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Quick Flashes Police Abolitionists Host Brake Light Clinic; State Police Carry Coupons; PPB Hides Data
Portland City Council approved a 480% increase for security at City Hall after "uncivil outbursts"
which led them to shut down meetings.The current pricetag is $847,034 for 18 security guards
(Oregonian, November 30). Cops Will Probably Receive Scarce Education Funds The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) asked Portland Public Schools (PPS) to use education dollars to partially fund nine PPB School Resource Officers (SRO). The agreement would cost the school district $2.7 million over 2.5 years, about $120,000 per officer per year-- twice the average teacher's salary (Portland Tribune, November 28). The School Board adopted the proposal on December 11 despite widespread community opposition, including students who requested the vote be delayed. The next step is for Portland City Council to consider approving the deal.
At the November 27 School Board meeting, Captain Tashia Hager implied that hiring more SRO's
would mean fewer students will be entered into the criminal justice system. Hager said out of 2,500
calls to schools to which SRO's responded in 2017, 13 students were arrested. She claimed street
cops don't have the time, resources, or relationships to find solutions beyond making arrests. PPS
already has two restorative justice programs to keep students from entering the criminal justice
system. "Cop Out" Play Appropriately Titled
The big news in immigrant support is the non-passage of Measure 105, which would have struck down the 31 year-old Oregon State "sanctuary" law limiting local law enforcement's participation with federal immigration authorities. A huge canvassing effort was made by many groups in opposition to the ballot measure. A seven day march, held September 30-October 6, from Sheridan Federal Penitentiary to NORCOR in the Dalles, both of which hold undocumented immigrants, made voting down measure 105 its rallying cry.
In the weeks prior to the march, several faith leaders were arrested by federal police while blocking
the gate at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in SW Portland at "Let Our People
Go" actions. They demanded the immediate release of asylum-seeking immigrants detained in
Sheridan. By November 29, all 100+ detainees had been released.
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January, 2019
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#76 Table of Contents
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On
October 13, the Marilyn Buck Abolitionist Collective held a "Brake Light Clinic," wherein they
repaired people's cars to give police one less reason to pull people over. Portland Copwatch has
long suggested that police should carry a selection of automotive lights to help people get road-
worthy instead of handing out tickets, which increase the likelihood people can't then afford to
make the repair that (allegedly) precipitated the stop in the first place. A September 9
Oregonian article about an Oregon lawsuit saying people should not have their licenses
suspended for traffic fines revealed that the Oregon State Police have a "Car Care" program where
they give out vouchers for discount replacement parts instead of tickets. A table which was
previously included in the Bureau's annual Traffic/Pedestrian Stop Data reports showing how often
officers stopped people because of "equipment" issues disappeared between the 2015 and 2016
reports. The 2015 report showed that over six months, about 6% of stops were for "equipment"
and 11% of those stopped for that reason were African American (in a city that is 6% black).
In late
2017, Portland Copwatch found that officers who attended the play "Hands Up" about experiences
of people of color when they are stopped by police were demanding to have their own play to tell
their side of the story. We referred to this as "copsplaining" (