CITY COUNCIL RENEWS
POLICE TERRORISM TASK FORCE
Simultaneously Passing Resolution Against USA-PATRIOT Act

On October 29, Portland City Council unanimously voted for two seemingly contradictory items: One renewed the Portland Police Bureau's contract with the FBI to deputize eight members as part of the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force (PJTTF) (see PPRs #23-25 and 28); the other condemned the unconstitutional excesses of the federal USA-PATRIOT Act that was passed in October, 2001.

Mayor Vera Katz stated at the end of the three-and-a-half hour session that she had deliberately scheduled the items back-to-back, pointing out that the anti-PATRIOT Act resolution begins with a pledge to assist in combating terrorism while respecting civil liberties. Since the PJTTF was supposed to be renewed on September 30, it was fairly clear that they were holding off until they could also pass the anti-PARTIOT Act resolution to quiet critics of the Council's civil liberties record.

The PJTTF became a community issue in October, 2000 when Portland Copwatch asked the agreement to be taken off the "consent agenda" and discussed publicly. Since then, the Council has renewed the Task Force every year despite the lack of independent civilian oversight as outlined each year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. Last year the FBI indicated the Senate Intelligence Committee, which includes Senator Ron Wyden (D) of Oregon, has the authority to review the JTTF files for compliance with Oregon law. It turned out the Committee is not allowed to review the files.

Without the proper security clearance, the civilian chain of command in charge of the PJTTF officers (the Chief and the Mayor, in her role as Commissioner of Police) were unable to review the unit's work to be sure the officers are not keeping files on people solely for their religious, social, or political views as prohibited by ORS 181.575.

This year, Bob Jordan, the FBI special agent in charge, offered security clearance applications to anyone in the Bureau up to and including the Chief, and, in a surprise move, Police Commissioner Katz. Katz made remarks about how long it would take her to fill out the application and that the FBI might reject her security clearance after doing a background check. Jordan noted that most Mayors are not afforded this opportunity, but all police commissioners are.

When Commissioner Randy Leonard, former head of the Portland Fire Bureau and friend of the Portland Police Association, asked why the applications were never offered before, Foxworth indicated that the FBI had offered Chief Kroeker such clearance but "the decision was made" not to apply for it. (This comes as a shock to those of us who suspect, given his enthusiastic embrace of the PJTTF in years past, that Kroeker has a tight relationship with federal spy agencies. It is also a convenient way to pass the buck to someone who is no longer in Portland to defend himself.) Perhaps to show his independence, or to please his FBI-agent-twin-brother, Chief Foxworth has applied for security clearance, as has Assistant Chief Jim Ferraris.

The FBI said they weren't sure, but the City Attorney (who would be better trained to spot violations of the law than the Mayor) probably can't be given security clearance. Commissioners Francesconi and Leonard said they would push for a report in three months about the status of the oversight.

Since the City has an interest in not revealing any violations of state law for fear of being sued, the civilian oversight provided here is still not suitably independent. It is, however, a step forward and a sign that years of community activism are starting to pay off.

As in the past, a diverse group of people came to testify against the PJTTF. Henry Sakamoto of the Japanese-American Citizens League drew parallels between the hysteria in post-9/11 America and his experience being taken to an internment camp in Oregon as a child during World War II. Valerie Chapman of St. Francis Parish noted that in the past the church hasn't always spoken up when they saw others being oppressed until it was too late, and that now is the time to speak up before the government abuses get worse. Sandy Polishuk of the PSU Faculty Association talked about the chilling effect the PJTTF and the PATRIOT Act have had on teachers. Laurie King of Jobs with Justice reminded the Council of the PJTTF interfering with union organizing efforts a few years ago.

No one testified in favor of the PJTTF or in opposition to the anti-PATRIOT Act resolution. Chief Kroeker used past years to stack pro-PJTTF testimony with businesspeople, abortion clinic supporters, and timber industry spokespeople. By contrast, Foxworth came only with his Assistant Chief and Lieutenant Kane of the CIU, FBI director Jordan and the US Attorney.

Questions raised by Portland Copwatch regarding the PJTTF were not answered again. These included whether or not the Central Intelligence Agency is involved in the PJTTF (as they are in many other cities); why eight Bureau members are assigned to the Task Force full-time when many in the community complain there aren't enough officers on patrol (the Bureau stated it would review the work of the CIU/PJTTF and report back); and, this year, whether the police told the Anti- Defamation League (ADL) that the PJTTF is compiling an "intelligence base" to prevent terrorism, as stated on the ADL website, ( http://www.adl.org/learn/additional_resources/resources_terrorism.asp). If true, this implies information is being gathered on those who have not committed any crimes and, perhaps, that the Bureau is trying to get around state law by having private organizations help collect information. The ADL was caught improperly sharing information with the Portland Police (and vice-versa) on peaceful protesters in the late 80s and early 90s.

A diverse group of people were also present at the anti-PATRIOT Act hearing, which immediately followed the PJTTF hearing. One member of the local Amnesty International chapter told Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who had introduced the resolution, that Amnesty's national office thought this was one of the best written of the 200 local statements against the Act which have passed around the nation.

Commissioner Leonard explained his reasons for voting in favor of the anti-PATRIOT Act resolution. Challenging anyone to call him unpatriotic, he noted that the specific provisions about sneak-and-peek searches, library information collection, and indefinite detentions were affronts to the Constitution. He also noted that he was among the many who now feel, in terms of the way the "War on Terrorism" is being waged, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." (Since 9/11, by our count, the PATRIOT Act was once, the war on Afghanistan was twice, and the war on Iraq was the third time, at least.)

Overall, the day was not a complete loss for civil liberties in Oregon, and the community (if not the Council) was unified in opposition to the PJTTF and the PATRIOT Act.

Contact the ACLU at 503-227-3186 or the Portland Bill of Rights Defense Committee at http://www.pbordc.org/cgi- bin/pbordc.cgi. [Note: Link inaccurate as of 6/04]