An administrative employee for the Portland Police Bureau is facing criminal charges for allegedly hindering the prosecution of her husband on manslaughter charges.
In a statement Friday, the bureau said police have arrested 38-year-old Bruce Chirre for the 2021 killing of Jack Dekker in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood. Chirre faces charges of first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and tampering with evidence.
On April 5, 2021, residents in the area of Southwest Morrison Street and Southwest 20th Avenue — the location of Providence Park — flagged down firefighters who were near the area and alerted them to a dead person on a sidewalk nearby. Police later identified that person as Dekker.
Initial court records do not indicate how police linked Chirre to the killing.
Bruce Chirre’s wife, 53-year-old Karen Chirre, is also facing charges of first degree official misconduct and tampering with physical evidence.
Karen Chirre has worked for the Portland Police Bureau for 28 years, and has been on leave from her administrative position at the East Precinct since April of 2021. Until her leave, Chirre worked as an administrative supervisor in the bureau’s East Precinct.
Court records say shortly after the killing, both Chirres took action to “destroy, mutilate, alter, conceal and remove physical evidence” that could have led to a prosecution.
“Police personnel are held to a higher standard,” Police Chief Chuck Lovell said in a written statement. “Any time it is alleged that a member of the Police Bureau has acted improperly, we owe it to our community to conduct a complete and thorough investigation. I want to thank the hard work of officers, detectives, criminalists, and other Bureau members for their work investigating this case.”
The Chirres are each scheduled for an arraignment in Multnomah County court Monday morning.