Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell expected to announce departure

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell is expected to announce Wednesday that he’ll be stepping down as chief just three years into his role as the city’s top cop, according to two sources with knowledge but not authorized to speak about it.

Asked directly at City Hall whether Lovell planned to step down, the police chief, Mayor Ted Wheeler and the mayor’s community safety adviser, Stephanie Howard, all separately declined to confirm or deny the speculation to The Oregonian/OregonLive and said to attend a press conference scheduled for this afternoon.