Police seek more presence at Hillsboro and other stops

By Jim Redden

The Forest Grove News-Times, Dec 5, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Hillsboro Police spokesman Lt. Michael Rouches says he’d like to see increased MAX patrols at all nine stations in Hillsboro.

So far this year, Hillsboro police have responded to an average of 240 to 250 incidents a month at the stations. The Willow Creek/185th Avenue Station is the most troublesome one, racking up more than 1,582 responses so far this year.

“They include fights, drug dealing, drug use, car prowls, you name it,” Rouches said.

Hansen called the summits after 71-year-old Laurie Lee Chilcote was beaten Nov. 3 by a 15-year-old suspected gang member at a Gresham MAX station. Although the attack sparked public debate about crime and safety along the MAX line, local law enforcement agencies have been discussing the issue among themselves for years.

Two days before the attack, Bishop had sent Hansen a letter saying agencies in Clackamas and Washington counties had tentatively agreed to form a westside patrol division. The day before the attack, Bemis announced that his police would begin patrolling the MAX line within the Gresham city limits.

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