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Judge Approves City's Watered-Down Oversight System,
Won't Let Them Appoint Members Until 2025

For people already confused as to why the City of Portland still has not implemented the community-led police oversight system envisioned by a November 2020 ballot measure, things got a bit more confusing in the latter part of 2024. Here are the moving pieces that were addressed:

--The Board's existence is one requirement for the City to come into full compliance with the 2012 US Department of Justice Settlement Agreement. Thus, federal Judge Michael Simon held a fairness hearing on August 29 to hear from the community and the parties to the Agreement (the City and the DOJ).

--The City Council then approved City Code that fleshes out the details of what was voted into the Charter in 2020 and the few details contained in the DOJ Agreement.

--Judge Simon ruled that the City's proposal, which eliminated many important aspects proposed by the Police Accountability Commission (PAC) in 2023 (PPR #91), was adequate, but in order to ensure the new City Council, which will be in an entirely restructured form in 2025, can get the new board set up, he said his ruling would not go into effect until January 1.

The judge responded to community concerns by deferring to arguments made by the City, and in one case going a bit off-track to allay fears. Though evidence from Boulder, Colorado proves that excluding people from an oversight board for having "bias" is too vague and prone to political whims, the City argued their use of the word "objective" eliminated that concern. For people who want to apply to be on the Board but do not want to go on ridealongs, the Judge offered to personally get in the police car with any applicant who is concerned. Though a youth member of the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing (PCCEP) noted that having a federal judge in the car could make things worse, not better, the judge pressed forward.

Portland Copwatch (PCW) members testified both in court and at the City Council hearing, held a mere six days later, about concerns with: the way use of force has been recategorized (PPR #93), potentially taking some complaints out of the Board's jurisdiction; the Board's size being cut from 33 to 21 and panels hearing cases from five to three; the City eliminating the Board's authority to investigate the Chief without the Mayor's approval; and using only two possible outcomes ("In policy" or "Out of policy") instead of the four currently in use and proposed by PAC. In addition to Dan Handelman, who's both a PCW and former PAC member, three other former Commission members testified. Three more sent in written testimony.

Fifteen of the PAC's 19 members signed onto a letter asking the City to delay voting on the code, but were ignored. Ironically, pro-police Commissioner Rene Gonzalez delayed the actual vote a week by voting "no" on what was supposed to be an emergency ordinance. He said it was in defiance of the judge's "political" ruling, but it seems more like a favor to the Portland Police Association.

Acting as though he never read the substance of the ballot measure, Mayor/Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler complained at the Council hearing about police being forbidden from sitting on the board. The City undermined this desire, expressed by the community in the ballot measure, by allowing three people designated by police entities (the Chief's office and the two collective bargaining units) to sit on the nominating committee. Ultimately, the Council's vote a week later was to adopt the Code on a 4-1 vote, so it technically did not go into effect until October 11, 30 days afterward.

Another outcome of the Council's two hearings was their instruction for the City Attorney to ask Judge Simon to reconsider his ruling to delay implementation. Since appealing the ruling would have delayed it further, this was their only logical legal next step. The Mental Health Alliance, which is an amicus (friend of the court) wrote to the Judge opposing the City's efforts. The Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform, an "enhanced" amicus, told the judge they would support whatever decision he made. The City submitted statements from the "Independent" Police Review Director saying he's stuck in his job because if he departs many of his staff will quit, leaving no effective current system in place. Members of the Citizen Review Committee said the delay would be an extra burden on them to keep hearing Police Review Board cases longer than they expected when they signed up for three year terms (see article). In late October, Simon rejected the City's request, saying that there was no new evidence that would change his ruling.

January, 2025
Also in PPR #94

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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