Joint Terrorism Task Force: Urging Council to pass limiting resolution

Joint Terrorism Task Force:
Letter urging Council to pass limiting resolution

Mayor Wheeler and members of City Council:

Tuesday, April 9 marked 55 days since the passage of the Resolution to pull Portland Police officers out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. That day was set as a deadline under binding City policy for the Mayor's office and Chief to work with Commissioner Hardesty on language describing how the PPB will interact with the FBI's JTTF in the future.*

We are hoping to see a second resolution which:

--limits the ways in which the PPB can get involved with FBI terrorism investigations, as defined by federal law and the JTTF's mission statement, including strict adherence to Oregon law and City policy and the requirement for a criminal nexus;

--addresses the concerns that the City cannot tell the FBI what to do;

--requires annual reports which include how often the PPB is asked to, and how many times PPB agrees to work with the JTTF;

and

--calls for the Bureau to draft a Directive (policy) outlining how such investigations will be handled, to be reviewed and approved by Council, with no changes allowed without public and Council review.

All of this seems to be in line with the Resolution that was passed after overwhelming testimony in favor on February 13. Please do not delay the implementation of the withdrawal any further. The organizations representing labor, faith, social justice, immigrant rights, environmental, African American, Asian American, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, business and other communities who urged Council to take responsibility for the actions of our police are counting on you to follow through with the promises made for a just and accountable Bureau.

Sincerely,

ACLU of Oregon
Unite Oregon
Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition
for Justice and Police Reform
Brandon Mayfield
NAACP Portland Branch
Peace and Justice Works / Portland Copwatch
League of Women Voters of Portland
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Portland Jobs with Justice
Portland Democratic Socialists of America
Veterans For Peace Chapter 72
Portland Interfaith Clergy Resistance
Portland's Resistance
Jewish Voice for Peace-Portland
Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition
Freedom to Thrive Portland
Peace Action Group of the First Unitarian Church
Network Against Racism and Islamophobia
Pacific Green Party
St. Luke Lutheran Peace & Justice Group
Individuals For Justice
Kafoury & McDougal

April 17, 2019**

*- from the Resolution:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Commissioner Hardesty, after consultation with PPB Chief Outlaw, will return to Council within 55 days of this Resolution's passage with another Resolution detailing how the City of Portland and PPB will handle information coming from federal investigators and under what circumstances PPB will provide information to and cooperate with ongoing terrorist and threat investigations being conducted by federal agencies within Portland.

**-Signatures as of 12:10 PM April 17, more may be added in the future.

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