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UOPD sued over retaliation against whistleblower

Last updated on 09/25/2015

7/7/2014: I’m no law professor, but this complaint against UOPD Chief Carolyn McDermed and others raises plenty of questions about UO’s new sworn and armed police department:

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The court docket is here (courtesy of the RECAP program that Aaron Swartz and Carl Malamud helped create). The complaint, well worth reading in full, is here, and UO’s response is here. UO admits their police have a “Bowl of Dicks” list:

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Who’s defending UO? Frohnmayer’s HLGR firm, of course. Specifically Jens Schmidt, at ~$300 per billable hour, he’s got no incentive to wrap it up:

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7/8/2014: OK, by popular demand, let’s see who’s in the UO Police Department’s “Bowl of Dicks”:

Subject: public records request, “Bowl of Dicks” list
Date: July 8, 2014
To: [UOPD Spokesperson and UO Public Records Officer]:

Dear [ ]

I apologize for the language in this public records request. I am asking for any public records that list the members of the “Bowl of Dicks” list kept by UOPD employee [ ].

This list is mentioned in paragraphs 20 and 21 of the “Amended Complaint” filed in US District Court and posted here: http://ia902504.us.archive.org/12/items/gov.uscourts.ord.114420/gov.uscourts.ord.114420.9.0.pdf

Its existence is acknowledged in paragraph 21 of UO’s response, filed here: http://ia902504.us.archive.org/12/items/gov.uscourts.ord.114420/gov.uscourts.ord.114420.16.0.pdf

I am asking for a fee waiver on the basis of public interest, which is considerable.

7/10/2014: UO Police Department sued over retaliation against whistleblower

The RG’s Diane Dietz has the story on the UO Police Department’s “eat a bowl of dicks list”. It’s the usual UO mismanagement, bad legal advice, wasted money, and more than a touch of the absurd. Many interesting, sad quotes. Police Chief Carolyn McDermed even provides a version of the list.

What has our feckless President Mike Gottfredson done about this? He’s thrown a lot of money around. The Police budget has increased from $4.3M when he arrived to $5.5M this year, with more in the pot. And that excludes the cost of the HLGR lawyers, back pay to the whistleblower, etc. In five years the cost that’s on the books has gone from $3M to $5.5M:

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Anyone know of a Police Academy that needs a new President?

 

7/18/2014 update: UOPD dick list goes viral

Betsy Hammond has the story in the Oregonian, with many interesting comments, here.

UO’s Strategic Communication Command is still in full denial mode, but a UO Matters stringer has now provided incontrovertible photograph proof of the actual bowl, here. (Warning: This link is NSFW for most though apparently not all UO employees.)

7/23/2014: Latest Oregonian story details additional UO PD sexual harassment grievances.

Betsy Hammond has the story, here. One sexual harassment complaint was settled for $2K in attorneys fees, mandatory sexual harassment training, and 5 box seat tickets to the Civil War game. You can’t make this up. The department comes across as out of control, to be kind. No wonder Gottfredson had the EPD investigate the basketball rape allegations, and then gave the report to his athletic director instead of his police chief.

This story doesn’t even cover the three previous public safety directors who left under unexplained circumstances. Daily Emerald reporter Ryan Knutson won an award for reporting on one situation back in 2009. Some other recent scandals are here, but it’s hard to keep up. Last time I looked up the salary information UO was paying Chief McDermed more than the City of Eugene paid its police chief.

8/23/2014 update:

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I’ve redacted the 4 names and signatures, of the grounds that they probably don’t want to see the bowl come up #1 when someone googles them.

It seems like interim UO GC Doug Park is still paying HLGR’s Jens Schmidt $300 billable for every hour he can drag this out. The case docket is here (courtesy of the RECAP program that Aaron Swartz and Carl Malamud helped create). The complaint, well worth reading in full, is here, and Schmidt’s response is here.

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137 Comments

  1. Pantsless Santa 07/06/2014

    Seems like there might be something to the retaliation claim, and maybe the union stuff.

    But I wonder why nobody’s taken the case on a contingency fee basis? Difficult client, perhaps?

    • uomatters Post author | 07/06/2014

      I’m just a behavioral economist, but his complaint reads like an exemplar of neo-classical rationality. And extra credit for misspelling Hilary, and then getting Schmidts to do the same.

  2. ghost 07/06/2014

    The link you provide states that the case was transferred from Judge McShane to Magistrate Coffin, an adjunct professor of law at the UO. So the Chief Judge went out of her way to create a conflict of interest in favor the defendant/her alma mater, U of O.

    • uomatters Post author | 07/06/2014

      Follow it to the end, on June 20 it was reassigned to Judge David O. Carter.

  3. "Our reality is better than your fiction." Gottfredson, I think. 07/06/2014

    Bowl of dicks… You couldn’t write it any better. I love this place.

  4. Anonymous 07/06/2014

    The police had a student on their dick list? Wow. Just wow.

    • Anonymous 07/06/2014

      But not UO Matters. Even bigger wow.

      • uomatters Post author | 07/06/2014

        Yes, but perhaps this post is enough to get me through their rigorous review process.

        But a female UO student? Wow indeed, if the allegation is true. I’m sure Jamie Moffitt will conduct a thorough investigation.

  5. Anonynony 07/06/2014

    So you’re saying that giving mall security cops real badges and power DOESN’T instantly, magically turn them into real honorable police officers and public servants?

    • uomatters Post author | 07/06/2014

      Honorable police will read the allegations in this complaint with disgust. Here’s hoping the UOPD and VPFA Jamie Moffitt, whom they report to, does something to clean this up.

      • village idiot 07/06/2014

        It has been made abundantly clear in Dept meetings that this is how several UO offices work. If you do not suck up to them they will add you to the persona non grata list and you will no longer receive timely service….What a wonderful place UO is… between the abject incompetence and the vengeful spite…the cluster fxxx hires should have tonnes o’ funne….good luck with purchasing btw!

    • happily separated from the uo 07/10/2014

      Just a few thoughts…

      I’m just struck by the fact that the majority of people named in this suit are of the “new” UOPD, as opposed to the “mall cops” from the old DPS. It’s an easy dig for people to throw around, and there are certainly some folks from that era who never, ever should be trusted with a gun.I think this shows though, that just because you are from somewhere “more professional” that the old DPS, it doesn’t mean you’re not an idiot.

      The flooding of UOPD with semi-retired EPD staff has not, and will not, increase the professionalism of the agency. UOPD is a mess, and this suit and response only illustrates that further. The fact that the keeper of the list has been hired as a police officer at UOPD, even after this information was known is disgraceful.

      I’ve always been a supporters if the effort to create and arm UOPD. It was such an amazing opportunity for change, and it’s totally been squandered. You’ll have to trust me here, but there are still a number of really great people working for UOPD. Just take a moment and reflect on how much it sucks to come to work every day, trying to do the best you can… Only to have to out up with shit like this, and probably worse. Until stuff like this stops, UOPD will continue to burn good people out and then see them leave. Without good people, all they’ll ever do as a PD is generate more shitty headlines.

  6. Anonymous 07/07/2014

    UO admits “…were and are on the list”? They are still maintaining the list? That would be an interesting information request. Any sexual assault survivors on the list?

  7. "Bowl of Dicks" 07/07/2014

    Well, at least Gottfredson didn’t let these jokers have guns.

    What? You’re kidding. *After* he knew about this?

  8. DohNo 07/07/2014

    This Leroy cited in the complaint was hired as a UO police officer with the UO police administration full well knowing that he kept this incredibly unprofessional and what could be deemed homophobic list prior to him getting hired! What kind of people do you want working at UO? I certainty do not want the kind who think it is okay to desparage someone male or female by thinking they need to eat a dick especially students and civil rights leaders. And the UO is going to admit this list exists and not fire anyone? Ridiculous.

    • reader 07/08/2014

      Oh it gets even better…. Not only did UOPD promote Officer LeRoy to a full Police Officer AFTER learning of the Bowl of Dicks, they also promoted Brandon Lebrecht to be the head of “Professional Standards!” (see link below) Wow, what an excellent choice to be the standard-bearer for the department’s sense of professionalism!
      But I suppose Mr. Lebrecht COULD investigate and then fire himself for unprofessional behavior…..

      http://police.uoregon.edu/content/organizational-chart

      • One eyed pinhead 07/09/2014

        The whole story just makes me incredibly sad… just sad. Unless this issue will be fully addressed and corrected by the UO/UOPD – which I think all of us have reason to doubt – I don’t think I (and many others) will be able to ask any UOPD officer for help now without the nagging doubt, whether someone I supervise or I myself might be on someone’s (s)hitlist…even if that is somewhere up the chain of command and not directly the officer I am talking to. The powers of persuasion and prejudice….

  9. Guest 07/07/2014

    If the UO needs to hire outside attorneys all of the time then why does it even bother to employ anyone in the office of general counsel? What is the use of paying a few people hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in general counsel when they need to hire an outside attorney? This makes no sense to me.

    • Pantsless Santa 07/08/2014

      Federal civil rights litigation is a specialty, and lawsuits can take a great deal of time once they get going in a way that is not compatible with working in a small in-house legal department. They do the same thing with big employment cases

      I’m sure they also bring in outside counsel for big real estate deals, football coach contract negotiations, land use issues, patent disputes, major union conflicts, etc.

      The in-house folks probably handle small lawsuits, contracts, day-to-day employment matters, serious student discipline, and the like. They also have half a FTE dedicated to uomatters’ public record requests.

  10. Keith Appleby 07/07/2014

    “Seems like there might be something to the retaliation claim, and maybe the union stuff.

    But I wonder why nobody’s taken the case on a contingency fee basis? Difficult client, perhaps?”

    Very few attorneys are willing to take on UO even when a strong case is apparent. The State has unlimited resources with which to engage in litigation. In conventional litigation against a private firm, legal fees add up very quickly and eat into profits. This is not the case when you sue the state, they can afford to pay HLGR to engage in extensive “motion practice” that substantially increases the costs of any potential plaintiffs. You can bankrupt a smaller private corporation or an individual through litigation, but you can’t bankrupt the State (UO). This is why most lawyers are very reluctant to sue UO based on a very low probability of earning a contingency fee and having to devote massive resources into potentially (and probably) earning nothing.

    • reader 07/07/2014

      Very true. Which is why this case is kind of interesting because the “pro se” plaintiff in this case is also an attorney himself. And from reading the complaint, it seems to me like he actually knows what he is doing (or at least he’s a decent writer). But it begs the question – what the hell was he doing working for UODPS in the first place?!?!

    • NotaDA 07/08/2014

      Keith,

      I am not quite sure that is or ever was true. The cost of lawsuits come right out of tuition, now even more than before. In the past I think that OUS had general council and could use or had to use the State DA for all things and OUS paid for the DA hours. I do not know but I think the State DA rate is a fraction of the legal fees that UOM has posted here, and as UOM implies unllike outside council, the DA has a responsibility to the State and therefore the UO to resolve stuff like this in a timely and efficient manner.

      Reading this complaint, and seeing the handling of the other recent high profile cases, I wonder if the State will decide it is in their best interest to move Legal of their “flagship” public universities back under the purview of the state DA?

      • anonomon 07/08/2014

        NataDA,

        I was told the very same thing by several attorneys when the UO admin decided to sick their dogs on me. In short, “…ruthless and corrupt admin will drown you in legal fees….”.

        Guest-
        The in house legal team seem to serve as an administrative buffer that do the administrators dirty work with less paper trail and much less cost. Only when they dig too deep of a hole does UO call in real attorneys.

  11. Anonymous 07/07/2014

    Amelie should sue for defamation.

  12. Vlad 07/07/2014

    this sad tale reminds me of the ‘rule of three truths, in disputes, look for the truth one side does not want to admit, the truth the other side does not want to admit, and the truth that neither side wants to admit.

  13. anonymous 07/08/2014

    With this kind of behavior far up in the ranks like this, and this department just getting started, it seems that the VPFA would be better served to do a “reboot”. Tear down what is in place clean out from the top and start over. There are still plenty of unarmed public safety officers doing the bulk of the campus security work. The need for armed police on campus all the time is nominal. That was proven when the EPD contract was discontinued and there were no armed police on campus for at least three years.

  14. Keith Appleby 07/08/2014

    “I am not quite sure that is or ever was true. The cost of lawsuits come right out of tuition, now even more than before. ”

    We’ll have to just agree to disagree about that.

    “In the past I think that OUS had general council and could use or had to use the State DA for all things and OUS paid for the DA hours.”

    I think you mean the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), rather than the “State DA.”

    “I do not know but I think the State DA rate is a fraction of the legal fees that UOM has posted here, and as UOM implies unllike outside council, the DA has a responsibility to the State and therefore the UO to resolve stuff like this in a timely and efficient manner.”

    Indeed. This is true. Based on a previous public records request that I made to the Oregon DOJ, the DOJ billed the University of Oregon at $135 an hour (as opposed to the roughly $300 an hour that HLGR charges). You can verify this easily yourself, the DOJ responds to public records requests in under 48 hours, doesn’t redact anything, and doesn’t charge you for the record. Imagine.

    I think there is no doubt that the Oregon DOJ took a broader public interest approach to litigation as opposed to the more narrow and private interests that are being served by the privatization of of the UO’s legal services.

    “Reading this complaint, and seeing the handling of the other recent high profile cases, I wonder if the State will decide it is in their best interest to move Legal of their “flagship” public universities back under the purview of the state DA?”

    I’m not sure who “the State” would be at this point to change directions back towards a positive path. Ultimately, it would probably be up to the new Trustees to go back to the old system that actually served the public interest. But, keep in mind, the Trustees legal advice comes from Interim UO General Counsel Doug Park, who was part of the privatization scheme in the first place .

    • NataDA 07/08/2014

      As I understand it the new board is like the old OUS board but with much more power and not a state agency, but if there is enough bad press, and this should impact say the number of in state students applying and going to the school I think the Oregon legislature could just write a bill saying that the legal counsel for the UO or all public Oregon schools is the sate DOJ. After all, I think that when Goldman leverages every last UO asset and walks away with their commission it will still be the state taxpayers on the hook.

      Oh and if the legal fees are not paid by the students then where are the deep pockets that do pay the bill? At last count I think the state paid about 10% of the UO, the foundation pays a little less mostly for Athletics and the students pay the rest. If someone does end up winning a $20 million lawsuit who do you think is going to pay?

      • nom 07/08/2014

        “As I understand it the new board is like the old OUS board but with much more power and not a state agency .. ” Exactly, and scarey at that.

        Then you follow with ” … but if there is enough bad press, and this should impact say the number of in state students applying and going to the school….” which won’t happen because there won’t be enough “bad press” (where have you read ANY press on this at all?). This won’t impact students applying in any way at all because the current college going applicants don’t consider those terms.

        As for who is paying? Of course, it is always the taxpayer.

        • Anonymous 07/09/2014

          uofo board…

          one guy is NIKE…”Paterno Child Development Center” at NIKE…the Paterno/Sandusky Pedophilia Center for Advanced Study

          two other guys, although they may be swell fellows, Ford and Gonyea have merely inherited their wealth and are not achievers…

          Ken Ford of Roseburg Lumber actually went to Oregon Agricultural College for a short time and then became a lumber baron…he built COMPLETELY the company as it now exists…the Ford on the board is his heir…all the charitable stuff was set up by either Ken Ford’s first wife or himself

          Will Gonyea, the recluse, was a zillionaire from Springfield tied to Wall Street and Pritzger Family (Hyatt Regency)…who owned stuff under names other than his own…he kept planes at Mahlon Sweet to fly him east or south as needed…in the late 50s when Bruce Hardwoods (floors) went under because of a crooked exec…Wall Street asked Gonyea to take over…Gonyea also moved lumber operations into the Delta of the Mississippi and was a prime mover of veneer and other operations moving south and into Mexico and the Philippines….the Gonyea on the board is one of his heirs

          The Board does not have Gates, Jobs or even Knight (as big a bozo as he is) types…but what do you expect now that the University of Oregon is going down the toilet

  15. concernedTaxPayer 07/08/2014

    Will some one please enlighten the VPFA about this. Let it go now and I promise you will be doing a disservice to this campus when years from now when one of these guys are the chief or entrenched in the command structure..unacceptable that the protectors have such contempt for the campus and people they serve and protect..

    • plain truthless 07/10/2014

      cTP- the VPFA et al are part of the larger problem which seems to be keep around the lackeys and discredit, smear and drive away anyone that questions their answers/authority. I am sure JH has their own list that they are whittling away at…

  16. Anas Clypeata 07/08/2014

    I just keep coming back to three words in the excerpt above:

    “were and are”

    I was laughing at the absurdity and lunacy of it all until that point. “Were and are”? Holy shit.

    I need more than one curse word here, UOM.

  17. Old Man 07/09/2014

    When Old Man was a boy, a Boston cartoonist suggested that depriving Hitler’s Storm Troopers of their jackboots, replacing them with slippers, could reduce German belligerency. This Old Man urges the UO to sell those SUVs and put its cops back on bicycles.

    • 2oldman 07/09/2014

      “This Old Man urges the UO to sell those SUVs and put its cops back on bicycles.”

      This is truly the best suggestion yet! I like and want the bicycle security back. The SUVs sitting in abandoned parking lots off campus that are not even in the Clery reporting boundary watching videos on cell phones do not seem to be keeping the campus safe

      And if this is not palatable to the booster board then perhaps we can sell this to the booster it a way they will understand We are “loaning” those jacked up blacked out bullet proof behemoths with shotgun racks included, to young enterprising students who have the qualities that will excel at the University of Oregon, the flagship of Oregon universities. While the bicycle cops can continue with the Keystone tradition, protecting athletics on and off campus.

      • Fishwrapper 07/09/2014

        Yes, the University of Oregon, flagship institution in the Keystone Kops tradition. It starts in JH…

  18. 2 2oldman and 2oldman 07/09/2014

    Excellent ideas. Those SUVs really piss me off. That’s gotta be a .5% raise for all faculty invested in those ridiculous “we want to look like the Secret Service” vehicles.

    One booster (a faculty member no less) told me that “You can’t get good police if you don’t provide them with the equipment they need.” I laughed all the way to my office.

    But this suit isn’t so funny. I hope this guy really lets them have it.

    • One eyed pinhead 07/09/2014

      While we are at it, can we also ask them to sell the UOPD guns, which UO had purchased even before official “approval”…. I just feel intimidated whenever I see those…. especially now as it turns out that some in the strong-arm-of-the-law department might have a weak brain …

  19. Subtextual Analyst 07/09/2014

    This is the list of people who, according to the UO police, “should suck a bowl of dicks”. It’s not the list of people that our police believe should have their dicks put into that bowl, to be sucked.

    This may seem like a trivial distinction to a $300 an hour lawyer, but I’m hoping UO M will follow up with a public records request for *all* UO dick lists.

    • analyst anonymous 07/09/2014

      Seriously?

  20. Anonymous 07/11/2014

    The University response as quoted in the RG article was disappointing, to say the least. “…people bring to the workplace different belief systems… we also acknowledge that people are entitled to their own opinions and belief systems… We communicate regularly with employees that the workplace is no place for political opinions and lobbying…”

    Nothing else comes to mind about a room full of people who respond to sexual assault reports who came up with a list like this? The only problem was political lobbying? Really?

    • pathetic 07/11/2014

      I too thought the stuff about “belief systems” was bizarre. So too was the clean-up version of the list released: patently striving to make this just about water cooler chat about Bono and spandex.

      • uomatters Post author | 07/11/2014

        Big mistake putting “Windows Vista” on the dick list. The Ballmer family is not going to be amused.

        But you’re right, and I’ve got the feeling this is just the start of UOPD revelations.

      • Gott Damn Idiots 07/11/2014

        That’s what happens when “strategic communicators” control the message. They put out statements that say nothing and miss the point. One more chance for Gott to sidestep accountability and fail to lead.

        What does he stand for?

  21. Anonymous 07/11/2014

    So they deleted Kitty and Lauren Reagan, but kept Doug Tripp and Shelley Kurtz? I wonder what our new assistant director of communications thinks about her former co-worker making the list?

  22. Anonymous 07/11/2014

    As of Sept. 30, 2013, Labrecht was making $79,177.

    • anonymous 07/14/2014

      He’s making MORE now.

  23. Anonymous 07/11/2014

    Two green redactions. In the previous redaction-fest, green was for student privacy. Does that mean there were students on the list?

    • uomatters Post author | 07/11/2014

      UO thinks a Police enemies list is a protected “educational record” under FERPA.

  24. Guest 07/11/2014

    I thought having a police department on campus was supposed to save thousands? Isn’t that one of the tenants the bill to give UO police rested on was the savings? Between expensive lawyers and the time spent on this any of these dubiously advertised savings are no where to be found. I vote they tear the whole department down and start over. In fact we should just go back to the way it was with the EPD providng services.

  25. Makes less than $79,000 07/11/2014

    The suit makes clear that it’s not just about the list…but the time it took up — not only pre-shift meetings but times that the officers should have been out patrolling instead of sitting on their butts chit chatting.

    The suit also makes clear the extent of the retaliation.

    Those guys can go suck a bowl of …. if you ask me.

  26. Roger 07/11/2014

    Help me feel the outrage. Anyone ever been in the military and heard the way folks let off steam there? Anyone ever worked high stress jobs dealing with the public? Security work? Ever heard the way nurses use their sense of humor when they’re alone together? It sounds as if these guys were wasting time–probably so, but I’ve been in jobs where people build a rhythm of intense work and slacking off into their days. The list has Eli Manning and Mel Gibson and Comcast and People Who Can’t Merge and Keanu Reeves and the Gerlinger Fire Lane–as well as the items reported by the RG and included in the lawsuit. This is their form of comedy. Obviously not funny to professors–or even permissible. So the plaintiff didn’t speak to them face to face but rather waited until later and told their supervisors. I would say that, although race and gender and sexuality get attention at the UO, for the most part profs have their heads up–whoops, scratch that–professors neglect to reflect much about the way class affects their perception and their judgments.

    If there was retaliation, that is beyond the pale–but I don’t feel the outrage about the list that is expressed in such a superior way in the comments here.

    • nom 07/11/2014

      Wait … you’re equating working for UOPD to the military? Equal stress?? “This is a form of their comedy” … ? Good grief.

      Don’t you have a rule, UOM, that one needs to be 16 or older to post?

    • Anonymous 07/11/2014

      It’s a good sign that you recognize you need help. If you don’t feel outrage that a police department would encourage keeping a list that includes students it feels should eat a bunch of dicks, there are plenty of support groups available to guide you. [ED: remainder of comment deleted for excessive truthiness/]

    • One eyed pinhead 07/11/2014

      Dear Roger,
      Would you feel the outrage if they hadn’t misspelled your name (Page 1; just between Kobe Bryant and Lars Ulrich, followed by (thank goodness!!) Osama bin Laden. Would you feel more outraged if your name was closer to, say, Stalin or Hitler (Neither made the list! What a bunch of posers!)? Would you feel a bit more outraged if this is the PD that is supposed to come to your aid and protect you at night when you are being mugged in a dark corner of the campus? And lets say, they never show, because you made their list?
      What if you made their list just for the mere fact that you breathe, but never even interacted with these clowns? Anything?

      But let me tell you about outrage… I am outraged that you think just because someone has a high stress job it gives them the right to ridicule, denigrate, or discriminate against others. I recall some folks objected to stress-relief at Abu Ghraib, too.

      We will never achieve a better work environment if we constantly try find excuses for substandard, unprofessional behavior. I think you are of the same characterless ilk.

      Outraged now?

  27. BOD 07/11/2014

    The list wasn’t derogatory!!??? Or ment maliciously! !???? Give me a break. I always tell my mom to suck a bowl of dicks when I call her on the phone, everyone knows that when your on a dick list it’s ment with love. So no one from the title 9 department going to do anything about this or no big deal??

  28. clyde 07/11/2014

    The only local names on the dozen page list are newscasters David Wade and Shelly Kurtz. Mr. Cleavenger told Diane Dietz of the RG that Mayor Piercy and two female attorneys (US District Court Chief Judge Aiken and Lauren Regan) were also on the list. Why did he need to name these women in the complaint? I’m sure Federal court would have accepted it without the nitty gritty details.

    It is ironic that Mr Cleavenger is willing to cause so much embarrassment to these women and the 95% of UOPD who are decent people in order to try to obtain financial compensation for the damages he suffered because they kept this list. By seeking compensation for his damages, he’s causing much more serious damages to other people.

    Mr. Cleavenger’s works for US District Court. He’s a law clerk for Judge McShane. Should someone who lists “wrongful dishcharge” on the first page of his lawsuit really be working for the courthouse? Personally, I’ve got a problem with a Court-employed lawyer who files a suit that causes more damages than the plaintiff alleges experiencing.

    I’m going to stay tuned to this one.

    • Anonymouse 07/11/2014

      There is at least one UO employee on the list–Israel Escobedo, from parking services. I guess they forgot to delete him when they cleaned up “the list”.

  29. Guest 07/11/2014

    @Roger – you’re not seriously thinking that UOPD is as stressful as being active military or something similar? Such a comparison is utter nonsense. Opening a building or giving a student a ticket is comparable to someone under constant stress? lmfao Please! That is insulting to our military people and ER nurses and others who actually have a stressful job. The UOPD officers making this list is unprofessional especially as it contains the names of students and others they are suppose to respect and serve. People need to lose their jobs over this outrageous behavior.

  30. legal fine print 07/11/2014

    UO says “was not labeled with a vulgarity”

    Which only means that “suck a bowl of dicks list” was not the title on the cell phone file that LeRoy printed out. UO is hoping you won’t notice that they’re not denying that’s what everyone in the PD called it. Lame.

    • Clair ify 07/12/2014

      The UO admitted that that’s what the list was called in its court filings.

  31. nom 07/11/2014

    “According to McDermed, the individuals involved have been counseled and warned and they understand that such jokes are not acceptable and that our community holds its safety officers to a higher standard.”

    So, OK! Problem solved! I wonder if McDermed has time to work on the immediate Israelis-Palestinian conflict??

    Once again, instead of coming forward and admitting dysfunction, UO admins huddle for more strategic meltdown making themselves look even more incompetent than the last episode. Someone should sell tickets.

    • anonymous 07/14/2014

      correction…. they were counseled, and then PROMOTED!! Lebrecht is now the head of the department’s “Professionalism and Standards” and Leroy has been promoted to the position of a full-time POLICE officer (with a gun)!

  32. Birdy 07/11/2014

    I take issue with ‘Spandex on Fat People’. Personally I always use some lightweight, loose fitting, “modesty” garments over the top. But you have to understand that, sans spandex, the chafing can be downright torturous. Especially for our fat thighs.

    • potential legislator in need 07/11/2014

      Go for it. We’re always looking for new, unidentified “dis”- franchised groups with dollars to invest.

  33. Nobody 07/11/2014

    clyde, you sound like you work for the UO police. the embarrassment this is generating is the fault of the “professional police officers” who kept that ridiculous list and appeared to have made the list and updated it while allegedly while on state time. people have been fired for doing less from UO. this is an embarrassment to the UOPD, the university, our community and police officers everywhere. and was the supervisor involved in this actually promoted? this is shameful and the end result should be terminations for those involved for this offensive list. i wonder how the office of LGBT feels about all this? this sort of out of control unprofessional behavior is just the thing that fractures ties with other departments, erodes trust and makes people less and less sympathetic to police.

  34. Dear Roger 07/11/2014

    I shall help you feel the outrage. If you read the complaint, the list is just one small piece of it. These guys made comments all the time that made him feel really uncomfortable, so he asked them to knock it off. Instead of stopping, they did it even more. He went to higher ups because one of the guys was his SUPERVISOR! Tell me you’ve never worked for a dick before. After our PD officer complained, they took away almost every aspect of his job and essentially reassigned him to a much lower, menial job. They even took his keys to the buildings away! On top of all this, they told him that if he saw a crime being committed he should not do anything! I repeat: haven’t you ever worked for a complete dick before?

    The suit is for retaliation…that’s the issue…and they did retaliate and then some. In fact the arbitrator that first heard the case said he should get his job back and back pay.

    So really this all about working for dicks. I know I work, I mean I know I’ve worked for some…haven’t you?

  35. Anonymous 07/11/2014

    The Around the O version of this story doesn’t make much sense. “The list was not meant maliciously.” So, anyone can just walk up to a police officer, tell them to eat a bowl of dicks, and continue on with their day?

    Why would someone risk their well being to make public that this list exists, and then lie that Kitty Piercy was on it? Or is it more believable that the list was sanitized a bit before being made public?

    Either way, I was hoping for a response a bit more thoughtful than “this was just a joke that fell flat”. There is still an opportunity for someone in the University administration to step up and say that following the disastrous handling of the recent rape allegations, no one is going to take us seriously when you’re still busy writing 11 pages of dick jokes. Can’t we do better than crying, “boys will be boys”? And the Lieutenant in charge was given a warning and a promotion?

    • uomatters Post author | 07/11/2014

      Comment of the week.

    • Gott Damn Idiots 07/11/2014

      Again, how many strategic communicators does it take to produce these lame responses? I imagine we could hire journalism students that would do a better job. Seriously, we are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to strategic communicators who are neither of those things. They have proven over and over to be incompetent at the one job they were hired to do.

      • Anonymous 07/11/2014

        Incompetence to the extreme… Anyone else notice that although Gott’s Gang provided a redacted version of the dicklist to UOMatters, the version linked to on Gott’s own Around the O blog was unredacted? The redactions hid the names of former DPS director Doug Tripp and UO student and Duck kicker Alejandro Maldonado. (Sure, I, too, was disappointed when he missed that field goal, but personally never felt the need to put him on an enemies list. Maybe UOPD also maintains a Bowl of Ducks list, and they simply transcribed things accidentally when they added him to the Bowl of Dicks instead?) I can kinda see the logic of redacting Maldonado (although even that logic requires one to buy the idea that the dicklist is a protected educational record under FERPA, as UOMatters pointed out above). But what legal basis would allow them to redact the name of a former UO employee?

      • Communicatators of Strategery 07/12/2014

        Gotta love the UO communicatators of strategery! Maybe Gott really is a brilliant leader, and the PR people are simply doing an inept job at getting the word out.

    • Arm Chair Commentator 07/12/2014

      You should send these comments to the woman who wrote the Around the O piece.

    • Anonymous 07/12/2014

      So, anyone can just walk up to a police officer, tell them to eat a bowl of dicks, and continue on with their day?

      Heh, students do this all the time. Really.

  36. Arm Chair Commentator 07/12/2014

    …and that goes for Anonymous, who won comment of the week, as well.

  37. Anonymous21 07/12/2014

    They did not redact the name of Casey Boyd who was demoted and then did not have her contract renewed. One must ask the question of why she was demoted and essentially fired? I’m sure someone will pipe up. Her husband Mark Boyd was also named on the BODL (Bowl Of Dicks List). He was the state trooper who got kicked out of a football game. This situation is a golden opportunity for the UO police to show they do not tolerate unprofessional behavior by firing those involved.

  38. imnotonthelist 07/12/2014

    One of the names on the list is Israel Escobedo who used to be employed by UO police prior to the parking office becoming separate from the police. Israel is still a UO employee. I guess it is okay to list our fellow UO employees on a list making reference that the people on it eat a bowl of penises? It appears to be OK and you might get a promotion out of it like the supervisor who was in on the list did. The president is a fool if he lets this stand without taking swift and certain action!

  39. Gypsy 07/12/2014

    When wealth disparity becomes intolerable, campus protests will erupt , marking initial stages of revolution. Our campus police are being militarized not to provide security for students, but to protect the “University” from riot damage. Students have already been identified as the “enemy”.

  40. Schwimmer sympathizer 07/12/2014

    Poor David Schwimmer is on there twice. Does he really deserve twice as many dicks as Osama Bin Laden?

  41. theyRafraid 07/12/2014

    A few things here-the response from uo is about mitigating liability. This is also about administrators desperately trying to keep their jobs. Those contracts make people desperate and the entire response by uo smells of utter desperation. This is never about doing the right thing. It is all about self preservation. Instead of head high and marching on by doing the right thing-which is to fire the lieutenant and officer/officers involved with this list-instead they are circling the wagons and trying to downplay something that will fracture the community trust with uopd for years now. The president needs to be a leader and show us all that he is willing to do what is necessary to remedy this and show such demeaning acts by uopd will not be tolerated. I urge you all to contact the,president of,the school, the veep for finance and anyone else you can reach out to so this shameful unprofessional behavior does,not,happen again.

    • Gott Gutts? 07/12/2014

      Our President does not have the capacity to lead in the way you suggest. The jury is in on that one.

  42. North West Ern 07/12/2014

    Mcdermed: “…values” “…standards of behavior”. Not exactly the pillar of integrity.

  43. Andy Stahl 07/12/2014

    It takes a Professor of Criminology to understand that UO cops are the true victims who deserve protection and promotion.

  44. Bowl of .... 07/12/2014

    Bowl of Dicks could be a name for a post season football game. Maybe even the “natty.”
    Think of the potential sponsors…. Koch brothers, Walmart, republican party, and many more.

  45. Should be writing...but 07/12/2014

    Andy, that’s a good one. I think you deserve the comment of the day.

  46. chuck 07/13/2014

    Somewhat off topic, but just how much more is the insurance premium going to increase once we get these folks guns? It isn’t that much of a tangent, there will be an increase, and is it a good idea to have students/public shoulder the cost of increased risk, given the quality of the people running around campus with guns?

      • chcuk 07/14/2014

        He didn’t give you an answer because he’ll say something you don’t want to hear. LEO’s carried six single shot revolvers forever, mainly because they’re reliable, and insurance companies would jack up cost. LAPD had been hot for semis and automatics, but only after that weird North Hollywood shootout, did they get them. And their premiums went way up, as will be the case with U of O.

        No reason exists for a uni PD to have guns, and sure as hell none for them to have semi’s. A lot of small town LEO’s don’t have anything more than single shot revolvers, they simply don’t have the type of crime that requires elevated firepower. And it sure is hell is true at U of O, what does JH expect, some massive on campus crime wave, with Uzi toting thugs on the loose?

        • the "johnson" hall list 07/15/2014

          Considering the constant barrage of stupidity emanating from UO administrators in Johnson Hall (Johnson by the way is a euphemism for “penis”), I suspect they feel the need for fire power to protect themselves.

  47. Visitor 07/13/2014

    Look, there are a ton of great people at Oregon, but as an institution you are done. Cooked. The publicity your university generates about itself is peerlessly horrible. And for a reason–your institution is sick. Your new board should fire the entire administration and ask a team of respected senior faculty to run the university on an emergency basis, until you can pull out of this slide.

    • Anonymous 07/14/2014

      Until that publicity generates national interest (or scorn, or intrigue), this behavior shall continue unabated.

      The new board has not bothered to comment publicly this far and that makes me think the board has absolutely zero interest in the matter.

    • california alum 07/15/2014

      guy with an oregon hat at california supermarket

      so asked him

      “what year are you?”

      “oh I didn’t go there but my daughter is”

      “too bad, Phil Knight has created a real cesspool at Oregon”

      “yeah, but everybody goes thru a rough patch now and again”

      “but it seems to be chronic in eugene”

      • Anas Clypeata 07/16/2014

        Sorry, no chronic in Eugene. We smoked it all.

  48. Gottfreudenschade 07/14/2014

    I’m sorry but this is obviously a simple misunderstanding: UO PD hoped to create a heavy-hitting boy band called “Bowl of Dicks” as part of their outreach to the UO community’s troubled youth. The people listed are noted musicians and/or have amazing glam-appeal. The fact that Mr. Cleavenger outed the list was purely sour grapes (he’s pitchy). I certainly don’t see what all the hubbub is about.

  49. Anonymous 07/14/2014

    KVAL News (CBS) is going to run this as the lead story on tonight’s (Monday 7/14) news at 6pm.

  50. Horse 07/14/2014

    has left the barn, Jens.

  51. Anonymous 07/15/2014

    So if UOPD was made aware of the list in November of 2013 (according to the court document timestamps), why is KVAL reporting that UO didn’t bother to get a copy of the list until May of 2014? Even more surprising, why would UOPD brag that some names were missing from May version of the list? Or is that part of the joke too?

  52. UO faculty member 07/15/2014

    When will we take back control of our University? Athletics overspending. Academics poorly supported. Administrators increasing their own salary time and again. Class sizes continue to rise. Faculty and staff salaries going backwards in real dollars. NTTF/TTF ratio increasing dramatically. Non-stop tuition increases. Public scandals every other month. No administrative accountability. Isn’t it finally time to have the Senate discuss and vote on a motion of no confidence in Gottfredson?

    • Pollyanna 07/15/2014

      Right, the things on your list worry me much more than UOPD bowl of dicks list. Although the latter IS symptomatic.

  53. Old Man 07/15/2014

    In response to “chcuk”: I think Gypsy nailed it when he/she said that the police (everywhere, not just UO) are militarizing in anticipation of riots provoked by the abusive wealth disparity.that results from unregulated capitalism.

    • uomatters Post author | 07/15/2014

      Actually, I’d say the growing wealth disparity has at least as much to do with the capture of regulatory agencies by the people they are supposed to regulate. Look at the NCAA income distribution, for example. $0 for the players, millions for the coaches, all sanctioned by regulations.

  54. Old Man 07/15/2014

    Indeed, UOM, the obscene wealth disparity has rotted our democracy to its core.

    • dog 07/15/2014

      you mean democracy has a core in America?

      what is it?

  55. The Numbers 07/15/2014

    After hearing the UO’s “this was just a silly joke, it’s no big deal” reaction to the Bowl Of Dicks List, I decided to crunch the numbers and see:

    There are 133 actual people on the list the UO provided.*
    71 of those people are of protected classes under the law (racial minorities, women, or openly gay).
    71 of 133 is a majority (53%) of the people on the list.
    The largest single group was African Americans, with 35 (26%).

    Is primarily hating minorities “ok” and “just a joke” at the UO now?!

    *And this is based on the EDITED version that the UO released, which I’m sure was cleaned up after the lawsuit was filed.
    I wonder what the REAL numbers would have been??
    What a total disgrace!

  56. Anonymous 07/18/2014

    The list is going viral now, and anonymous Internet denizens seem to find it pretty funny.

    I maintain that it’s possible to find aspects of the list funny and also want everyone involved with this to be fired and banned from campus.

  57. Gott Gutts? 07/18/2014

    So, the same UOPD “leaders” that not so subtly revealed their biases with this list are the same ones that will investigate campus crimes such as this one:

    http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/07/eugene_police_investigate_swas.html#incart_related_stories

    Once again, Gottfredson has an opportunity to show real leadership – to demonstrate clearly what kind of campus culture he wants to create. He has failed by hiding behind strategic communicators who had these things to say about this childish behavior by those hired to protect us:

    “The list was not meant maliciously, it was not labeled with the vulgarity referred to in the court complaint, and was not a collection of ‘enemies,”

    WTF?!?! Not malicious? Just boys being boys? How do we have leaders that stand up and defend this?

    Then:

    “Local targets such as campus cyclists, the former police chief, contract campus security workers and two other former police department employees made up a small portion of the list and should be taken in the larger context”

    What larger context should we put this in? The logic is because these people make up a small portion of the list, we shouldn’t be worried about how these officers feel about these people – who they have to work with and perhaps protect at some point?

    Then we have the Police Chief saying she subsequently “reiterated the behavior standards for any employees of the department and made it clear that type of behavior is not tolerated in a professional setting,”

    So once again, don’t worry everyone, there’s no problem, see, we told them how to behave and this behavior isn’t tolerated. Except, apparently it is BECAUSE IT HAPPENED AND NO ONE DID ANYTHING!

    This is what you get when strategic communicators and lawyers are in charge – nonsense press releases that sound nice but no solutions to real problems.

    Board of Trustees – are you watching? I hope so because what this campus desperately needs is bold, courageous leadership. We cannot achieve all those lofty goals being tossed around in our new “mission statement” with a “leader” that hides behind lawyers and strategic communicators instead of authentically engaging with the community and acting decisively and quickly.

    Something tells me “The Hat” would have had a very different response to all that has happened lately.

    • Anonymous 07/18/2014

      The Hat? That salesman? Forget what you perceived of the past.

  58. charles 07/18/2014

    I am confused.
    1. How did you obtain this picture?
    2. Where is this item – it surely is not at UOPD office. Where is it?

    • GTFmeASAP 07/18/2014

      Rumor has it the bowl resides in JH and there are a variety of rituals involving it……it is rumored to play a role in seeking good juju with the Gods before press conferences, senate meetings, board meetings, negotiations, etc….

      • nom 07/18/2014

        Juju and the other gods are amused over your idea of humor. The dog days of summer are definitely here now.

        Is there a way to un-see that, uh, bowl? I’d like those seconds back.

  59. jackpot 07/19/2014

    The Oregonian published the document prepared by Richard L. Ahearn who was the arbitrator on the labor grievance filed by Mr. Cleavenger in addition to this civil suit.
    http://media.oregonlive.com/education_impact/other/Arbitration%20Award.pdf

    The letter is dated February 24, 2014. Mr. Cleavenger was at that time and still is employed as a law clerk for US District Judge Michael McShane.

    Why did the Mr. Ahearn reinstated Mr. Cleavenger at UOPD when Mr. Cleavenger now works providing legal analysis to Federal Judge McShane?
    http://www.ord.uscourts.gov/index.php/our-judges/judge-mcshane

    • uomatters Post author | 07/21/2014

      Presumably UO was ordered to reinstate him because the arbitrator concluded that Cleavenger’s retaliation claim against UO was valid. Maybe the fact that he’s found other employment (as a federal law clerk, no less – talk about a step up!) will reduce the amount of back pay UO has to give him. I don’t know, I’m not a labor lawyer. Anyone?

  60. Old Grey Mare 07/19/2014

    Oh come on. You all know that it was really just a typo: bowl of ducks.

    • Anonymous 07/19/2014

      So … you’re saying that bowl bites back? Yikes.

  61. brockchad 07/20/2014

    Is anyone aware that the uopd has a policy regulating the bringing of unwanted negative attention to the department and that anyone who does so is subject to being terminated? Sounds like those involved in this list would be subject to such a policy, no?

    • you! 07/20/2014

      brockchad you just made the list!

    • Anonymous 07/20/2014

      Just the unwanted negative attention?

  62. marvin 07/20/2014

    Is there a way to un-see that, uh, bowl? I’d like those seconds back.

    uomatters broke this story. the rg picked it up. then harbaugh and rg obtained and disseminated the list. then harbaugh obtains a picture of the bucket and posts it on his site.

    Anyone who would “like those seconds” back has uomatters to thank.

    WHERE IS THE BOWL LOCATED?

    • uomatters Post author | 07/20/2014

      The exact location of the bowl is exempt from disclosure under Oregon Public Records Law, in order to encourage “frank communication between officials”.

      http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/192.502

      • Anonymous 07/20/2014

        he he he – you said “frank”

    • nom 07/20/2014

      There’s no way to fool you, marvin. ;) Let us know when you find “the bowl”, yes?

    • one eyed pinhead 07/21/2014

      Willem-Alexander knows it, I know it, Bill (XXXXXXXX) probably knows it … you – don’t??? Where’s your culture, man?

      It’s (not in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art but) in the War-Room in UO’s Hatfield-Dowlin Complex – smack-dab center on the conference table. By the way it’s on loan from the XXXXXXXX XXX XXXXXX and will be returned as soon as the AD refuses to take subsidies from the UO academic budget. XXX … [Ed: Redacted to prevent release of strategic frank communications]

  63. anonymous 07/21/2014

    Does the UO really intend on continuing with a police administration that fosters a culture of behavior like this. Such tolerance for this type of behavior in law enforcement leads to more intolerance for the public that pays for the alleged security that is to be provided. Community leaders that protect their administrators in positions like the “chief” or other cronies, maybe counting on their help to coverup more serious problems. The UO media spin “masters” are showing nothing but contempt for the campus community by laughing this off.

    • Gott Gutts? 07/21/2014

      Wait. Didn’t you see the press release – they don’t tolerate this type of behavior and told the officers. It’s all fixed!

  64. Anonymous 07/24/2014

    “Just’a good ol’ boys
    Never meanin’ no harm.
    Beats all you never saw
    Been in trouble with the law
    Since the day they was born”

  65. < Need a lawyer 07/24/2014

    Is there a possibility of a class action? On UOM I have heard of a long history of retaliation and coverup. In this case it sounds like a couple of people were coerced into really bad settlements, probably on threat of retaliation. Then the perpetrators were given advancement, wage increases, protection and backing for their transgressions that still continue, which still continues to this day.

    This does not sound like a safe environment to work.

  66. tick-tock 07/24/2014

    Does our new board know that in the next couple of weeks Gott needs to announce his retirement effective the end of next school year so that we have a chance of finding someone good?

    UOM, can you hold an open thread discussing and proposing options for our new president? I vote for Ed Ray at OSU but I doubt he would come.

    • uomatters Post author | 07/24/2014

      Scott Coltrane will make an excellent interim president, so I don’t think the timing is that important.

      But it would be so much easier if some other university was willing to take Gottfredson off our hands. Eastern Oregon is hiring, but that’s a stretch for him at this point. How about Gabon’s Omar Bongo University? http://www.uob.ga/

      The UO Senate is scheduled to take up Gottfredson’s no-confidence vote in the fall: http://senate.uoregon.edu/content/uo-senate-resolution-no-confidence

      I’m going to move to amend that to set up a committee to write him a boffo letter of recommendation, and translate it into as many languages as possible. We’ve got plenty of volunteers from the faculty, staff, administration, and students, but I think Uzbek is still open. http://nuu.uz/

  67. JB 08/23/2014

    Wow, UO Matters redacted names?!?! Voluntarily?!?! Weren’t they just screaming about the fact that departments around the University do that and shouldn’t be allowed to? I see that the four that signed it are more than willing to stand up and support a former officer. Yet their names are being kept off something they willingly signed, knowing full well it would be made public? Guess UO Matters follows the rule of “do what I say, not what I do.” Next time, just color code the redactions, it’s more fun trying to guess what each color means.

    • Got Guts! 08/24/2014

      I think UOM states he did not redact the names to hide anything. These true Americans signed a letter that became public record in a court case.

      I commend these people and wish there were more like them at the UO. We could clean our school before the new students this year have time to drop out.

  68. Anonymous UO Alum 08/23/2014

    I bet the folks over in Dave Hubin’s UO Records office and in
    the GC’s office couldn’t stop laughing on these UOM redactions!

  69. Pollyanna 08/24/2014

    Important difference: JH redacts to protect itself and conceal information about the UO administration. Unless UOM signed that letter, the redaction wasn’t self-serving.

    • uomatters Post author | 08/24/2014

      My law enforcement experience is not on the policing side.

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