Site Navigation

Council Rebuffs Mayor's $2 Million Plan
--but Gang Team Reinstated, Deputized by Feds

Last June, City Council voted to de-fund and disband the Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT), a group of officers who both responded to shooting incidents and used supposed preventative measures such as pulling over mostly African American drivers (PPR #81). Blaming an uptick in civilian-on-civilian shootings on the demise of the GVRT, many who see violent state power as the answer to community problems called on the Mayor to reinstitute the Team. Realizing this would not be popular, Chief Chuck Lovell quietly created a special investigations-only unit-- the Enhanced Community Safety Team (ECST). While civlians rightfully concerned about the shootings and the cops continued seeking an end to the community violence,* the FBI stepped in to offer help (Oregonian, March 10). This led Mayor Ted Wheeler to ask Council for an emergency $2 million through June to create a patrol team focused on shootings, deputized under the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The other four members of City Council rejected the Mayor's plan, calling for more community- based investments rather than throwing more money at police. In a move that mostly shut out non- invited public testimony, they added their alternative proposal to the April 7 agenda at the last moment, passing a $6 million ordinance unanimously. It turns out Wheeler agreed to the plan because the PPB simply moved officers around to create a new gun team (the "Focused Intervention Team"), and a week later inked a deal to deputize 20 cops as FBI agents as part of a "Metro Safe Streets Task Force." While Wheeler has promised any new version of the GVRT will include community oversight to ensure the unit doesn't overpolice the Black community, deputized officers are bound by the deal to follow federal guidelines in exchange for up to $400,000 in overtime.

In terms of City dollars: (a) the GVRT's budget until 2020 was $6 million a year for 34 officers; (b) the new ECST (21 officers total) is estimated to cost $306,395 for six months (Oregonian, February 21) and (c) Wheeler's proposed $2 million was to fund 14 officers over the course of three months. In other words, not only does the logic not add up, but neither do the numbers.

Speaking about deputizing officers on the new gun team, Deputy Chief Chris Davis dismissed any idea it was hypocritical to seek federalization after the City was blindsided by US Marshals' deputization of officers for protests last year, which extended for over three months despite the City's objections (PPR #82), saying the circumstances are now different.

*- (see "Rapping Back" in this issue)
Back to text.

May, 2021
Also in PPR #83

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.

People's Police Report #83 Table of Contents
Back to Portland Copwatch home page
Peace and Justice Works home page
Back to top