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PPB employee, husband charged in 2021 homicide near Providence Park

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Almost two years after the April 2021 homicide of Jack Dekker in the Goose Hollow Neighborhood, Portland police arrested two suspects involved in the case on Friday – including a woman who has worked for the Portland Police Bureau for 28 years.

This week, a grand jury indicted 38-year-old Bruce Chirre and his 53-year-old spouse Karen S. Chirre, whom PPB says “has been on administrative leave since April 2021 during a pending internal investigation.”

In 2021, a Portland Fire and Rescue crew was alerted about a dead body on a sidewalk, and when police responded to SW Morrison Street and SW 20th Avenue, they confirmed that Dekker was dead at 58.

The cause of Dekker’s death remained unknown until a medical examiner determined that Dekker’s cause of death was homicidal violence.

Bruce is facing charges for first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence.

Karen was indicted on charges of three counts of hindering prosecution, first-degree official misconduct and tampering with physical evidence.

Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story said Jack Dekker died at 53. His family has since corrected the information sent by PPB, and the story has been updated to reflect his correct age.