Eugene police upset over handling of standoff

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Police officers in Eugene have taken steps to file a formal complaint over how the department handled a standoff with a potentially armed man.

The Register-Guard reports (http://bit.ly/2gqOgVd ) that the Eugene Police Employees’ Association submitted a letter to the city’s police auditor asking for a formal complaint to be filed against the department’s command staff.

The letter criticized the command staff’s decision to retreat during the Tuesday standoff, calling it “unethical, cowardly and irresponsible.”

The six-hour standoff with a convicted felon suspected of pointing a gun at his girlfriend and threatening to kill her ended abruptly Tuesday afternoon. Despite repeated loudspeaker announcements that officers weren’t going anywhere, Capt. Sam Kamkar says they decided to retreat because the suspect was not posing an active threat.

The suspect has not yet been arrested.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com