Despite outcry, Portland's Christian police chief keeps job

PORTLAND -- Police Chief Mark Kroeker, a born-again Christian whose parents were Mennonite missionaries, has kept his job despite continuing calls for his resignation, stemming from what some label as “inflammatory2”statements he made 11-plus years ago in Southern California regarding homosexuality, women, and disciplining children. The taped remarks, obtained from a Christian ministry web site, were published earlier this fall by an alternative newspaper, The Portland Alliance. Kroeker had criticized gays, said women should submit to their husbands, and called for disciplining disobedient children at a Christian camp with a boat oar.

Portland Mayor Vera Katz told a crowded news conference at City Hall on Nov 9 that her decision to retain Kroeker was based on one key question -- can the police chief keep his personal views from his professional conduct? Katz determined that Kroeker has managed his duties without bias and will continue to do so.

“His performance has met my expectations, and I have asked him to stay on as police chief, with my strong support to continue,” the mayor announced following two weeks of intensive investigation and deliberations with attorneys, community leaders, personel advisers, and police officers.

Kroeker issued a statement saying he is committed to easing the tensions and will work to regain the trust of the gay community, women’s rights advocates, police officers, and others. He said it will take an enormous amount of personal effort and time, but that he was strongly committed to the task.

Katz told The Oregonian newspaper that Kroeker informed her that he would rather undo the damage, and help promote tolerance and acceptance of all people, than to just walk away.

The mayor’s decision drew mixed reactions, with many community activitsts continuing to decry Kroeker’s early remarks, while others rigorously defended Kroeker’s freedom of speech and religion and said the chief was unbiased on the job.

Ray Cotton, senior pastor at New Hope Community Church in Clackamas, wrote the mayor that he and his congregation were in full support of Kroeker, noting that there has been no evidence since he assumed the position in November 1999 that he has in any way acted unfairly, unjustly, or with intolerance toward any group or individual.

Cotton said it would be unfair to judge him for comments that he made in a religious setting almost 12 years ago relating to his beliefs. He said to do so would go against basic American freedoms.

Cotton added that “this obviously is an attempt to destroy and bring him (Kroeker) down, which would demonstrate intolerance at the highest level. If that happens, our whole city would be pulled down.”

Cotton said that New Hope, as one of the largest congregations in Portland, seeks reconciliation and healing of the community. and desires that all groups and individuals be treated with dignity and fairness.

Lou Beres, executive director of the Christian Coalation of Oregon, said it would have been outrageous -- and legally questionable -- to fire Kroeker because of his earlier statements. “These are fundamental rights of free speech and freedom of religion --how can you get rid of someone for what he believes and not by his performance?

Katz said many of the arguments raised for dismissing Kroeker because he is out of step locally could be used in other communities to fire liberal public officials who are “out of step” with their communities’ conservative majorities. The mayor said her three decades fight for tolerance “goes both ways.”

The mayor expects Kroeker to repair the mistrust his previous remarks have caused. The chief has agreed to attend public forums and community events and to serve as a spokeman for the Cascade AIDS Project, to help educate people that AIDS is not a gay disease.

Since the mayor’s news conference, Kroeker has met with drag queens and female impersonator Dar-celle in Portland’s Old Town. But others complain that the police chief still has not apologized for his remarks. Kroeker, formerly with the Los Angeles Police Department, is spending two weeks in November and December in training at the Police Academy in Monmouth to be certified as an Oregon law enforcement officer.

Kroeker was born in Dallas, Ore. His parents were Mennonite missioanries to the Congo and France. He grew up preaching the Bible and seeking to pattern his life after its teachings as a Christian evangelical. The police chief says he will continue, if he is asked, to give talks to religious groups during his off-duty time.

Last July he addressed the Greater Portland Bible Church in a question-and-answer forum called “The Christian Cop.” Kroeker said he has a “passionate desire” to promote a more peaceful world both on a local level and internationally.