Portland Police Academy circa 1947

[retdetsgt]

This is an article that came out in our union newspaper written by an old retired sergeant with my department. He was just retiring about the time I came. Gives you a bit of what it was like in the real old days. The advice at the end is still relevant IMO.

Recently reading about the Oregon Public Safety Academy training programs brought back memories of the training I received in May or Jun of 1947. We were still working six days a week and the school was for two weeks. Two days of which was on the firing range.

There had been a lot of hiring from that first exam after WWII and we were being pushed through the school in increments. I think there were twenty or so in my class, one of which was a lady from the Womens Protective Division. Most of us had already worked a lot of time on the streets. I had been working for at least seven months, sometimes alone.

The room that was appropriated for the class was located on the third floor of the old Police Hqts. building across from the elevator and down the hall from the Traffic Div. The jail was another floor up with a separate elevator.

I don't believe that there was a Training Division, per se, at that time and the instructors for the most part, were experienced officers who were assigned in lieu of their regular duties. There was no printed agenda, no hand outs, and no tests. So no one failed anything. There was one assignment. Each member of the class had to select a topic relating to police work and give a ten or fifteen minute talk on it. I remember my topic as police radio which had a short history at that point in time but I was able to stretch it out.

The instructors were very knowledgeable, spoke extemporaneously, gave great presentations and all in all were very good. Tom Simmons, a recent law school graduate, handled all the pertinent laws, regulation, arrest procedures and court procedures. Another instructor, Len Heller, handled a variety of subject that I don't remember. Merle Buck taught self defense and demonstrated take down techniques. He also covered restraining methods and other useful things for controlling prisoners.

There was an instructor from the Red Cross organization who gave us a course on first aid which was mundane considering that we were all veterans who had been through a lot of basic first aid classes. The Heinlock Manuever and CPR hadn't been invented yet.

There was an FBI agent who's speciality, I think, was stolen cars. He gave us a lecture on that. Then we adjourned to the Police Garage where he demonstrated how you could bring up serial numbers on an engine block that had been sanded off. Well, he lit up a torch and went to work on it and about an hour later there was a couple of discernible numbers. "Voila." We were all suitable impressed so we called it a success and because it had taken up what was left of the day we went home.

There was one memorable instructor who was a Sergeant from East Precinct. His name was Earl Biggs. Now theres a name you probably haven't heard in many years, if at all. His subject was "perverts" which interest me because I had run into a couple already. Earl had done a lot of study and research and could have probably been qualified as an expert in the field. He had published a book on the subject and I had a copy of for awhile but I loaned it out and never got it back. C'est la vie.

None of us realized that there were so many kinds of perverts and Earl had the class mesmerized. At that time there was a fire engine station in the building under the class room on the second street side and just as Earl finished his dissertation on pyromaniacs the Firemen fired up, wound up the siren to full pitch and headed out on a call. Naturally the class clown jumped up started hopping around, gesturing and announcing that he was a pyro. He forgot that there was a lady in the class. He was really embarrassed. We laughed at that but not at his antics. Fortunately that class ended the day.

The two days on the firing range gave everyone a chance to familiarize themselves with their weapon which by regulation was a 38 caliber four, five or six inch revolver of either Colt or Smith-Wesson manufacture. The instructors lectured on gun safety and demonstrated proper grip, sighting and trigger squeeze. There was a lot of standing around waiting to shoot at regular targets which were scored. I don't know what they did with the scores. I never saw them recorded anywhere and I never heard of anyone being fired because they couldn't shoot straight. Oh, our WPD lady didn't carry a gun so was excused from range qualification.

For the school, no uniform was required and the only time you were required to have your fire arm was on the range. We took advantage of that and all wore casual clothes..........except one guy. I noticed him when he first came in the door. He was wearing an expensive double breasted suit which looked like it had been tailor made for him. Very natty, except that it was very obvious he was armed. He was wearing a shoulder holster with the biggest hand gun he could find in it. If you didn't know better with that suit buttoned up you would think he was deformed. He looked like he might be on his way to audition for the part of "Dirty Harry," you know, "Make my day." He had a bit of a swagger and talked like Mike Hammer. I remember thinking at the time that maybe this guy can make it in Hollywood but he would have a problem in the real world. Well, it happened a year or two down the road. He and his and his in-laws stopped at one of the slop shops to knock back a brewsky or two on their way home from a movie. They were settled in a booth and sipping away when a couple of guys at the bar became loud and obnoxious. Well, our hero decided that this distraction needed some official intervention so he assumed his Mike Hammer persona and approached them to tell them to knock it off or he would toss them in the slammer. Well they didn't see any army standing behind him so the fight was on. The wife ran over to help just as our hero hauled out his piece and in the wrestling match over the weapon it fired. "Baddy Boom!," and the wife was killed instantly. The ultimate decision was that it had been a horrible tragic accident and no further action taken. Well, it happened again. This time the circumstances were different. He tried to pick off a gunman holding a hostage and hit the hostage. Well, Roy Rogers does that all the time, doesn't he? Sometimes at a full gallop. Again, it was an accident. Fortunately a few more years down the road our hero decided to take his accident prone career to another Police Agency out of state.

Well, I kinda wandered off my subject but when my memory goes back sixty years or more it starts dredging up a lot of things and I wanted to make a point for those who are still working. You don't have to be a cop twenty four- seven. When your shift is over hang the harness in your locker. Go home and enjoy your family and if you are going to party don't be packing. Be a civilian and let the next shift keep the city safe. It worked for me and that's how it was.

[cntryboy0531]

Great advice and good story.

[MPI1]

I hope that when I am an officer I will be able to hang it up at the end of my shift, but still keep my situational awareness. I have always been told by officers that you are an officer 24/7, however, when you are drinking to leave the firearm at home (most departments NOW have a policy against carrying concealed while drinking don't they?)

I have also done a ton of research on the subject of officer and home life. During that research I found that the officers who "leave it at work" tend to have a MUCH higher rate of successful marriages then those who "take it home with them." I do however think that officers need to be officers 24/7 because people are gunning for them all the time, at home, at work, and in court. Officers are never safe, and always need to keep their guard up.

Just my thoughts (as misinformed or uneducated as they may be),

MPI1

[retdetsgt]

When I first started, I was pretty enthralled with the idea of being a cop, carrying a gun, etc. Fortunately, that wore off after a few years. Being alert is a habit and I continue to do that even long after retirement, but I dropped the John Wayne complex about about 4 or 5 years, max. Off duty became off duty.

Some people keep that persona 24-7 and God bless them. But I was glad that my kids saw me being a cop as something I left the house 5 days a week to do, not as Dirty Harry who happened to be their Dad.

[JoetheGI]

Nice story.


Times sure do change, and sometimes, for the better.

[Adrenolize]

Good read!

I usually carried off duty, but didn't start out that way. I changed that policy when I had my family with me and was topping off the gas tank before a trip down to the lake. While pumping I was approached by an individual that I not only had to arrest the previous night, but had a hell of a fight doing it. He just had a question and apologized, but it scared me with my family there.

I think things have gotten better and worse since those days. Granted I wasn't there in the early days, but advances in computers, radios and most definitely officer safety are good things. The environment we work in has changed greatly though. I don't remember hearing about kids shooting up schools and the general disregard for everything that is prevalent in the world today. I grew up in the 1980's and remember kids riding to school in 2nd & 3rd grade by themselves and elementary kids walking from the bus alone. Now, it is a scary prospect to let your kids play in the front yard. I know, because I worry about mine (and live in a good area).

I don't know what went wrong in the world, and what socially changed in America, but this guy will stay armed when I get on somewhere again (hopefully soon). I've always remained armed at home. I don't believe in 24/7 police, but I do believe in safety and being very observant of your surroundings.

I love to hear about the history from those who were there on the job before my generation. Thanks for sharing. Post more if you got 'em.

[retdetsgt]

GWhile pumping I was approached by an individual that I not only had to arrest the previous night, but had a hell of a fight doing it. He just had a question and apologized, but it scared me with my family there.

That was always my experience. I never ran into a bad guy off duty who wasn't more afraid of me than I was of them. Nearly all the time, if they recognized me they suddenly remembered some place they had to be. Carrying a gun off duty was always situational with me. I never lived where I worked and never announced to all my neighbors what I did for a living. But more importantly, I didn't carry the mindset that I was there to protect the public 24-7 from all sorts of evil doers. Myself and my family, yes but not the world.

I started working before the academy too, but never alone. At that time, Portland ran its own academy. We also only had one guy doing BI's and he was completing two or three backgrounds every two weeks. That was about the rate people were continually hired. They also gave the test every Friday.

Applicants showed up every Friday at 9 a.m. and took the written test. Those that passed were transported to the main fire station where we were given the physical agility test. If we passed that, we were told to be back at civil service at 2 p.m. in a coat and tie for the oral board exam. We were given a grade, ranked on the continuous list and those in the top several were called at various times to report for the regular physical first. Passing that, we were sent to a cardiologist and then an orthopedist to doubly make sure our hearts, backs, knees, etc were in good shape. The last test was the psychologist, which I suspect cost the city the most money.

If, after all that, you were in the top three or four, you were called to come in and be hired. When there were about 25 or so of us, they started an academy. I was senior in my academy since I was hired in May and the academy didn't start until September.

Technically, we would hire a woman, but the physical agility test wasn't changed until 1973 to where a normal woman could pass it. The first woman I recall being hired was mid to late 1973. They did away with the minimum height requirement just before that time, I think. When I was hired, the minimum height for a police officer was 5'10" and 5"9" for a fireman.

We didn't have handheld radios until about 1974 or 1975. Our cars were equipped with "Quick calls". Each car's was built in and had a number. If you went out for coffee, to eat or walk through a bar, you told dispatch your Quick Call number. It could be set to either set off the horn or the overhead. (Singular, we had one bubble in the middle of the roof) The 1974 cars were our first with two overhead lights.

Since we didn't have a lot of niceties like handheld radios, most cars were two men back then. That was nice, you not only had your backup with you, but you had company. I developed some strong friendships with some of my old uniform partners, probably from sharing so many experiences together over the years. It was a lot different from being an FTO with a trainee.

[cmac]

Pretty interesting article. I was born and raised in Portland and love it like no other place in the world. It will be interesting to see how the academy has changed since 1973 and 1947.

[retdetsgt]

Pretty interesting article. I was born and raised in Portland and love it like no other place in the world. It will be interesting to see how the academy has changed since 1973 and 1947.

I love the Pacific NW, used to like Portland. Now there are too many left wing nut jobs there. And the worst are in the city council.

[cmac]

I love the Pacific NW, used to like Portland. Now there are too many left wing nut jobs there. And the worst are in the city council.

Where I was raised it is pretty hard to be on the right wing and fit in. I myself am more in the middle, but even then their are few who share your views. I'm one of those guys who really doesn't care for the conservative vs. liberal politics. My ideal version of the politics in this country is where everyone would take a deep look at the issues and people in the running and then form an educated decision about who they want to support and not just vote along the party lines. Anyway, sorry I got a little off track there, I can talk for hours about politics.
I love Portland and honestly can't think of anywhere else I would rather live, work and hopefully at some point raise a family.