A former vice cop is making new allegations of
retaliation, lying and backbiting in the highest ranks of the Portland
Police Bureau—after he gave a series of interviews about the city's
failure to crack down on sex trafficking.
Former Sgt. Doug
Justus abruptly retired from the bureau a year ago. A federal lawsuit he
filed Jan. 12 casts Justus as a whistle-blower wrongfully terminated
for speaking publicly about the city's failures in sex-trafficking
cases, and who suffered retaliation and defamation by bureau managers
even after he left the force. He's seeking $2.5 million.
The
suit raises serious questions whether one of the city's top vice cops
was punished for going off script when talking to the media about one of
the most publicized crime issues of recent years—the city's sex trade.
But now no one is talking. Justus agreed to be interviewed by WW,
but his new attorney, Charese Rohny, later said she didn't think it
would be in his best interest. City and Police Bureau officials also
declined to comment.
Justus, 56, claims his problems began in the spring of 2010, when a crew from HDNet's Dan Rather Reports
came to town. Justus gave the former CBS News anchor an interview about
child sex trafficking and a tour of Portland strip clubs.
After "Pornland,
Oregon," aired on HDNet that May, Justus alleges, he learned the
interview had made the city's new police chief, Mike Reese, and Mayor
Sam Adams âvery upset.â
Justus on HDNet
WWeek 2015