Street Roots • August 11-17, 2017
Page 3
E d ito r ia l
Timing is right on 48-hour rule, police oversight
n Wednesday this week, Portland City Council
made two important decisions regarding the
city’s police force: One to move forward, the
other to step back. Both were the right move.
Moving forward, the council voted to approve an
ordinance that clears the way for ending, finally, the
48-hour rule.
A perpetual target in the effort to reform police
■ oversight, the 48-hour rule
essentially insulates a police
officer from being questioned by
■■■■■■■■■■«■■ investigators for up to 48 hours
after the officer was involved in a
deadly force incident. It’s a privilege not afforded to
civilians, and was often seen as a way for officers to
protect themselves from discipline or civil
recriminations; to get the story straight, as it were.
Ending the 48-hour rule was a campaign pledge by
Mayor Ted Wheeler and former Mayor Charlie Hales,
who incorporated its demise into the union contract
that was renegotiated last fall.
But its removal was short-lived. Multnomah County
District Attorney Rod Underhill said compelling
officers to testify in these cases risked jeopardizing
criminal investigations. The police bureau was
scheduled to reinstated the rule this month.
On Wednesday, the Council pushed ahead with their
own interpretation of the law - scuttling the bureau’s
plan to restore the rule and directing the city attorney
to come back in two weeks with a new directive
finalizing the end of the 48-hour rule. The substitute
ordinance restores the policy in the police union
O
EDITORIAL
contract immediately. However, it also forewarns of a
possible caveat that would allow the chief of police and
the police commissioner, in consultation with the city
attorney, to defer an administrative investigation until
after th e criminal investigation is completed.
While the community has clamored for years for the
end of this rule, police reform advocates consider the
caveat a loophole that will undermine the people’s
intent to compel testimony. However, according to the
Portland City Attorney Tracy Reeve, many jurisdictions
have that “escape hatch” in their policy. Regardless,
that proposal won’t be in effect until - and unless - it
reaches the final directive.
Ultimately, the City Council will have the next two
weeks to gather more information from attorneys,
consultants and the public to plant the final nail in the
48-hour coffin.
On the other hand, the step back was equally
important and perhaps more significant. Mayor
Wheeler is withholding his controversial proposal to
revive and reinvent the disbanded Community
Oversight and Advisory Board, or COAB - a contingent
of the city’s settlement with the Department of Justice
to address police misconduct.
The proposal would replace the COAB with the
Portland Commission on Community-Engaged Policing,
or PCCEP. To avoid the problems associated with the
contentious COAB, this new body would operate
without the tethers of a regular public audience, and it
members would be appointed by the mayor and
accountable to the mayor - who also heads up the
police bureau. For obvious reasons, this closed-circuit
set-up under the mayor’s office was met with
opposition. To the credit of Mayor Wheeler, with the
support of the council, the proposal was withdrawn to
reconsider not only a host of amendments proposed by
Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Chloe Eudaly, but
also testimony from the public. We trust the returning
proposal will benefit greatly from the changes, to
expand membership on the oversight board, open up
the opportunity for public participation and loosen the
hold from a siloed authority, be it real or simply
perceived. Creating a platform for public input and
diverse perspectives is incredibly challenging, but it is
the foundation of a community oversight committee.
And so is having clear directives of its responsibilities,
process and obligations. Some have suggested the
C O A B - th a t s e e m e d o b lig a te d to s e r v e m a n y m a s t e r s
— w a s s e t u p f o r f a ilu r e , w h i c h m a y b e t h e c a s e . B u t
th ere is a lo t to te 'le a rn e d in failure. T he public is still
due its accountability and input.
Even though th e mayor’s decision to rethink the
new oversight com m ittee is wise, it is still critical th at
the process not wait any longer than it has to. The
Portland Police Bureau will soon welcome a new police
chief, Danielle Outlaw, a 19-year veteran and deputy
chief’ of the Oakland Police Department.
To give Chief Outlaw a proper reception, City
Council will solidify these policies before she arrives
with the full, and long-suffering mandate of the city of
Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl
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Cole Merkel
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Portland.
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