Book Review's

Author Photo by Wes and Dotty Weber, on the steps of the old residential Lotus Hotel, April 2014

"Behind the Badge in River City: Police Memoir, is a revealing unique and important book."

A review by Timothy Flanagan, writer, retired teacher, & contributing editor at The Portland Alliance, 23 February 2013

Most days, most people just take cops for granted. They assume the police are more or less like everyone else, putting in their hours and doing their jobs. At one level this is true. Some of us may say hello to officers we happen across or we might encounter them briefly when getting a ticket or asking for directions.

Regardless of these brief glimpses, few of us know a great deal about the men and women who serve as peace officers with The Portland Police Bureau. Perhaps it's time we found out. Don DuPay served with the bureau from 1961-1978 as an officer and detective. After resigning from his position in 1978, Mr. DuPay worked as Director of Security for a well known hotel in Portland, and co-hosted a cable access TV show, "Cannabis Common Sense." He still lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.

The officers "behind the badge" are a breed apart. "Once a cop, always a cop," according to DuPay. They must live in a world of constant contradictions, torn between their duties and the demands of survival. Mr. DuPay has provided us with a stark and candid look at life on the street for officers in Portland, Oregon. Now that he has opened this door, I would encourage you to step inside and take a closer look. The story he tells may lead you to reconsider your preconceptions and rethink your prejudices, pro or con. Some of the details are edifying, others are too horrible to bear. But these facts provide a look inside the lives of officers who often have our lives in their hands.

Mr. DuPay tells stories that make the hair rise up on the back of your neck. In seventeen years with the department, he worked jail duty, East Precinct, traffic division, vice squad, morals, and North Precinct until spending his last few years with the department as a detective, working the burglary and homicide details. We are allowed to almost intimately know Officer DuPay and the men he worked with. In addition to his fellow officers, he introduces us to pimps, prostitutes, safe-crackers, drug addicts, thieves and thugs. But we are never left to choose between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." Don keeps it real.

I liked this book at a gut level. It was a good read. In the reading I found details that were unnerving and terrible, but the narrator's smooth and compelling style kept me turning those pages. Even though over the years I have had close friends who worked as police officers, this book reveals emotions that often remain hidden and motives I had not considered. The author has a unique talent for penetrating analysis and startling revelations. As much as I enjoyed this read, I have some concerns about repercussions once the book hits the streets. Mr. DuPay cuts no corners and pulled no punches; he named names and specified dates, times and places. Some of the principals he named are still in Portland and may not appreciate his candor. Others will give him their blessing and say its about time somebody told the truth.

Regardless of where you stand on issues about police accountability or the need for more effective law enforcement, this book will provide persuasive testimony. I have read various accounts which deal with the problems we currently face in Portland. Our police department is under attack and perhaps rightfully so. Unarmed citizens die and nobody is held accountable for these murders. The US Justice Department says "The Portland Police Bureau has engaged in a 'pattern and practice' of excessive use of force." The report found problems with Portland Police Bureau's policies, training and supervision. U.S. Attorney for Oregon Amanda Marshall said the findings of the report were "grave and serious." Judge Simon has ruled the police union can have input in the proposed reform, but a local alliance of church leaders somehow does not deserve that same courtesy.

Right now we are searching for solutions and determined not only to ask the right questions but to get real answers. If you think you can handle the truth, you need to read "Behind the Badge in River City, A Police Memoir," by Don DuPay. While I may not agree with everything he says, I think it is essential that concerned citizens read his account with open minds and hearts. In the course of his narration, this writer gets to the crux of the issues.

Timothy Flanagan

EDITOR'S NOTE:

It is important for all persons interested in this book to understand that it is a period piece. The cultural, social and political dynamics have changed considerably over the decades. Also, all or most named persons in the book have been deceased for many years. 

Don DuPay brings to light, the way things used to be, but the level of corruption he describes is not a reality in quite the same way, today, within the ranks of PPB. Certainly not to the level he personally witnessed. This is an important distinction to make and readers ought to be made aware that the book is not a commentary on the Portland Police Bureau of today but rather a reflection on what the department used to be like. 

If you have any questions, concerns or interest in writing a review of this book, please contact me, at tkdupay@gmail.com and I'd be happy to crrespond with you. 

Theresa Griffin Kennedy~