Portland Police Sergeant To Precinct: If A Homeless Person Is Black, Just Shoot Them

Sgt. Gregg Lewis was fired last year for his comments, first released publicly this week. He is fighting the firing and may be able to retire with pension.

Portland Police Sgt. Gregg Lewis was fired last year for reportedly making several racist comments to his precinct. Lewis’ comments were not publicly shared until this week when his termination letter was released by the Portland mayor’s office. 

Lewis told about 20 other cops during a roll call meeting on Feb. 12, 2017, that if they come across a black homeless person to “just shoot them,” according to many meeting participants who were quoted in the letter obtained by Oregon Live.




Portland Police Sergeant To Precinct: If A Homeless Person Is Black, Just Shoot Them

Sgt. Gregg Lewis was fired last year for his comments, first released publicly this week. He is fighting the firing and may be able to retire with pension.


The termination letter of a Portland Police sergeant who was fired last year after reports that he made racist comments to his precinct was publicly shared for the first time this week.(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Portland Police Sgt. Gregg Lewis was fired last year for reportedly making several racist comments to his precinct. Lewis’ comments were not publicly shared until this week when his termination letter was released by the Portland mayor’s office. 

Lewis told about 20 other cops during a roll call meeting on Feb. 12, 2017, that if they come across a black homeless person to “just shoot them,” according to many meeting participants who were quoted in the letter obtained by Oregon Live.

Lewis made the remarks during a meeting with fellow officers in which he was leading a presentation about an officer’s authority to handle an intoxicated citizen who is in a private parking garage. Multiple officers who were in the room reported Lewis the next day, and many of their accounts are cited in the termination letter.

According to one account, the room went silent after Lewis’ comment. There was some nervous laughter in the room and another officer said “Oh my god!” Lewis reportedly “laughed, threw his hands in the air and said, ‘Fuck it. What do I care?’”

The reports made by several officers were all slightly different. One officer recalled Lewis saying, “Go out and shoot black people,” while another remembered him saying the remark with slight variations: “If they’re black and homeless shoot them or kill them.” 


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