Portland police employee, husband arrested in connection with 2021 homicide

A Portland police bureau uniform patch

An administrative employee with the Portland Police Bureau and her husband have been arrested in connection with a 2021 homicide.

An administrative supervisor with the Portland Police Bureau and her husband have been arrested in connection with a 2021 homicide in the Goose Hollow neighborhood.

Jack Dekker, 58, was found dead on a sidewalk outside of Providence Park at about 1:40 a.m. Monday, April 5, 2021. A medical examiner determined the cause of death to be homicidal violence.

A grand jury indicted Bruce Chirre, 38, on charges of manslaughter, assault and tampering with physical evidence. Karen S. Chirre, 53, was indicted on three counts of hindering prosecution, official misconduct and tampering with physical evidence. They were both arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on Friday.

Karen Chirre has worked for the police bureau for 28 years. She has been on paid administrative leave since April 2021.

“Police personnel are held to a higher standard,” said Chief Chuck Lovell in a news release. “Any time it is alleged that a member of the Police Bureau has acted improperly, we owe it to our community to conduct a complete and thorough investigation. I want to thank the hard work of officers, detectives, criminalists, and other Bureau members for their work investigating this case.”

Police ask anyone with information about this case to contact Detective Jennifer Hertzler at Jennifer.Hertzler@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-1040 or Detective Rico Beniga at Rico.Beniga@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0457 and reference case number 21-90461.

— The Oregonian/OregonLive

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