November 5, 2 0 0 8
Page A3
Foxworth Looks Back on 27-Year Career
Homegrown hero rose through the ranks
by C harity P rater
T he P ortland O bserver
Form er Portland Police C hief Derrick
Foxworth, a hom egrow n law enforce
ment hero and the police bureau’s only
second A frican Amqfican chief, has re
tired after a tum ultuous 27-year career.
Foxw orth earned many accolades
during his tenure in law enforcem ent for
w orking with people in the com m unity,
training and recruiting m ore African
A m ericans to the police force, and re
form ing bureau policy for the benefit of
Portland residents.
“I had a good career,” says Foxworth,
“ I feel fortunate and blessed to have
been able to work with the finest people
in the bureau and the com m unity.”
Foxw orth, 50, began police work on
Sept. 9,1981. The Benson High School
graduate first attended col lege as a busi
ness and m arketing major. A fter gradu
ating, he worked at US Bank for a year as
he took em ploym ent tests to work in the
police bureau.
His tenure as police chief ended in
controversy after being accused by a
police clerk o f sexual harassment, which
later led to his dem otion and much nega
tive publicity.
Foxworth Said the scandal was not
som ething he chooses to focus on, but
instead leaves the rem nants o f the con
troversy for the m edia to judge.
M ayorTom Potter dem oted Foxworth
from chief to captain in 2(X)6 after the
clerk, A ngelaO sw alt, accused Foxworth
o f sending her sexually explicit e-m ails
when he was com m ander o f the N orth
east Precinct.
Potter called F oxw orth’s actions a
"serious lapse in judgm ent” and replaced
him with current C hief Rosie Sizer.
Sizer then prom oted Foxworth to
com m ander o f the Southeast Precinct,
w here last week, he finished out his law
enforcem ent career.
“ Being dem oted strengthened my
faith in G od,” says Foxworth, “when
you get attacked you have to under
stand why and being an African A m eri
can in a leadership position makes you
more prone to accusations.”
A n o th e r e v e n t w h ich im p a cted
Foxworth occurred on January 16,1992
when an intruder broke into the north
east Portland house o f 12-year old
Nathan T hom as and took him hostage.
In the process o f the standoff, a police
officer accidentally shot the young boy.
“D uring that tim e, my son was the
sam e age as N athan,” says Foxworth,
“that event led to a lot o f changes in the
bureau and within m yself.”
T h ere w as an o th er ev en t w hich
Foxworth says he will never forget.
“There was an officer w ho was going
through some personal problems in 1996
or 1997 and he took his own life,” says
Foxworth, “ I kept asking m yself if 1 had
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P orti ani ) O bserver
Former Portland Police Chief Derrick Foxworth looks back on his 27-years
in law enforcement after retiring last week as commander o f the South
east Precinct.
m issed a sign.”
Foxworth says his career as a police
officer was rewarding mostly because he
was able to work with people in the com
munity and fellow citizens to improve the
city where he grew up. He worked mostly
in north and northeast neighborhoods as
a patrol officer, before advancing in the
bureau as an undercover officer in the
drug division, working in gang preven
tion and becoming the police bureau’s
public information officer.
A fter 27 years on the force, Foxworth
isn’t sure w hat he is going to do in his
Unwanted
Firearms
Discarded
retirement.
“ I d o n ’t have any plans. 1 think I’ll
just take some time off, get some projects
around the house done,” he says, “ I'v e
been w orking ever since I was a teen
ager so I’ll have to spend som e time
giving thought to future ideas.”
Foxworth is planning on relaxing and
reflecting on the past so he can clear his
head for the future. “I’m not quite sure
what to do next.”
At Fox w orth’s retirement celebration
last W ednesday, his colleagues, friends
and church goers thanked him for his
involvem ent in the com m unity and told
him he would be greatly missed.
Tyrone W aters, the son o f state Sen.
Avel G ordly, recalled how Foxworth
saved his life in 2001 by ordering those
under his com m and to fire only beanbag
rounds at him during an incident in
which he was clutching a sem i-auto
matic pistol. The pistol turned out to be
a pellet gun.
C hief Sizercalled Foxworth one of the
hardest-w orking officers on the force.
She said his legacy will be his deep
com m itm ent to the city and his ability to
maintain meaningful relationships with
residents.
Foxworth was quoted at the end of
the 90-m inute retirem ent celebration
saying, “1 feel good right now. I know I
can say 1 did m ake a difference through
out my career. I only w ant to be rem em
bered as som eone devoted to helping
oth ers.”
Jefferson Men’s
Academy to Close
The Portland School District will
close the John H. John Leadership
A ca d em y fo r Y o u n g M en at
Jefferson High School at the end of
this school year.
Toni Hunter, assistant superin
tendent of high schools, said low
enrollment prevented the academy
from fulfilling its mission. The pro
gram opened last fall but never ex
ceed 55 students and now serves
ju st 29 students in the seventh,
eighth and ninth grades, Hunter said.
The announcem ent o f its pend
ing closure was m ade M onday
during a special meeting with about
Portland Police Sgt. Tim Sessions (left)
and police cadet Jordan Houck collect
unwanted firearms from local residents
during the annual Ceasefire Oregon Gun
Turn-In last Saturday in southeast
Portland. The event raises awareness o f
the risks and responsibilities o f gun
ownership, including the importance o f
safe storage.
photo by M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
15 parents.
H unter and Jefferson Principal
Cynthia Harris promised to rebuild
trust with parents by supporting
families individually and make sure
each student has a smooth transi
tion into Jefferson.
The school district will continue
to operate its single-sex academy
for girls at Harriet Tubm an in north
Portland. The girls school as 180
stu d en ts.
Both program s opened lastyear
in an attempt to impro ve Jefferson’ s
academ ic standing and grow en
rollment.
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