"?

[weak]

Have we not learned that History repeats itself? This type of controlling behavior is unacceptable and Portland is weak, a slap on the wrist.... how much will we tolerate in this city.. and now from those that are supposed to protect and serve! Disappointing at best.

[WaTcHeR]

09.20.2006 - Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto said Tuesday that he plans to ask a state agency to revoke Deputy Christopher Green's police certification for having violated the moral fitness standards expected of Oregon officers.

The sheriff, who has already disciplined Green with an unpaid suspension and returned him to patrol eight months ago, acknowledged the move is a "backhanded way" to get rid of the officer.

Giusto intends to argue before the Oregon Department of Public Safety, Standards & Training's board that Green should lose his police certification because he displayed "moral turpitude," deception and conduct outside the normal behavior of police officers. The sheriff first must send a written request to the agency.

Giusto also placed Green, a nine-year sheriff's veteran, on paid administrative leave Monday. He did so after obtaining a letter from Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk last week that confirmed what the prosecutor had earlier told him: He won't call Green as a witness in any court case, unless there's a compelling need to do so.

"The fact is, I don't have a viable police officer any longer," Giusto said Tuesday.

A criminal investigation begun in November 2004 found that the deputy asked several women he stopped to either lift their shirt up, remove their bra or unzip their pants while pretending he was searching for a suspect with a flower tattoo. The inquiry also showed Green lied about what he did when questioned by a supervisor.

In March 2005, prosecutors in the Multnomah County district attorney's office found they had probable cause to charge Green with coercion and official misconduct but didn't think they had enough evidence to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. They declined to bring criminal charges.

Yet the prosecutors in a March 5, 2005, memo called the case "very disturbing" and advised the sheriff not to return Green to the street "unless the sheriff was sure that this type of behavior would not be repeated because the liability to the county and the citizens of Multnomah County is too great." At that time, prosecutors were aware of four women who were stopped and questioned inappropriately.

The case was first publicized in The Oregonian on Sept. 8. On Friday, Schrunk said he was reopening the criminal investigation of the deputy. The district attorney said he asked his prosecutors to pull all their files on Green.

They discovered in the sheriff's internal inquiry that Green's misconduct went beyond several women. The sheriff's internal investigative report, which was presented to the district attorney's office in April, found Green had pulled over 10 women under questionable circumstances, Giusto said. Prosecutors had not fully explored the sheriff's internal investigation -- which is separate from the criminal investigation -- because they expected the sheriff to pull Green off the street.

www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/new

[val]

I have information regarding an incident with Christopher Green that happened in 2003 and read about another one in 2003 so this goes back much further than the police have disclosed. whats new. [e-mail]

[WaTcHeR]

11.17.2006 - The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office deputy disciplined for asking women to partially undress in an invented search for a tattoo agreed to a plea deal Thursday that will end his law enforcement career.

Deputy Christopher Green pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of harassment for touching a woman on her thigh during a 2004 traffic stop. As part of the agreement, he resigned from the sheriff's office, gave up his certification as a police officer and agreed to two years of probation and a $2,000 fine.

His resignation came three days after Portland police Officer John Alexander Wood pleaded guilty in an unrelated case to two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct for asking women to show him their underwear during a traffic stop. Wood also resigned.

"It's a very bad day for Oregon law enforcement," Sheriff Bernie Giusto said in a news conference after Green's court hearing.

"We owe the people of Multnomah County an apology, and they have mine."

Green's guilty plea was for his conduct toward Rachel Stevenson, whom he stopped in the early morning hours of April 15, 2004, on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Stevenson filed a tort claim in October 2004 that spurred an investigation of Green. That internal investigation turned up four women, including Stevenson, who told detectives Green had asked them to lift up their shirts, unzip their pants and unhook their bras so he could look for a flower tattoo. Green told the women he was searching for a suspect who had such a tattoo. There was no such suspect.

Stevenson said Green held her about 30 minutes in a steady rain, then touched her thigh with his arm when he took her into his patrol car.

At the jail, Green had Stevenson remove her bra in front of him, leaving her in a wet white T-shirt, then gave her his phone number.

In March 2005, the district attorney's office declined to bring criminal charges against Green after reviewing the sheriff's investigation of four complaints, including Stevenson's. Prosecutors said they had probable cause to charge him with coercion and official misconduct but couldn't prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

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