Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton is stepping down in August, on the heels of several ethics scandals that have come to light. These include dismissing a staffer who revealed that the corrections department uses unnecessary force, afemale deputy was harassed and “fat shamed”, and, most recently, his souped up Dodge Charger cruiser that he ordered for himself on the county dime, against policy.
Set to take over for him on an interim basis is former Portland police chief Mike Reese.
Reese has recently become a bobble head for Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown For Gun Safety. He was at the state capitol last year testifying, twice, in favor SB941, the “universal background check” bill that eventually passed, and has been spotted getting involvedwith Gabby Giffords’ anti gun group, Americans For Responsible Solutions, which, coincidentally, was handled by the scandal plagued Hilltop Public Solutions, the subject of a recent story here on Progressives Today.
During Reese’s testimony in favor of SB 941 in 2015, he was unable to explain how the new law would work and how it would be enforced, as he was grilled by one of the Senators at the hearing, until committee chair, Floyd Prozanski, bailed him out.
Reese also inadvertently made the case against the background check bill by stating that criminals get their guns from licensed dealers or gun shows, both of which require background checks, or by stealing the guns.
He was even drafted by Bloomberg to star in a series of TV ads to raise awareness about the new background check law.
As Reese was making his way out from a Giffords event in Portland in February, he was asked about crime in the city going up after this new background check law had taken effect. Of course, he had no comment.