Portland police chief steps down amid George Floyd protests
Jami Resch resigned on Monday as police chief in Portland, Oregon, stepping aside to let Chuck Lovell, a lieutenant, assume leadership of the department.
"To say this was unexpected would be an understatement," Lovell said during a news conference. "I'm humbled. I'm going to listen. I'm going to care about the community, and I'm looking forward to this journey." Resch, a white woman, said Lovell, who is black, is "the exact right person at the exact right time" to lead the force.
The idea to put Lovell in charge of the department came to Resch after she spoke with black community leaders like Tony Hopson Sr., who told The Oregonian that what Resch did is "virtually unheard of." Resch, who was chief for just six months, will be reassigned to a different position.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Resch had been criticized for the department's handling of the city's George Floyd protests, after officers fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing glass bottles and rocks. Mayor Ted Wheeler said Portland needs Lovell's leadership, and they "must reimagine reform and rebuild what public safety looks like."
-
Health insurance: Premiums soar as ACA subsidies endFeature 1.4 million people have dropped coverage
-
Anthropic: AI triggers the ‘SaaSpocalypse’Feature A grim reaper for software services?
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Maxwell pleads 5th, offers Epstein answers for pardonSpeed Read She offered to talk only if she first received a pardon from President Donald Trump
-
Hong Kong jails democracy advocate Jimmy LaiSpeed Read The former media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years in prison
-
Ex-Illinois deputy gets 20 years for Massey murderSpeed Read Sean Grayson was sentenced for the 2024 killing of Sonya Massey
-
Sole suspect in Brown, MIT shootings found deadSpeed Read The mass shooting suspect, a former Brown grad student, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
