EPD officer resigns after release of racist recording; police auditor continues investigation

by Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner

Today, our community saw body camera footage involving one of our officers using racist and deeply offensive language. I want to address the people of Eugene directly and speak plainly about what occurred.

What was said in that video is unacceptable. It was wrong, disrespectful, and completely inconsistent with the values of the Eugene Police Department. There is no excuse for racist remarks from anyone who wears this badge.

As chief of police, I am angry, disappointed, and deeply concerned about the harm this has caused – especially to members of communities who already carry distrust and pain when it comes to law enforcement. Every person in Eugene deserves to be treated with dignity, fairness, and respect, regardless of race, background, or circumstance.

I want the community to know that the officer involved resigned from the Eugene Police Department today. Effective immediately, they are no longer employed by this agency.

But I also understand this community expects more than words and more than a resignation. Accountability must be real, and trust must be earned through action. We will continue reviewing our policies, training, supervision, and culture to ensure this kind of conduct is never tolerated inside this department.

The actions of one officer do not represent the men and women of this department who serve honorably every day, but we also cannot dismiss the seriousness of what happened. When an officer speaks with hate or prejudice, it damages the trust this department works hard to build with the community we serve.

To the residents of Eugene: we hear your outrage. We hear your disappointment. And we accept the responsibility to do better.

The Eugene Police Department remains committed to professional policing, transparency, accountability, and equal treatment under the law for every member of our community.

by Independent Police Auditor Craig Renetzky

The office of the city of Eugene’s independent police auditor became aware of a video circulating on social media on May 9, 2026 at 11:32 a.m. The video was described as containing comments that were racist in nature.

I immediately launched a preliminary investigation into the incident. I then watched the social media video and then, within an hour of hearing the comments, I reached out to the Police Department and requested the body-worn video and asked them to identify any EPD officers involved. The video contained comments that were highly offensive, racist in their nature, and simply put, disgusting.

The independent police auditor can, and in this instance, immediately planned to start the process of initiating a complaint and allegation of misconduct against any EPD employees involved in the case without waiting for a public complaint about the incident.

Even though I was prepared to bring allegations of misconduct, within hours of my learning about the incident, I was notified that the officer tendered their resignation. This occurred at 2:24 p.m.

Since we are only authorized to bring allegations of misconduct against employees of the EPD and the identified officer resigned from the department, we can no longer bring allegations of misconduct against that officer.

However, this will not end our investigation into the matter. We will continue with our preliminary investigation to ensure that none of the other voices heard on the video are EPD employees. If we identify any other EPD employees who are involved in this incident, we will bring allegations against them as warranted.

The police auditor reports directly to, and is funded by, the Eugene City Council. The office is an independent, civilian entity performing oversight of the Eugene Police Department; neither our funding nor management overlap with EPD. No employee of the independent police auditor’s office is an employee of the EPD.

I encourage anyone who becomes aware of any misconduct by the EPD to submit that information to our office so that we can investigate. You may submit information in person, over the phone, by mail, or via our online portal.

It is through this process that the city of Eugene has a robust independent oversight of the EPD. We will provide regular updates to the public about this incident on our webpage.