Outgoing PPB Deputy Chief Davis says there's a 'crisis of confidence' in policing

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Police Bureau’s Deputy Chief Chris Davis said there’s a nationwide “crisis of confidence” in policing during an interview with KATU News.

“We need to get comfortable with that uncomfortable reality and start working through that,” said Davis, who has accepted a job as chief of police for Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In his interview with KATU, Davis spoke about some of the issues Portland is facing as he prepares to leave Portland, including the lack of police officers.

Davis believes many left the field given the events of the past year. He also said the city doesn't have the funding right now to hire officers in order to fill vacant positions.

"We're right now in the process where we're potentially looking to eliminate a large number of vacant positions that we just don't have funding for,” he said. “So there's not a lot of point from a budget perspective having those positions on the books. So just because of that structural deficient in our budget, we won't be able to recruit people even if we had people who wanted to be here."

Davis said he has family ties to the Green Bay area and is leaving because of this new opportunity.