Portland detective demoted for extensive personal use of police car

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A detective who used his take-home Portland police car extensively while off-duty and put thousands of extra miles on it has been demoted.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the demotion of Robert Norvell Hollins III to the rank of officer became effective Sept. 7 after an internal affairs investigation.

Portland Police Bureau Sgt. Brad Yakots says he’s now assigned to the bureau’s personnel division.

Hollins had retired from the Police Bureau on Sept. 29, 2017, but was rehired and continued to work as a detective under the bureau’s retire/rehire program. The rehiring runs for up to two years, so Hollins’ work is set to conclude at the end of this month.

Hollins’ extracurricular use of the city-owned unmarked car was discovered after it needed repairs because of the extra mileage, sources told the newspaper.

The Police Bureau prohibits the personal use of city-owned cars.