Officers will be unarmed at Portland State University

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland State University says its police officers will start patrolling campus unarmed by Sept. 1.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the university had said it would make that change in 2020, but it was unable to meet that goal.

The first announcement of disarming officers on PSU’s campus came about two years after university police fatally shot Jason Washington, a Black man who was reportedly attempting to break up a fight.

PSU President Stephen Percy wrote in a message to the campus community that Campus Public Safety Chief Willie Halliburton has committed to beginning unarmed campus patrols before the start of the fall term.