Bend police chief candidates: 3 are within the department, 2 from elsewhere

Community input sought during interview, selection process

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The city of Bend announced Monday five candidates to be the next police chief and invited community input this week in the process of choosing the successor to retiring Chief Jim Porter.

“Chief Porter began some incredible work engaging our community in active problem solving and providing the foundation for the Department’s diversity, equity and inclusion work,” said City Manager Eric King. “It will be important to continue that work in the department with strong leadership that understands our values and how to support both our officers and our increasingly diverse Bend community.”

As part of the selection process, King will host a virtual community stakeholder town hall on Thursday afternoon. The town hall is an opportunity for candidates to introduce themselves to community stakeholders and participate in a moderated question-and-answer forum.

Representatives from these community groups were invited to participate in the town hall as stakeholders:

• Abilitree
• Allyship in Action
• Bend 2030
• Central Oregon Black Leaders Assembly
• Central Oregon Council on Aging
• Central Oregon Diversity Project
• Central Oregon Latino Partnership Program
• Central Oregon Veterans Outreach
• COCC AfroCentric Studies Club
• COCC Criminal Justice Program
• COCC Native American Student Program
• Embrace Bend
• Homeless Leadership Coalition
• Human Dignity Coalition
• Inclusive Innovation Initiative (I3)
• Latino Community Association
• Legal Aid Services of Oregon
• Mecca Bend
• Mosaic Medical
• Neighborhood Leadership Alliance
• NeighborImpact
• OUT Central Oregon
• Police Chief’s Advisory Group Community Members
• St. Charles Health System
• The Father's Group
• Thrive Central Oregon
• Various Central Oregon public safety representatives in policing, fire, rescue and emergency services
• Volunteers in Medicine

The city encouraged participants from the invited stakeholder community groups to solicit questions and input from their constituents for consideration to be included in the town hall.

Community Input

Recognizing the need for broader community input on the police chief candidates, the city is providing an opportunity for members of the Bend community to provide direct input on each of the five candidates.

The city will publicly post a captioned video recording of the virtual community stakeholder town hall on Friday at www.bendoregon.gov/police-chief.  

That webpage will also host a candidate feedback survey. Community members are invited to view the town hall video and complete the feedback survey. The survey will be the formal input process for the community to provide comments on the police chief candidates.

The webpage, a subtitled video and the feedback survey will be also be available in Spanish at www.bendoregon.gov/policia. Feedback surveys are due by 5 p.m. on Monday, June 22.

Chief of Police Candidates

The city is considering these five candidates for the chief of police position:

Lt. Brian Beekman

Brian Beekman is a 20-year law enforcement veteran, currently working as a Lieutenant with the Bend Police Department. Since 2013, Brian has championed the importance of first responder health and its relation to positive outcomes in the community. He was part of a team who proposed and implemented numerous nationally recognized public safety health programs. Brian leads the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team. During his tenure, the team has produced peaceful conclusions at high-risk incidents around the region. These results stem from an emphasis on using communication and de-escalation. Brian is committed to the Bend community and is a part-time women’s self-defense instructor at COCC. He volunteers at first responder family support events and with underserved community members. Brian is an innovator, most recently improving services and outreach by forming an electric bike patrol team. Brian is a graduate student at Portland State University studying Public Administration. 

Deputy Chief Paul Kansky

Paul Kansky is currently the Deputy Chief of Police for the Bend Police Department, overseeing operations. He has humbly served our community with excellence for 20 years in law enforcement with the City of Bend, and 27 years in the field overall. Paul had previously served with Bend Police Department as the Commander of the regional tactical and narcotics teams, and in executive leadership positions as the Division Commander of the Investigations and Patrol Divisions. These positions provided him with an excellent understanding of organizational change management, inter-department collaboration, budgeting and information technology applications in Bend’s business model.

Paul embraces and respects experiences of others and seeks collaboration, which has led to positive partnerships, teams and trusted relationships within the department, community, city, region, state and nation.

Paul holds a B.S. Degree in Business Administration-Management, Executive Level LE Certificate and is a graduate of the FBI-National Academy.

Paul values time with his family, friends and volunteering in the community. He is a leader in the Bend Police Department exemplifying integrity, energy, passion, transparency, collaboration and inclusivity.

Assistant Chief of the Services Branch Mike Krantz

Mike Krantz, a 27 year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau, currently serving as the acting Assistant Chief of the Services Branch and is responsible for the business operations of the largest police department in the State of Oregon. Previously, he was the Commander of Central Precinct, where he led a team of over 160 sworn and 15 professional staff members in providing public safety to over 42 square miles in the heart of Portland. Mike is proven to be a collaborative and inclusive leader and has worked with the community to build a relationship of trust while co-producing many engagement opportunities, crime prevention and reduction efforts and policy reform.  Mike holds a BA in Public Policy and Administration from Western Oregon University is a graduate from the PERF Senior Management Institute for Police and holds an executive certificate from the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. 

Cmdr. Narcotics and Vice Unit Jason Lando

Now in his 21st year with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Jason has served at the rank of Commander since 2014. Between 2014 and 2019, Jason ran one of the city’s busiest and most diverse districts, where his focus was uniting police and community through unique initiatives designed in partnership with residents. In 2015, Jason and several colleagues established the Police Bureau’s Procedural Justice Unit. His team designed and implemented training in procedural justice, de-escalation, and implicit bias, and trained over 1,000 police officers over three years. The team now offers implicit bias training to community members. Jason previously worked assignments in patrol, undercover narcotics, SWAT and as a crisis negotiator. He possesses a master’s degree in legal studies and is a graduate of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership in Police Organizations. In his spare time, Jason volunteers as a Big Brother to 12 year-old Jayden, and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation and Foxwall EMS.

Capt. Nick Parker

Nick Parker is a trustworthy, authentic and transparent police leader with consistent expertise in upholding the highest values with an uncompromising commitment to the service to others. He strongly values and fosters diverse collaboration to enhance the safety and security of the Bend community. He is committed to the unique Bend way of life through engagement, listening, and having a broad-minded approach while supporting change to promote progressive police practices. Nick began his career with the Redmond Police Department in 1999, as a patrol officer. In 2003, he joined the Bend Police Department where he excelled as an officer, investigator and trainer. Over the last 10 years, he has outstanding performance in numerous supervisory and management positions throughout the organization. He is currently the Patrol Division Captain, where he is committed to fair and equitable policing.  Nick holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Portland State University.

All biographies were submitted by each candidate and have not been reviewed for accuracy.

Information about community input on the police chief candidates is available at bendoregon.gov/police-chief or in Spanish at www.bendoregon.gov/policia.