The countys board of commissioners is expected to consider the DAs request in coming weeks and decide by the time of their annual budget vote on June 16, and three of the boards five commissioners have already expressed their support of MAAP in public forums. A Precinct Commander for the Portland Police Bureau Suggested Residents Should Vote Out the District Attorney for Being Soft on Crime Her remarks regarding Mike Schmidt were filmed and posted. Schrunk created the unit in response to rising crime in Portlands Lloyd District area, all characterized by Schrunk as quality-of-life crimes: car thefts, robberies, prostitution, dumping, and vandalism. As Schmidt is hopeful lawmakers will pass legislation resolving the issue, he also has re-election on his mind in 2024. But in general, we cant arrest and imprison our way out of the problems we have in this community.. NGUwN2RiM2U1YTA2MDA0YzU2N2ZmYzM0MDc1NjMyNmE3NTRlZjRiOTViNGJk Theres the countys new STEP court program, an $850,000 set-aside for those facing violent felony charges who struggle with mental health and addiction issues, allowing them to enroll in supervised treatment programs as a prison alternative. KOIN One-on-One: Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt N2MzNWU2YjcyODNkMjEzNzMzMWY1YTBmNmRkMmUyMDQyNTg2Yzc4MDVmMjk1 It includes more text that reads record crime (check mark), fewer prosecutions (check mark), empty jail beds (check mark).. The most serious cases he prosecuted were robberies, burglaries, and one deadly car accident. Earlier this month, Portland Monthly published a less than flattering profile of the Multnomah County district attorneytitle: "Schmidt Show"noting that. People For Portland vs. Mike Schmidt Dan Lavey, one of the organizers of People for Portland, is happy to echo the sentiment from the group's ad when asked directly. Are they coming for Schmidt next? So well do an investigation, we arrest those people, we send them to jail. In January 2023, Oregon House Speaker Dan Rayfield told KOIN 6 News lawmakers were beginning the process to address the shortage at the state level. The district attorney pointed out that 18 to 35-year-old Black men do not account for 25% of the countys population. Mike Schmidt is on the defensive. The people that we were seeing charged with those crimes, they werent criminals, they werent career criminals that were going to go on to a life of crime, Schmidt said. Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt talks Portland 2020 protests, STEP court I got in to work and there was a guy that had gotten into the building. I have to connect and understand that when people dont feel safe, thats real, he says. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) In an exclusive one-on-one interview with KOIN 6 News, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt answered questions about hot topics, including another round of . He broke a few glass doors and managed . You can cancel at any time. They are concerned that MAAP would mark a retreat into old-school approaches at a time criminal justice reform is facing vigorous pushback from opponents throughout the country. (This privilege is already granted not only to police and fire employees but also to wildlife and liquor control commission inspectors, neither of whom are expected to show up at middle-of-the-night homicide scenes.). He then worked for two years in New Orleans for Teach For America, teaching social studies and coaching basketball. Newly-elected District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who refuses to prosecute Portland rioters, admits he is "old buddies" with an Antifa militant campaigning to defund the police, abolish prisons, and demand reparations. The Multnomah County DAs Neighborhood Unit was the first of its kind in the nation when it was created by then-DA Michael Schrunk in 1990. New Mike Schmidt Billboard downtown. Keep Portland weird! Hes got no time for the gym, and the online commentators have taken notice (though it must be said, he still has the hair of a Love Island contestant). NWE4MjZkOGRmYjQzMDMxOGI0OTVhYmUwZTFhYmU0OTRkZWZlYmYxMjk3MDFi List of German serial killers - Wikipedia Portland, Multnomah County plan aggressive crackdown on out-of-control car and retail theft. [14][15][16][17], Schmidt gained notoriety shortly after taking office for refusing to prosecute people who were arrested participating in the George Floyd protests unless there is "deliberate property damage, theft, or threat of force. 'Schmidt Show:' Billboard criticizing Multnomah County's DA goes up in When Amber Kinney, a deputy district attorney, Mike Schmidt Doesnt Want to Be the Next Chesa Boudin, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, hundreds of social justiceminded protesters, Multnomah Countys Next District Attorney Got a John Legend Bump on Election Eve. The following day, the president of Multnomah County Prosecuting Attorneys Association resigned in protest. YjVhODZiZDFmZmNiMzc0NGQ3MGUzNmExYTg4YjBhODJjZWQ1YzA2OGJhNzA5 For example, he is working with PPB, GPD and MCSO on new strategies for increasing vehicle theft interdiction; he implemented the neighborhood prosecution program, MAAP, to embed DDAs in communities; and hes advocating for legislative changes that will benefit community safety, like stiffer penalties for street racing and gun violence prevention., Our office will continue to focus on prosecuting cases and achieving positive outcomes, and the DA remains dedicated to a smart, collaborative approach to justice and public safety.. A 2016 investigation by Street Roots reported that neighborhood prosecutors often prioritized non-violent behavioral offenses that churned people through the local justice system. On the flip side, social justice advocates howled when he chose not to press charges in September against an officer whod been recorded appearing to shove a protester to the ground two years before. After the reactions, an activist described the law enforcement responses as "lashing out", and another described it as political spin. Downtown Starbucks Workers Say Company Used Illegal Tactics to Thwart Unionization, Portlanders Speak Out Against Gunshot Technology Pilot Program During Town Hall, Candidate School Eyes Progressive Takeover of Portland City Council, Portland Moves a Step Closer to Overhauling Government with a New Voting District Commission, Ice Cream Wars, Holiday Wars, and My Future Celebrity Skincare Line. A years worth of work is finally coming to fruition.. Schmidt spent a little over six years there before jumping to the wonky, policy-setting Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. DA Mike Schmidt declines charges in 12 cases against Portland - KLCC Originally set to begin his term on January 1, 2021, Governor Kate Brown appointed him to the job early, in August of 2020, to replace Rod Underhill, who retired in July. And right there, two years into his term, you get to the heart of DA Schmidts problem. The United States locks up more people, per capita, than any other nation: about 1.9 million total currently, per the Prison Policy Initiative, and about 24,000 in Oregon. MWU0ZDc1YzBjYmUxMGJjOWQ2YjA5YjZiMjE1OGE1MmZlNjY1NWJiOGNkMTRh Feb. 22, 1942 - April 24, 2023. MTljZjJhZWY4MTgwOTcyYTBlYmUzODliMTdhNzYzNzE0MjRiNTY2Mzg3ZmFm MmQ2ZmY3YzY1ZTA5Y2ZkMjg4YjY1NWU3OGFlOGQ1OTNmZDcyNWYwYmViYmNl Mike Schmidt emerged Tuesday as the decisive winner of the Multnomah County district attorney's race, becoming the country's latest criminal justice change agent to win a big-city DA race.. Portland Monthly regrets the errors. Schmidt points out thatcheck his dashboard!departures might be higher-profile, but percentage-wise they are in line with what they were under his predecessors. In recent years, the county's board of commissioners has shifted funding from the DAs office to other areas of county government to support more social programs, like behavioral health services and supportive housing. Now, with his reelection looming in 2024, he is trying to change the narrative. If youre shopping for a new purse, check out these luxurious bags that look quite high-end, but cost less than $100. Multnomah County is currently experiencing a historic deficiency in public defenders, to the point where people who cant afford a lawyer are being held in jail for weeks without access to an attorney. Prosecutor won't act on low-level Portland protest arrests Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and other officials plan The armed antifa and BLM militants who have taken over a Portland neighborhood have been warned by the district attorney that he'll prosecute them. Underhill noted the changing environment with police violence, Black Lives Matter, and George Floyd protests. Longview woman to appear in court over Kalama stabbing. His record on promoting women to the highest supervisory levels in his office is cloudier. Try for free at rocketreach.co We chose those two crimes because in Multnomah County, the number of people that we prosecute for assault and robberies that are young Black men, account for 25% of the people were prosecuting.. We can look at the data, but that doesnt change the fact that people dont feel safe in our community, said Schmidt. Any time a big government agency puts out a dashboard, I think thats a way to divert from what youre actually not doing, says Matt Ferguson, who leads the Multnomah County Sheriffs Special Investigations Unit and is the vice president of the Deputy Sheriffs Association. They get to ask those questions that they cant ask in the criminal justice system, says Adrienne Anderson, the deputy district attorney heading up the program for the DAs office. Editor's note: This article has been updated fromthe print version published in the Winter 20222023 issue of Portland Monthly to correct the length of Don Rees's tenure and remove an erroneous reference to the location of attorney offices. He then became a Deputy District Attorney in Multnomah County, Oregon for six years, first under Mike Schrunk, who was the lead DA for 32 years. 1st Avenue, Suite 5200 Portland, Oregon 97204 DA@nullmcda.us - Messages will be distributed to the appropriate staff person. Y2ZkMGQwNjQ5ZmIwMGVjMjUwNDcyYzkwNTEzYjIzYmRjNmJjNTQ4NzNhNDc3 Portland Monthly. NmY5MjZiZTk1YzgzMzcyYjA5YTdlZDlkZDBkNzBhMjc1NmRjMmQwMDBiNzc5 On September 4, 2020, Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson and a supporter sued Schmidt for an injunction over selective prosecution based on political beliefs. Mike Schmidt has been Multnomah County DA since August 2020. Y2Y2ZGQzMzQ4OWRjYWRkYTJkNGZiNWY3YTM1YzM1MWQ4NDYyYjY5OWRlNzcy While right-leaning residents have blamed Schmidt for rising gun crime and an increase in visible homelessness in the region, many progressives who helped elect him now question his commitment to reforms that he campaigned on but hasnt yet delivered, like restorative justice programs and sweeping sentencing reforms.