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New Commission to Design New Oversight
Board Holds First Meeting
by Philip C.

On December 9, 13 months after Portland voters approved ballot measure 26-217 by 82% to create a new police oversight board (PPR #83), the Police Accountability Commission (PAC) held its first official public meeting. The Commissioners met to discuss procedures and organizational structure. Sue Diciple, the facilitator chosen by the city, introduced City Attorney Jenifer Johnston, who presented on public records requests and related responsibilities.

The facilitator and staff presented slides for suggested rules and formats for the Commission's feedback and approval. Prior to the meeting, the Commissioners met one-on-one with city staff Sameer Kanal to discuss their interests and visions for the Commission. Out of these meetings, staff created an organizational format, though the group had not yet met to discuss their ideas. From the public's perspective of not being able to see all of the Commissioners or the number of people in attendance, it seemed the facilitator often, instead of seeking an affirmative agreement, asked if anyone disagreed. If no one spoke up, she accepted the proposal as approved and moved on.

Forming a new group can be difficult because rules and by-laws haven't been created. This meeting appeared to be dictated by the facilitator, as opposed to the PAC, and the agenda (created by city staff) seemed to discourage Commissioners from discussing agenda items, either due to time constraints or because the city staff didn't want to edit what they produced. For example, Comm. Dan Handelman (with Portland Copwatch) proposed all PAC meetings be public and the community be allowed to make comments. Instead of responding, the facilitator sought approval for the current agenda item unchanged from the way the city had created it. She asked if anyone disagreed, and since no one responded, approved it as-is.

Near the end of the meeting, which ran over time, the facilitator and staff began flipping through complicated slides. For many Commissioners, this was the first time they were seeing the slides. In the meeting chat dialog, it was revealed the presentation had not been received by all of the Commissioners before the meeting. The staff expected the PAC to choose an organizational structure on the spot before everyone had been able to review the options. Rather than be pushed, the Commissioners decided to finish discussing their organizational structure at a December 18 meeting.

Visit portland.gov/police-accountability for more Commission information.

January, 2022
Also in PPR #85

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.

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