After Disarming Officers, Portland State University Announces it Will Rearm its Campus Police
Image: PSU Website
PORTLAND, OR — After almost 2 years of committing to unarmed officers, Portland State University has announced it will rearm nine of its campus police officers.
The university, who made headlines for committing to unarmed-only patrols back in 2021, says the “…environment around PSU has changed” as the reason for switching back to armed patrols.
Here’s the FULL STATEMENT from University President, Stephen Percy:
Dear Campus Community,
I am writing today with an important update about something that touches all of our lives: campus safety. Our Campus Public Safety Office has changed dramatically in recent years. Chief Willie Halliburton, who leads our safety office, and I are committed to pursuing innovative, trauma-informed approaches to handling safety and security on campus. CPSO has a diverse staff of nine sworn officers, seven public safety officers and eight student ambassadors who work around the clock to keep our campus safe. They are passionate about changing the way policing is done not just on PSU’s campus but as a model for cities and towns beyond Portland.
They are also constantly working to build relationships with diverse groups across campus and are committed to de-escalation as a primary strategy. Many of you know that this campus has a [difficult history](https://www.pdx.edu/president/campus-public-safety-timeline) with our campus police force. Following the tragic shooting of Jason Washington by campus police officers in 2018 and the racial justice protests of 2020, Chief Halliburton and I committed to begin campus safety anew, putting the policies and personnel in place to begin routine unarmed patrols by sworn officers on our campus in September, 2021.
We did this for an important reason: Not everyone in our community feels safe when police officers carry guns, particularly minoritized communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. The shift to unarmed patrols was a groundbreaking change in campus policing and I am proud of our campus public safety office for taking this approach. Unfortunately, the environment around the PSU campus has changed since that time. Our officers are encountering an increasing number of weapons on and near campus and they are receiving limited assistance from the Portland Police Bureau due to increased demands for officers across the city. These factors have necessitated a change in practice on the part of campus police officers: In order to protect our campus, our nine sworn officers are having to go on most patrols carrying arms. In the interest of transparency, I felt that it was important to share information about this shift with all of you.
While this may seem like a step backward in our ongoing efforts to achieve lasting change, it does not alter our commitment to actively pursue a campus safety system that prizes de-escalation, respects the dignity of our diverse campus community, and finds a path to return to regular unarmed patrols on campus.As a campus, Portland State is an important player in the overall safety of our city and the well being of all of its residents. We will continue to coordinate with city officials and other organizations to support our downtown community, and we will seek to collaborate with programs like Portland Street Response, that assist people experiencing mental health and behavioral health crises without law enforcement.
This update is part of an ongoing conversation and effort to rethink how we do campus safety at Portland State. [**You can learn more by watching a video message from Chief Halliburton**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6ZmqeWmOzs)
In addition, Chief Halliburton is hosting “Coffee with the Chief” on Monday mornings at 10 a.m. at Smith Memorial Student Union in the dining area next to the food court. If you would like further information or would like to get involved in conversations about campus safety, I invite you to send an email to [info@pdx.edu](mailto:info@pdx.edu) to get connected.
I am meeting regularly with Chief Halliburton, and moving forward, he and I will meet with the [University Public Safety Oversight Committee](https://www.pdx.edu/president/university-public-safety-oversight-committee-upsoc) on a monthly basis to review campus safety conditions and discuss our path forward.
Our commitment to maintaining a campus where everyone feels a sense of safety and belonging will never waver.
Sincerely,
President Stephen Percy
