Milwaukie sends officer to MAX force

By Matthew Graham

The Clackamas Review, Jan 16, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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The Milwaukie Police Department will be sending one more of its officers to the TriMet transit police force this month, but will be gaining three new officers of its own.

The TriMet police force consists of officers from all of the cities in its coverage area except for those that opt out, such as Gresham, which has decided it will patrol the portion of the bus and MAX lines in its city with its own officers. Milwaukie has remained on the force though, and works with officers form Portland, Hillsboro, Beavercreek, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and others.

“We’ll have one of our officers go up to TriMet, then we’ll have to hire another,” said Officer Kevin Krebs of the Milwaukie Police Department.

TriMet’s means of staffing its police force – and the levels at which it is staffed – have come under fire in the last few months, with Washington County officials saying the officers they send spend a disproportionate amount of time in Portland, not evenly spread out through the system.

Krebs, however, said the partnership benefits the Milwaukie police force.

“It’s good for the [officer who’s sent] because it’s just more things that they will learn and it’s a different department, and it’s good for the [Milwaukie] department because we get recognition,” he said.

TriMet will reimburse the department for the use of its officer. Krebs said with that money they’ve hired an officer to replace the one who is going to TriMet. Krebs said the new officer has been with the department for about two weeks and works in traffic enforcement.