Portland State University will not meet goal of transitioning to unarmed police officers this fall, but remain committed to goal
Portland State University will be unable to meet its fall goal of transitioning to unarmed sworn officers on campus due to the retirements of two officers and the resignation of a third. Staff turnover, coupled with delays in drafting policies to govern the new approach, held up the process, according to Willie Halliburton, Campus Public Safety Chief. In a letter to students and staff this week, University president Stephen Percy detailed the delay.
Originally, PSU had announced in August that the University would switch to unarmed police officers this fall, but university officials are reluctant to set a new deadline to the evolving situation, however Haliburton (pictured above) has pledged to keep the campus updated on its progress. The campus security office needs to have eight sworn officers working before it can make the transition to allow unarmed officers to respond to calls in pairs, he said.