Updated March 25, 2017, 5:30 p.m. PST: Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman has been placed on paid administrative leave, the mayor's office said late Friday.
Adjutant Lt. Michael Leasure — who worked in the administration branch alongside Marshman, according to the bureau's website — was also placed on paid leave.
Both were reassigned to the bureau's Personnel Division, pending the results of an investigation by the Independent Police Review.
Marshman released a statement Saturday evening saying he is "committed to full transparency so that everyone has access to the facts."
" processes apply to me as much as they do to every member of the Bureau," Marshman said. "Regardless of rank, everyone should be accountable and it starts with me."
Marshman's statement did not provide details related to the investigation.
"The nature of the investigation will not be released at this time," the release from Mayor Ted Wheeler's office said. "It is the Mayor's hope that the investigation will be expedited and that this matter will be resolved quickly."
Police Bureau spokesman Pete Simpson said he had only just learned the news himself and did not have any further information about why Marshman was placed on leave.
Wheeler has appointed Assistant Chief Chris Davis as acting chief.
Davis is the bureau’s assistant chief of services, in charge of the training and personnel division. He was promoted from captain to assistant chief on Dec. 29, 2016.
The mayor learned of the IPR investigation at the end of the business day Thursday, his office said, and spent Friday working through "administrative details."
On March 9, Capts. Kevin Modica and Derek Rodrigues were placed on paid leave. It's not clear whether the investigations are connected.
At the time, Marshman didn't say why the men are under investigation, but he did say it began under then Chief Larry O'Dea.
Marshman became police chief in June after O'Dea came under investigation for discharging a weapon during a hunting trip in eastern Oregon that injured his friend.
In general, the police bureau uses paid administrative leave in limited and serious circumstances. Those may include situations like officer-involved shootings and criminal indictments.
Earlier Friday, in response to a question at his state of the city address, Wheeler said he planned to launch a national search for a new police chief “next week.”
Some in the audience found it surprising that the mayor didn’t commend Marshman for his service or suggest publicly that he apply for the permanent position.
The question came from city club member Edward Hershey.
“Last year, in what many voters took to be a campaign promise, you said you would conduct a national search for a police chief,” Hersey told Wheeler. “In June, after you were elected, you reiterated that commitment."
Hersey continued: “And you invited Chief Marshman, who had just been appointed, to compete in that search. What status is that search in, and if it isn’t taking place, why hasn’t it taken place?”
“Campaign promises mean something," Wheeler said. "That’s one I intend to abide by.”
Wheeler said he would be releasing a "tremendous" amount of information about the search for a new police chief next week.
"But the bullet points are these,” Wheeler said. “It is moving forward. We will have a clear process that will be available to the public and that will happen next week.
"I’ve had several people on my staff focusing almost exclusively on that,” Wheeler said.
Updates
March 25, 2017, 5:30 p.m. PST: This story was updated to include a statement from Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman.
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