Chief praises officers for professionalism
By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Pendleton Police Department was stretched thin in 2022, but the staff shortage did not impact how its officers dealt with crime. Police Chief Chuck Byram says the officers responded to a record 23,922 calls for service last year.
During the year, Pendleton police officers only filed 60 use of force reports. Byram said each use of force action was evaluated and determined to be within the scope of the law.
“Our officers are taking their training to heart, are taking the time to communicate more, are taking the time to evaluate the totality of the incident and decide whether force is reasonable or not,” he said. “I’m very proud of what they’ve done.”
Another statistic that made Byram proud is the fact that there were only two complaints logged against Pendleton officers in 2022. Byram said that is unusually low, due to the heightened emotions present when police answer a call. He said one complaint was investigated, at his request, by the Oregon State Police and determined to be unfounded. The other was looked at within the department and it was determined that no policies had been violated.
“I definitely commend the people at the Pendleton Police Department for being highly professional,” he said.
