Break Time — The Police Department’s West Eugene Relaxation Spot At The Christian Center

When the Eugene Police Department released the full 23-minute body-cam footage of former officer Martin Siller ahead of Tim Lewis doing so during his Friday, May 15 press conference, they also chose to release a second one. 

For reasons still unclear to DSM, the video includes a scene at the end of Siller taking a short break inside an off-site “rest stop” within a religious, tax-exempt facility that, until the video’s release, had not been widely known about.

This break at the rest stop does not seem to relate to the racist rhetoric Siller used during the drive to the rest stop. So, DSM wanted to learn more about it, if others existed, the concerns that could arise with them, and how they operated within department policies.

The Guy Likes His Peach Yogurt

In the video, Siller can be seen exiting his cruiser and entering a nondescript door next to the Willamette Kids Child Center, at the back of the Willamette Christian Center. He punches in the key-code to the door out of view of the body-cam, and enters. 

The rest stop’s interior is considerably nicer than what would appear outside. There’s a kitchenette, a dining area with two tables, and a living space with multiple lounge chairs and a desk. 

Siller bee-lines to the minifridge and grabs a bottled water, a Diet Coke, and Yoplait Peach yogurt — the latter of which Siller consumes in view of the body-cam, much to the displeasure of who’s watching.

He exited the rest stop a little more than three minutes after entering, and continued with his day.

The Willamette Christian Center

The WCC’s current website is devoid of any biographical information on the organization and its building. However, that appears to only be the case post-2011.  

Founded sometime before 1941, the WCC was originally called The Open Door Mission and was led by Walter B. Jones on 8th Street. 

In 1941, the church, led by Roy K. Reed, was incorporated and renamed as the Assembly of God Tabernacle of Eugene, and moved to a bigger lot at 13th and Monroe Streets. There, a preschool and kindergarten were constructed.  

A little more than a decade later, in January 1954, the name was changed again to First Assembly of God of Eugene. In 1963, a new building was erected at the 13th and Monroe property. 

In 1970, the First Assembly of God of Eugene became the Willamette Christian Center. That same year, the church bought the site on 18th Avenue it sits on now. Construction began in 1977 and lasted five years. 

The “educational ministry” rebranded as the Willamette Christian School and expanded to include an elementary, middle, and high school in 1980, later becoming independent. The school closed following the end of its lease with the church and the COVID-19 pandemic. The preschool, however, is still active and was renamed the Willamette Kids Child Center.

In 2021, several churches and the Willamette Christian School combined to form CityFirst.

Questionable Faith

The Assemblies of God is the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination and was first founded in 1914. With a heavy focus on evangelism, the church now boasts 88 million members worldwide. 

Some label its practitioners “born again,” Christians who speak in tongues and believe that “Jews who do not accept Jesus are going to hell,” that “homosexuality is a ‘sin,’” cured through prayer, that “life begins at conception,” and “that abortion is murder.” 

Others have labeled the church a “high-demand,” “authoritarian cult.” 

The AG also has a long history of sexual misconduct hidden inside a culture that protects perpetrators, blames and shames victims, then gaslights its followers with whitewashing lies.

NBC News uncovered a “50-year pattern of sex abuse, silence, and cover-up” as reported on Oct 30, 2025.

The WCC itself hasn’t existed without issues. 

In 2015, Richard Hayes Jackson was arrested and charged with five counts of sexual abuse, five counts of sodomy, and five counts of sexual penetration. The victim: his adopted daughter, later sued him in civil court. 

Most news articles about Jackson refer to him as an insurance agent and “active” within the WCC. However, the Register-Guard, as the last sentence of their article about the civil lawsuit, reported that Jackson was not just an active member but was a pastor there. 

In April 2016, Jackson was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In recent news, the Eugene Weekly reported in December 2025 that the church made a deal with Verizon Wireless and a cell tower, “disguised” as a bell tower, was installed. The EW also reported that the church is considering selling a 13-acre field for a housing development, much to the dismay of its neighbors.

But fear not, there won’t be any increase in crime in the area if the development succeeds because the EPD is already around. 

The Eugene Police Rest Stop

The rest stop at the back of the WCC opened in March 2024 and was the brainchild of Jensina Hawkins, who, at the time, was on the Eugene Police Commission. Notably, Hawkins is the wife of Demond Hawkins, the current president of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP, who spoke out against Siller’s body-cam footage.

She would soon become chair of the commission in June of that year, then resigning Aug. 7, 2025 — nearly three years before her term ended on June 30, 2028 — due to allegations that the city did nothing after repeatedly reporting another commissioner’s “disturbing conduct.”

Hawkins announced the EPD rest stop’s opening on March 24, 2024, with a Facebook post thanking WCC leadership and explaining her inspiration for the space. Hawkins wrote:

“When I first became a police commissioner, I was fascinated by the police rest stops in Portland, and I approached my pastor with my trademark, ‘so, here me out…’ My heartfelt thanks go to Van Clements and Elizabeth Taft for establishing this police rest stop at WCC. It’s a safe and comfortable place for Eugene Police Department to get out of their cruisers, stretch their legs, use the facilities, grab some food, write reports, or just take a well-deserved break in between calls.”

The rest area was, more formally, announced in the March 2024 Churchill Area Neighbors monthly newsletter. In it, the church’s pastor, Van Clements, wrote:

“We are pleased to announce that we have completed the Police Rest Stop room at the corner of Hawkins and 18th. Our EPD officers have already begun to use the room to decompress and even enjoy a snack. We have already hosted a dozen or so officers in the last three days. We are so grateful for all of the folks in our congregation who gave and worked to make this possible. We are honored to be able to provide this simple place in service to our officer and our incredible city.”

Are Off-Site Rest Stops Common? 

They are beginning to be. 

Rest stops — sometimes referred to with the acronym “R.E.S.T.” for “Restoring Essential Servants Together” — have quietly popped up across the country over the last decade. 

A case study is provided in a 2017 article titled “A Practical Way to Build Trust Between Police and the Community” by Made To Flourish — a Christian non-profit that aims to erase the separation between a person’s faith and their day-to-day work. The article features a former FBI special agent turned church leader — and the one who created the acronym — Reverend Samuel L. Feemster of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., where a rest stop has been hosted since 2014.

In another example, police officers in Hampton, Virginia have been using rest stops, but call them “quiet rooms,” since at least 2017. That department cites inspiration from “another department that’s currently out in Las Vegas.”

In the Pacific Northwest, Responder Life — a non-profit organization that supports first responders — specifically advocates for churches to “host” rest stops. And that doing so will bring those churches’ pastors adoration. 

From the “Why Host a Rest Stop” section:

“A local pastor whose church hosts a rest stop has seen this change first-hand. Initially, when this pastor would go on ride-alongs with police officers, they would introduce him and the church he served. The officers would be polite and greet him and a few would stop and talk to him as they exited for their shift. After this church opened a Rest Stop, he was announced as a pastor from a church who had just opened a Rest Stop. The room erupted in applause and officers stood at the door to shake his hand and thank him. It was as if his church had discovered how to speak the local first responders’ language, and now many opportunities have been opened as this new trust has been established.”

In Portland, it was reported in 2016 that a rest stop — available to all first responders but specially designed for the police — was in use at Solid Rock Baptist Church. 

The rise in rest stops found in churches begs the questions: Why just churches? Why not other private businesses? 

It’s not just churches, in fact. 

The San Mateo Police Department in the San Francisco Bay Area had to convert an old fire station into a sleeping space for officers with long commutes to sleep. Commutes in the Bay Area can be notoriously long for employees of any industry, and some may have to travel several hours each way. 

Risky Behavior

We spoke to a law enforcement professional who wished to remain anonymous about the intended and unintended implications from the use of off-site rest areas.  

“From my perspective, such a space is fraught with potential issues,” they said. “Couches and comfortable private spaces can sometimes lead to extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean.” 

And that doesn’t just mean activity between officers. 

They added that a private space, such as a rest area in which there “won’t be any oversight until there’s a problem,” could lead to activity between an officer and a member of the public — either with consent or without. 

If civilian ride-along participants are also permitted in the rest area while their “chaperone” takes a break, the risk increases.

One notorious EPD scandal at the beginning of the 2000s is a prime example. 

Roger Magaña, a serial rapist and police officer, used the ride-along process to groom one underage victim. 

In 2004, he was convicted and sentenced to 94 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting more than a dozen women during his eight-year tenure with the department. He had even previously been convicted of sex crimes with an underage girl, but the department had “neglected to run a full background check.” 

And he is far from the only officer with the department to have been fired for misconduct, sexual in nature or otherwise. 

A more recent example would be of former officer Christopher Drumm. In June 2022, Drumm pleaded guilty to charges of 1st Degree Official Misconduct and was sentenced to 30 days in jail for repeatedly raping Jay St. James.

DSM spoke to St. James about the idea of off-site rest stops and, expectedly, she wasn’t surprised. 

“Of all the places that could have been used, finding one of the most sacred and guarded institutions of society is exactly where a serpent would go,” St. James said. 

Another concern about off-site rest stops is officers simply sleeping on the job.

Risky Policy

Another risk with an off-site rest stop would be the appearance of a “gratuity.”

“I think the thing that is sort of being overlooked is the notion that this is something of a gratuity that is being provided to the police by the church group, and that this can create the perception of [a] quid pro quo,” the law enforcement professional said. “I scratched your back so because I’m a member of the church that provided you this room, [so] so you should pay more attention to the investigation of my crime or you should give me a break on this citation.”

The EPD’s policy on gratuities, 103.5.3 – Bribes, Gratuity, and Payment — reads:

“A. Employees may:

1. Accept a gift or gratuity from a private individual if the acceptance of the gift or gratuity will reasonably create an opportunity for a positive public contact. The value of the gift or gratuity must be of a nominal amount, and in accordance with state law.

B. Employees may not:

1. Accept or solicit any bribe.
2. Accept any gift or gratuity if any benefit is requested, expressed, expected, or implied in exchange for the gift or gratuity.
3. Accept any gift or gratuity from any organization or business, except when approved by the Chief of Police or designee.
4. Accept any payment for services, except for wages earned by employment with the Eugene Police Department, court-ordered restitution, or outside employment approved by the Chief of Police.”

The anonymous professional said, “I don’t see how this situation is not seen as a gratuity to the entire department which could create a similar expectation from someone in the church group.”

Moreover, the caveat in the EPD’s policy about a gift or gratuity being permitted is that it will “reasonably create an opportunity for a positive public contact” doesn’t appear to be applicable if a rest stop is not a public-facing facility. Especially if located at the back of a private organization. 

The Civilian Review Board, the body that monitors the work of the independent police auditor, also has a related policy. The Personal Integrity section under its Statement of Principles and Code of Conduct reads: 

“We demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, commitment and honesty to inspire trust and set an example. We will be fair, thorough, and impartial in the performance of our duties. We will avoid conflicts of interest and recuse ourselves when such conflicts arise. We will not accept gratuities or favors that might compromise our impartiality or independence.”  

The Springfield Police Department has its own similar policy. It reads: 

“Members shall not solicit or accept from any person, business or organization any gift (including money, personal property, food, beverages, loans, promises, services, or entertainment) for the benefit of the member or the Department, if it may reasonably be inferred that the person, business or organization:

1. Seeks to influence action of an official nature or seeks to affect the performance or non-performance on an official duty, or

2. Has an interest which may be substantially affected directly or indirectly by the performance or non-performance of an official duty.”

Up north, the Portland Police Bureau has a more robust policy regarding this. The policy, under Directive 313.10, reads:

“1. Police Bureau members shall not solicit or accept any gratuity or any other thing of value where there is any connection between such offer or solicitation and the member’s employment, in accordance with Human Resources Administrative Rule 4.07, which is incorporated into this Directive by reference.”

Narrowing the policy down further is the “procedures” section, which reads, in part, that “Police Bureau members shall not directly or indirectly solicit or accept any gratuity, gift, or reward offered due to their position and work for the City or that would not have been available but for the member’s position or work for the City…” 

The very first entry states that the Portland police cannot accept any gratuity, gift, or reward “offered due to their position and work for the City or that would not have been available but for the member’s position or work for the City.” 

Not even the acceptance of “meals” and “beverages” or “any other thing of value” is permitted if it would “cast an adverse reflection on the Portland police.”

The Cities and Departments Explain

DSM reached out to the three police departments, the city managers for Eugene and Springfield, Eugene’s Civilian Review Board, the Willamette Christian Center, and Responder Life with questions for this article.

“The Springfield Police Department uses rest stops that are available to all First Responders in the area, not just SPD,” Deputy Chief George Crolly said. “Rest stop hosts do not receive any favors or preferential treatment for the use of the rest stops.”

He also added that, “SPD members have been given guidance on appropriate use, and the SPD Peer Support team works with the provider(s) on oversight.”

Springfield’s city manager’s office did not respond by the time of publishing.

Melinda McLaughlin, the public information director for the Eugene Police Department said that the footage of Siller in the rest stop was “provided proactively as part of all the footage for that day” and that the Willamette Christian Center controls the rest stop and determines who is permitted to use it.

Regarding oversight, she said that, “For officers, EPD policies and procedures as applicable.”

When asked if the department could clarify how the rest area did not conflict with department policy, DSM was told, “There is no benefit requested, expressed, expected, or implied in exchange.”

Eugene’s city manager’s office did not answer our questions and referred DSM to the EPD’s response.

The Civilian Review Board’s members are unreachable except for in-person at meetings according to Police Auditor Craig Renetzky, who also said that he could not speak whether the CRB was aware of the department’s rest stop or not.

The Portland Police Bureau’s public information manager, Mike Benner, said it would be too inefficient to answer our questions and referred us to Responder Life.

Neither the Willamette Christian Center or Responder Life responded to our questions by the time of publishing.