But Katz chose to stick with the original three, which by default became two. Portland Police Association president Greg Pluchos, a member of the selection committee, is sanguine about the outcome. She stuck with the two who were left. As a result, for the first time in 25 years, Portland police officers will be taking orders from someone who didn't serve among their ranks. On the one hand, the choice may not matter much to an officer cruising Old Town at 4 am.
Police chiefs are more politicians than cops.
Still, the rank and file always prefer a chief they know, and, more important, one who knows their world. Absent that, they at least want someone who spent enough time on the street to know when the realities of policing should overrule political pressures. In that respect, Kroeker seems to have the edge. Sources in Los Angeles say that many officers within the LAPD regret losing Kroeker in 1997 after he was passed over for the chief's job. Monroe, on the other hand, was not well-known to D.C. sources contacted by WW .