Portland City Council Candidate Eli Arnold Ranked Among Highest for Police Use of Force

Portland Officer and Council Candidate Eli Arnold Ranked Among Highest for Force Usage

Portland Police Bureau records place District 4 City Council candidate and officer Eli Arnold near the very top of law enforcement personnel regarding the frequency of physical force used against individuals. The figures, drawn from public police records and analyzed by the Portland Mercury, show that Arnold has reported using force 59 times since the Portland Police Bureau hired him in May 2017.

That tally places Arnold 14th highest out of 991 officers during that period. Arnold stands out as an outlier in the data. Only 12 other officers recorded between 50 and 59 uses of force, and just 13 officers reported 60 or more. Records show Arnold sat above the average number of reports every year between 2019 and 2024, with two specific years seeing a dramatic spike in his reported tactical interventions.

Spikes in 2021 and 2023

In 2021, Arnold recorded 18 separate use-of-force incidents, ranking him number one among all officers that year. That total was nearly five times the average calculated across the 465 officers who reported using force during the same 12-month period. Four other officers tied directly behind him, each logging 17 incidents. That year, Arnold split his lower-level interventions evenly, with eight instances of Category III and eight instances of Category IV force.

The NW Examiner’s plans for an authentic debate between the four serious contenders in City Council District 4 on Oct. 5 have been thwarted. The debate has been canceled.Ultimately, the decision was made after The Armory notified us that the only type of political event they…

— https://x.com/pdxmoderate/status/2105341691406455034

Portland Police Bureau directives categorize force by severity and the likelihood of injury. Category IV, otherwise called De Minimis Force, involves handcuffs or techniques unlikely to cause pain or injury.

In 2021, Arnold recorded two Category II incidents. One involved a 37-year-old Black man who faced a felony arrest after being reported as an unwanted person and resisting arrest in January. The second occurred in June, involving a 23-year-old white man who was reported to be on drugs, biting, and resisting handcuffs; that suspect sustained injuries and also faced felony arrest. By 2023, Arnold ranked fifth among all officers, logging 13 incidents, which consisted of six Category III uses and seven Category IV uses.

Assignment and Demographic Patterns

Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner explained that evaluating force data requires considering an officer’s assignment and the nature of the calls they handle. Arnold works primarily in the Central Precinct as a downtown bike patrol officer in Old Town, an area with high rates of homelessness. Benner noted that bike squad officers regularly observe crimes in progress and intervene immediately, leading to frequent encounters with fleeing suspects, active resistance, or individuals experiencing drug-related impairment.

Portland City Council Candidate Eli Arnold Ranked Among Highest for Police Use of Force

Data from the Portland Police Bureau use of force reporting dashboard indicates that 75 percent of Arnold’s reported uses of force targeted homeless people. Across racial demographics, Arnold used force against white residents 53 percent of the time and Black residents 39 percent of the time. Black residents make up just 8 percent of the county population at large, though Multnomah County Homeless Services Department data shows Black residents comprise 19 percent of the county’s homeless population.

Instagram

Arnold’s most common justification for force, making up 64 percent of his reports, was “controlled against resistance.” Furthermore, 42 percent of his total activity stemmed from perceiving drug use. Of his 59 total reported incidents, 51 concluded with an arrest, resulting in 19 felonies, 15 misdemeanors, and 17 warrants. Documentation from the state shows that Arnold fulfilled educational requirements regarding institutional racism and implicit bias in May 2021, completed coursework for engaging with unhoused community members in July 2022, underwent De Minimus force instruction in September 2024, and finished updated use of force instruction in December 2024.