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Michael Dunne: I'm Michael Dunne it's a story that shocked both residents and police officers themselves. A patrolman for Eugene police was caught on tape making racist remarks towards African Americans. Today on the show KLC sees Brian ball brings us the latest in this disturbing story and the aftermath of the investigation. Then college quarterbacks did not want to see Star, Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux lined up across from them back in the day. Now, however, quarterbacks and other football players around the country are glad to see him as he's crisscrossing the nation providing financial guidance about how best to manage the new landscape of n i l money, and finally, our own. Nathan Wilke brings us an interview with the retiring head of the Springfield utility board. Brian Bull, reporter for us here at KLCC, Brian, it's always great to see you. Thanks for coming in.
Brian Bull: A pleasure Michael, thanks for having me on.
Dunne: You've been covering this story since it began of a Eugene police officer caught making racist comments. Just remind folks what happened, what he said, how this all came about.
Bull: Sure. Well over the weekend, on the late morning of March, 9, a YouTube account. Tim Lewis's account, I should say, posted a four-minute clip that had been edited that showed a conversation between a Eugene police officer speaking to someone on a cell phone. So, he is cruising about in the downtown area. I believe he is circling the federal building because the date of the recording was made from his body count body-cam on January 30, which was the night that the protests were declared a riot by EPD. And so, you hear him having a conversation with someone else on the other side of the phone, and the conversation gets pretty Randy. It gets very super casual, joking on subjects of domestic violence, abusive colleagues that they have. And then, of course, how great it is to see these protesters getting gassed. And there at the end of the clip, he makes a reference to black people in a very stereotypical way that I will not repeat on air.
Dunne: Okay, okay, so this happened, remind folks too. It sounded like this particular officer, he probably knew he was in trouble, and what action did he take?
Bull: Yeah. So, the video was posted to Tim Lewis's YouTube account at roughly 1130 in the morning, and then about around 222 30, Martin Siller is the name of the officer apparently came into Eugene public Eugene police headquarters and gave them his gun, his badge, his proxy card, and just left as quickly as he had arrived. And so, when the Eugene police chief Skinner had described the controversy, he said that one of the big bits of misinformation out there was that they allowed Siller to resign. He said, given the speed and nature of what they call a self-select out in police terms, Siller came in just shortly after that video was posted, just left, abruptly, gave up all his, you know, basically accouterments of being an employee of EPD. And that was it.
Dunne: And I know in the course of your coverage, you've recorded some sound from Chief Skinner. I want to talk a little bit about that, and you're going to play this clip, because obviously the chief had to respond to this. Let's listen to that clip, and then I'm gonna ask you some questions when we come out of it.
Chief Skinner: I would hope that we all could take a moment and exercise some complex and thoughtful analysis, understanding that the actions of a single individual that's depicted in this in this video is not a reflection of the entirety of the organization, certainly not a reflection of its leadership, and not a reflection of the men and women that serve this community every single day. So, I would, I would just ask people to continue to be mindful of making sure that we don't paint with a broad brush the entirety of this organization based on the idiocy of one individual.
Dunne: So, take it from there. Brian, in terms of what you heard.
Bull: I heard the head of Eugene PD Chief Skinner was very quick to act in damage control. The original poster of the video Tim Lewis had promised a press conference sometime this same week. And I think this may have been the EPDs way to kind of get ahead of that control a bit of the narrative. And they not only shared a longer 23 minutes video of Officer Stiller making these remarks and carrying on and doing sharing all this offensive commentary, but they also shared a clip from earlier in the day, also from January 30, about roughly 14 minutes, where officer Siller is kind of doing a lot of self-talk, and he's listening to a talk radio program or a podcast where they are attacking Don Lemon and a protest that he led in a church. And so he's kind of Officer Siller sounds very fired up, and he's talking back at the radio, and he makes some very unusual comments about only supporting left handed Somalis and all these other things that really kind of paint a very ugly picture for people who have heard of this video, the outrage has been huge because someone I kind of follow the comments thread sometimes in Facebook and other places, some people are like, Oh, gee, well, you know, so and so is a standup comedian. They say this stuff, they got their own Netflix special. And it's like, well, yeah, and standup comedians are not paid protectors of communities and upholders of the law. Sure, you know, one is entertainment. You could use that term loosely in terms of commentary like this, but for a sworn officer of the law who's there to protect communities, it's a very disturbing account, because you don't want to think that people who are carrying a badge and a firearm and trusted with enforcing the laws have these attitudes and beliefs about minorities, blacks and other people.
Dunne: Yeah, and of course, initially we didn't know who the officer was. Then the chief made that public. What do we know about this officer?
Bull: So, the officer's name is Martin Siller, and according to the police chief at the conference I went to he had been just over seven years with the Eugene Police Department, and previous to that, he was with the West Valley City police departments in Utah, okay, for 20 years.
Dunne: So certainly not a rookie, by any stretch of the imagination.
Bull: Not a rookie, and not a lot in his background that suggested that he was prone to this type of commentary. So yeah, they said they did an extensive background search, but yeah, they not uncovered anything except for maybe an unfinished report here and there, and maybe a traffic violation, but nothing that spoke to the egregious nature of this commentary.
Dunne: Another party in this drama is what some people may know is Eugene has a police auditor, and just generally speaking, what did the police auditor say about this? And also, if you could, Brian, because I think some people may not know what the auditor does.
Bull: Yeah, I'll get the easy one out of the way. First, a police auditor is an independent operator. They basically are an overseer, an ombudsman of the police departments. They have no connection or direct tie. They don't answer to anyone in the police force. They basically make sure that they're complying with the law. They're working to demonstrate good ethics and professionalism. And this auditor, Craig Radinsky, I'm trying to remember when he began. I worked a lot with this predecessor, Mark Gissiner , for many years, but Craig Renetzky was there at the same conference as chief Skinner, and one of the things he mentioned was that even though officer Siller resigned right away, they couldn't hold him to account, because they can only do so against active members of the police force. But he said that they are probing and looking into the culture that may have allowed this, or, you know, the permeated through the ranks, and so bias training was suggested. And he also wanted to make sure, too, that as he listened and reviewed the video and questioned, that he wanted to assure people in the community that no other Eugene police officers were named or in that conversation, from his determination, it sounds like officer Siller was talking to one of his previous colleagues from the Utah police.
Dunne: I see, I see, well, it's a very disturbing story. Really appreciate your coverage of it. Brian, it's always great to talk with you. Thanks so much for coming in.
Bull: Always a pleasure. Michael, thank you.
Dunne: Oregon great Kayvon Thibodeaux is spending his off-season helping college football players better understand the financial opportunities before them. We caught up outside the duck practice facility right after he talked to the Oregon team former all-American defense. Event at the University of Oregon and first round draft pick of the New York Giants, Kayvon Thibodeaux. Kayvon, thanks so much for speaking with us.
Kayvon Thibodeaux: Thank you for having me.
Dunne: You know, it's the NFL off season. You could be on vacation right now, but you're doing this. Why? Why did you want to do this?
Thibodeaux: You know, being here at Oregon and being able to just be a vessel and be a resource to the upcoming athletes is something that I take pride in. You know, I think when you are blessed with information and people who believe in you and are willing to give you the knowledge, it's up to you and to give it to the next generation.
Dunne: So, when you were a star here at the University of Oregon and NIL. was kind of new. What were your experiences like and how have you imparted that to people that you're meeting with, to college athletes you're meeting with now?
Thibodeaux: So yeah, I think, you know, when looking back on my NIL experience, I was one of the first guys to receive an IO, I think when I at that time, you know, we definitely said more no's than yeses. I wanted to align myself with who I was going to be in the future, not necessarily who I was at that moment. And I had a plan. You know, when we looked at the deals we did, I think I did United, I did a deal with Phil Knight, I did a deal with Beats and for me, and I said no to a lot of deals as well, and we're not going to speak on those. But I think the best part about it was just knowing that, hey, my end goal is the NFL, and I want to align myself with the brands that are going to be the brands that I'm aligned with while I'm in the NFL.
Dunne: When you're talking to these college football players, you know, what are some of the questions they're asking you? Because obviously, you were kind of a pioneer in this.
Thibodeaux: I would say, how to build relationships. You know, this is a very tech savvy world where everybody's connected, but no one's really building relationships. So, a lot of guys don't know how to find trust within people that they pay or find, you know, experts that can help them get the knowledge they need. So, yeah, they're asking, you know, how to build those relationships, how to cultivate, you know, business working relationships that allow you to, you know, get the marketing deals that allow you to put yourself out there. So, I've just been able to shed light on the things that I've been practicing and doing, to just equip myself with the tools and the necessary things to have these deals.
Dunne: Most people probably don't realize what kind of a time commitment it takes for an athlete such as yourself doing major college football. How were you able to do all of your football commitments and still be active with NIL?
Thibodeaux: I think, you know, it goes back to having a good team around you. You have to have experts be experts. So, if you have a marketing agent, a manager, you know, you got to let those people handle it. And then two, I think it was understanding that I'm a businessman, you know, and that I find joy and happiness and cultivating deals and getting things done and creating things and seeing them through. So, for me, during through college, it was easy for me to want to gain the knowledge and to have the thirst for more, because I was always curious, you know, and I just, I wanted to, instead of in my free time, I learned, instead of playing games or just mindless free time. So I think, you know, for athletes, we just got to continue to build a culture around education, a culture around finance, and start just having those conversations a little bit more.
Dunne: You succeeded in college football. You're succeeding in the NFL, what are maybe the top three or five lessons that you want to impart to someone such as yourself, who's in college right now, who's looking to enter the league?
Thibodeaux: I would say, first, have a plan. You know you can't you can't get in a car without knowing where you're going. First, so make sure you know where you're going and what your goals are. Second, I would say, be self-aware. Know, know where you are, be where your feet are, understand your situation, your circumstance, in relation to football, education, you know, the classroom, whatever it is, just know where you stand. You know, in finance, I would say you can't outspend bad you can't out invest bad spending habits, you know, so no matter how much you try to invest, you got to just manage a budget man, learn how to live within your means and live, you know, with, with the lifestyle that that you want long term, not just the instant gratification.
Dunne: Have you been also talking to these athletes about how to avoid some of the pitfalls of suddenly becoming quite wealthy quickly?
Thibodeaux: Yeah, and I would say, you know, some of the pitfalls are just not being able to call on your expertise or knowledge. Like, when you get all this money and you don't have the wherewithal to know what to do with it, we all kind of fall victim to the outside world and everybody else's opinions. So, like, think of it. You know, from a sports perspective, it's like going into a game without a game plan. Now you got all the fans telling you what you should and should not do, but for those teams that have that concrete game plan, they can go in with the belief that they're going to win.
Dunne: And you're the only active player on the JP Morgan Chase Athlete Council, what is that? What is it? What does it have you? What are you doing with that?
Thibodeaux: So the JP Morgan Athlete Council, it was just first. It was a blessing to be a part of it. Being the only active player and being in the room with highest level athletes around the world. I mean, it's an opportunity that I wouldn't pass up. But I think you know, the best part about being a part of it is being with a bunch of likeminded people who have received knowledge at the highest level and are willing and ready to give that knowledge to the next generation and to the communities. And I think you know, for us, there is a big community, you know, around sports, and I think it's up to the athletes themselves and the retired athletes and the former athletes to guide that culture and to make sure that, you know, we do things you know the way they should be done, not necessarily how they were before, but just continuing to evolve in the athlete space.
Dunne: Kayvon Thibodeaux, superstar athlete at the University of Oregon. Thank you so much for talking with us.
Thibodeaux Thank you.
Dunne: Now we're going to bring you an earlier interview that our own, Nathan Wilk recently conducted with Jeff Nelson. Nelson has been with Springfield's utility board for 30 years and its general manager since 2012 he was there two years ago when a devastating ice storm hit the region, leaving many without power. Nelson now plans to retire at the end of June.
Nathan Wilk: What does the general manager at sub actually do? What are your responsibilities?
Jeff Nelson: Sure, I'm the board's employee and then I'm responsible for the organization beyond that. So I interface with the electeds. I work with Team Springfield. I'm both an internal operational manager, and I have the opportunity if somebody wants to appeal, say they disagree with Bill and they feel like there's an error in how it was determined, then they can go through an appeal process, and ultimately the appeal could come to me.
Wilk: According to census estimates, Springfield gained more than 1700 residents between 2010 and 2024 How has the demand for utilities and the pressure on the grid changed over the time you've been at SUB?
Nelson: we look out in generations in terms of infrastructure. So, our long-term view is decades, and we're looking at trends over the long term and how to meet the larger needs of the community. When I started in 2012, I wanted to move forward with a plan to acquire properties to build out the infrastructure that we needed for our existing customers and the customers of the future. And so, sub went on a purchasing transition and acquired properties. We had plans for all kinds of infrastructure, but we had no locations for those that infrastructure in the pandemic period of time. And as you mentioned, we've had some growth in the community. We had a real spike in requests for new service connections for electric and water. Our teams did a great job responding to those requests. It comes in cycles, but in terms of what we've seen over the decades, sub's always been able to ebb and flow and respond to these waves of development.
Wilk: Is there more infrastructure that needs to be built in the future?
Nelson: So, there's some things that have been in the hopper for a long time, and infrastructure takes, in some cases, decades. So as an example, the Glenwood substation. It's a new substation. It's almost complete. That started in 2006 mid 2000s that was when we were reaching out to property owners working with the city on appropriate locations that a substation could fit within the city's vision for Glenwood. Since that time, we've been going through land use and engineering design and then construction. At this point, it looks like it won't be fully energized, potentially, until 2027 so these things take time.
Wilk: I want to switch gears here, Jeff and ask you about the ice storm. What was that experience like for you when that storm hit?
Nelson: It impacted Springfield really hard. It also impacted other communities, and it impacted our individual employees, our coworkers. But despite the fact that they were personally impacted. They showed up to deliver to provide as much attention and care and attempts to restore utility services and connect with our customers, because they care so much about Springfield and so that that was a moment where it was both really tough, but so rewarding to see my coworkers just step up and step into it and really try to help the community as best they could some outcomes, because we had some lessons learned. The board wanted to have an independent after-action report by a consultant. So that process went underway. We also did an internal after-action report. I would say that when the external after-action report was engaged and the consultant was initially brought on board, they raised the issue of how transparent Do you want this to be? Because they've seen in other communities where if, if it is too transparent, it can create some fallout. And I said, I want it to be fully transparent. I want it to be an authentic, real, deep assessment of how sub and its role as a utility provider could be better, because that's what Springfield deserves.
Wilk: You've alluded to it. What are some of the ways that the ice storm changed sub and its practices?
Nelson: I made sure that all of our coworkers, including myself, went through a incident command structure training, so everyone understands and uses the same vocabulary for how we're going to interact in the event of a disaster. Another area that we improved on is customer communications. So, we have expanded on those channels of communication in terms of activating additional resources. We also have engaged with the County, the City, other agencies. We have gone through tabletop exercise with the city of Springfield, for example, so both teams from the city and sub could get together and step through an emergency disaster virtually and then have a better understanding about how both sub and the city work together in that type of event.
Dunne: Jeff Nelson is the retiring general manager of the Springfield Utility Board, and he spoke recently with our own Nathan Wilk. That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon On The Record are available as a podcast at KLCC.org. Tomorrow on the show, Cascade Relief Team promised to help those after the Holiday Farm Fire, but the money never arrived, and now the state is suing its former leader. A Registered Guard. Reporter tells us this sordid story. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon On The Record, thanks for listening.
