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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2012)
♦ ♦ » 1 Street roots Sept. 28, 2012 Justice department’s assessment puts focus on the work ahead BY JO ANN HARDESTY was designed to fail. If it wasn’t designed to fail, it was tinkered with until it was too inally, someone has called it like it is. complex to work. On Sept. 12, the highest-ranking law The AMA, affinity groups from law and enforcement officials, having studied mental health fields, professors, the Portland Auditor’s “Independent” Police independent consultants, all kinds of Review Board (IPR) for more than a year, committed people have weighed in — for has labeled this sham of police oversight a years at a time — to propose remedies to a ‘self-defeating accountability system.’ City Council that has been unwilling to Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney improve training, institute important general for the Civil Rights Division of the employee review processes, negotiate an United States Department of Justice (DOJ) effective contract with the police union, or gave notice to the city of Portland that they even demote “million-dollar cops” who had found widespread patterns and require so much to defend and cost us so practices of unconstitutional behavior. much when the city compensates their Read their 42-page report. I’ve been victims. Portland City Council has never calling for police accountability for more successfully fired a police officer for use-of- than a decade, and the civil rights abuses force violations. they describe are worse than even I The result of our long-term engagement? imagined. The DOJ had access to police A large segment of Portland’s social justice records you and I will never see. Their advocates long ago realized the systemic documentation of violent behavior is deeply deficiencies we face. I expect many disturbing. remedies we’ve been proposing over the However, the DOJ’s dissection of a years will be included in the consent decree. complete lack of accountability gives me The result is that people outside of City Hall hope. have been on a learning curve. Not only do In a private meeting with the Albina we know what reforms are necessary, but Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and also we are acutely aware that we have an Police reform (AMA), Perez spoke historic opportunity to respond creatively passionately about the need for public with all we have learned. It is now time to involvement. Perez expects the city to replace the convoluted IPR with a civilian consent to numerous decrees to give compliance and reform authority. No longer Portlanders the constitutional protections should the auditor’s office simply review we deserve. “We will be leaving town,” he and sign off on exonerations police said, indicating it would be up to citizens to investigations provide for themselves. Leave see that reforms are implemented. them to counting things. In a moment of great sincerity, Perez said Having done such a thorough analysis of that he wanted a “robust and sustainable” the city’s failure to hold police accountable, solution. we are ready to roll out the kind of I think he’s come to the right place. sustainable reform Perez envisions. We are While you are reading this, community proposing a truly independent, civilian-led activists are scrambling .to draft legislative authority that will have investigative muscle: language for remedies that a federal judge subpoena powers and a prosecutor who can rule on. This is a tough task for laymen, does not work among the cops they seek to but all sorts of organizations have been bring to justice. proposing changes to policy for many years. Perez will receive from the AMA, the Former Mayor Vera Katz cobbled American Civil Liberties Union, the together the IPR in 2001, amid calls for National Lawyer’s Guild and other independent oversight to rein in police signatories, a two-pronged solution. We misconduct. I believe that city apparatus need a reformed IPR to continue, and C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T F Former state Rep. Jo A n n Hardesty serves on the steering committee o f the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform and is the former co-chair o f the city o f Portland Racial Profiling Committee. She is also a principal with Hardesty Consulting Services. expect it to actually address the police killing of Keaton Otis in a meaningful way. But while this goes on, and while a civilian authority helps insure the City of Portland lives up to its agreement to reform, we expect academics, retired police, mental health organizations, the communities of faith and others to identify best practices in policing. I expect the people of Portland to design a truly effective means of ensuring that police practices not only follow the rule Sot o a lf do we know what reforms are necessary, hot also we are acutely aware that we have an historic opportunity to respond creatively w ith a ll we have learned. It Is now tim e to replace the convoluted SFR w ith a c iv ilia n compliance and reform authority. of law, but also actually improve their ability to carry out a vital mission in the public’s best interest. I expect Portland voters to approve an ongoing civilian oversight authority in the 2014 Charter Review process. Those of you who read Street Roots are likely to be aware of the tremendous cost our most vulnerable populations have been paying when encountering police violence. You must be aware of the systematic injustice the federal government has just documented. I call upon all you caring folks — community advocates, soccer moms, professors, churchgoers, all you well- meaning readers — reach out to your United States senators. Use the DOJ’s e-mail address, portland.community@usdoj .gov. Let them know that you think Portland has the talent and the resources to create a civilian authority that will see that our constitutional protections are no longer subservient to an ineffective City Council of five, with one of them posing as a police commissioner. Beyond the presidential race, your vote can change Oregon BY ROB SADOWSKY article tie into Healthy Street Beat: A niche C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T website calculates that “if you live in Oregon irst, I’d like to pause and say goodbye and ride a bike 4 miles to your polling place, to Margaux Mennesson. Margaux has you are roughly 85 times more likely to die served as The Bicycle Transportation on your way to the polling booth than you Alliance’s Communications Director for the are to cast a meaningful vote in the 2012 past four years. presidential election.” ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ »»■ « She is moving on So why vote? There are many reasons to vote in any election from basic philosophical H SM 1TH T from BTA and co-authoring the reasoning (you should exercise your rights Healthy Street while you still have them) to the highly local Bicycle Beat. All of us at (your vote in local elections are much more Transportation BTA and Street likely to count). I’d argue that they are both Alliance Roots wish her good reasons. I want to register my ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ the best in her viewpoint, even if it is in the minority: Your new adventures. vote is a declaration of where you stand and Election time is may affect the perspectives of many people. There are local elections and issues on right around the corner. My parents always the ballot that will help shape the future of said voting was one of the most important the Portland metropolitan region. Whoever things an American does for his or her wins the Portland mayoral and city country. Now we live in times of high-tech commissioner races will influence how the polling that only shares the current city is run, from prioritizing the future of our “opinion” of voters. We can read complicated city’s streets to tackling vital issues such as statistical analyses of possible outcomes homelessness, affordable housing before a single vote is cast. Oregon already has been determined to be development, fair housing enforcement and “out of play” in the presidential election. The economic development. Whoever becomes mayor will also chance that a vote in Oregon will make a difference in the 2012 presidential election is determine who will be in charge of city bureaus, including housing and small. Now here’s my twist to help make this F Healthy Streetbeat is a monthly column for Street Roots written by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA). Rob Sadowsky is the executive director of BTA. transportation. Outgoing Mayor Sam Adams is now in charge of Transportation, so we know that bureau’s leadership will change. If you get a chance to attend one of the forums or debates that will happen between now and Nov. 6, please do so. One of the ways we can exercise our right to democratic engagement is to ask questions and share perspectives one-on-one with candidates. I have found that candidates really do want to know how you feel and to know what is important to you. Your ballot will also include state and regional measures. It is so easy to vote in Oregon, because the ballot comes in the mail and you will have time to read it in the comfort of your favorite nest. You have until Oct. 16 to register for this election. I’m not going to tell you how to vote. BTA is a 501 (c)3 charitable organization and we don’t endorse candidates. However, I urge you and your friends to vote. In the primary elections, there were fewer than 7,000 votes separating the top two mayoral candidates and fewer than 3,000 between two commissioners. So, there’s a pretty good chance your vote will make a difference, a difference that just might make it safer to bicycle to the polls (or the mailbox) next time. « <
