February 1, 2026

Letter to the Editor in the Oregonian from The Truth Project Board Member and Founder Norm Frink

Letter to the Editor

The article on the recent shooting of two Portland police officers diminished the risks from unlawful uses of force that all officers face, (“Suspect remains on the loose after NE Portland cop shooting injures 2 officers,” Jan. 20).

The article states that shootings of Portland police officers “have been incredibly rare, particularly fatal ones.” While technically true, this is incomplete. The article lists three specific injuries or deaths of officers in the last 28 years — implying that was the total. This is deeply misleading.

In 30 years, there have been far more injuries, and one other murder of an officer, which occurred just six months prior to the 1998 murder of Officer Colleen Waibel. And reporter Fedor Zarkin’s reference to Waibel’s murder did not mention that two other officers were also wounded in that attack.

In 2011, Officer Parik Singh was shot and seriously wounded while responding to a domestic violence call; two other officers were also injured. He was later awarded the Medal of Valor.

In 2020, numerous officers were injured during “mostly peaceful protests” due to projectiles thrown at them and lasers pointed in their eyes. Two were treated at the hospital after being struck by a nearly ten-pound rock. Later that year, as police attempted to apprehend the driver of a stolen truck, the driver rammed an officer standing outside her patrol car, fracturing her pelvis.

Last year, two officers were injured when a suspect tried to take one of their firearms.

I’m not saying these injuries and deaths are a regular feature of the job. But I question why The Oregonian/OregonLive story seemed to diminish the risk that does exist.

Norm Frink, Portland

Frink is a former chief deputy district attorney of Multnomah County. He is a director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Truth Project.