FBI to review '81 vice probe

Police chief, DA ask for help after killings by cops are alleged

By Nick Budnick

The Portland Tribune, Feb 20, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Allegations of unlawful killings involving one or more Portland cops more than two decades ago have prompted Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer and Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk to bring in the FBI.

The allegations, which were aired by a prominent local criminal defense lawyer and described by Portland Tribune columnist Phil Stanford, caused the two local officials to ask the FBI to review a 1981 probe of assorted felonies by several then-members of a special unit of the Portland Police Bureau.

Stanford’s columns described allegations that longtime Portland lawyer Des Connall has brought to Schrunk, including that a former informant for that special unit named Jack Rowlands has said he can lead the police to a body he helped dispose of on behalf of a Portland police officer.

Other information Connall has relayed to Schrunk concerns Earl Son, a former Multnomah County homicide detective turned criminal defense investigator for Connall.

In December 1981, Son died of a gunshot wound shortly after reportedly telling people he had determined that one or more Portland police officers were involved in at least two murders. His death was ruled a suicide.

Sizer and Schrunk made the decision to go to the FBI after meeting last week to discuss the allegations, which Connall – a former Multnomah County DA – had relayed along with supporting documents in face-to-face meetings with Schrunk.

The news release did not mention the allegations of killings and a body; rather, it said the review would focus on a 1981 probe of the bureau’s drug and vice unit, called the Special Investigation Division.

The probe was overseen by Schrunk, newly elected to his position, and conducted by detectives of the bureau.

According to a news release put out by the bureau, “While there does not appear to be any reason to believe the original investigation covered up or ignored criminal behavior, the new allegations could leave in doubt the Police Bureau and District Attorney’s Office commitment to integrity.”

The 1981 probe, which grew out of a civil suit filed by Connall, confirmed allegations that police officers had used fabricated information to obtain search warrants, improperly pocketed public funds and planted evidence in order to get convictions.

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