Wednesday, June 10, 2020 – Woodburn, OR – On June 8, 2020, the Woodburn Police Department (WPD) received information from a community member about concerns over social media postings allegedly made by a Woodburn Police Officer, assigned to the School Resource Officer (SRO) Unit.
Due to the urgency of the allegations, Woodburn Police Chief Jim Ferraris launched a personnel investigation into the matter on June 9th and reassigned the officer from the SRO program, placing the officer on administrative leave. “The information I read and saw is troubling and disturbing and we are committed to a full and transparent investigation,” said Chief Ferraris. “The content of the complaint does not reflect the values of the Woodburn Police Department, nor do we condone any violence as suggested from the information in the complaint.”
Chief Ferraris said the personnel investigation would be completed as swiftly as possible to get to the truth, determine the facts and make decisions about this matter.
Since school is out of session and until these matters are fully addressed and resolved, after consultation with Woodburn School District leadership, Chief Ferraris has suspended the Woodburn Police SRO program pending a review of the program and an opportunity to seek input from the community and school district partners.
