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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
April 26, 2017 Page 5 Police Oversight Hurdles c ontinued froM p age 3 issuing of this settlement agree- ment,” said Haynes, in an inter- view with the Portland Observer. “The investigation came back and showed that the Portland Po- lice Bureau used excessive and unnecessary deadly force against persons that are mentally ill.” Most major cities with DOJ settlement agreements are as- signed a court-appointed monitor to ensure that reforms are proper- ly carried out. Portland, however, opted for an experimental model of reform enforcement that creat- ed a community-based commit- tee, the Community Oversight Advisory Board (COAB). The COAB is a diverse coali- tion of community stakeholders that is charged with assessing whether or not the Portland Po- lice Bureau is meeting the terms of their DOJ agreement. By re- porting their findings and recom- mendations to a compliance of- ficer and community liaison, the panel was empowered to direct how police reforms would be car- ried out in the city. But when the group disbanded, so did the effort to evaluate the reform efforts ef- fectiveness. “There were mistakes made at the beginning of the development of the board, by not having any training or orientation,” Haynes said. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as the police com- missioner managing the Police Bureau, said he supports and un- derstands the need for police re- forms. “We have a large number of se- nior level individuals in the Bu- reau on paid administrative leave or who are under investigation,” Wheeler said. “Many of the po- tential violations occurred in the past and the inquiries into officer misconduct are still ongoing.” During his election campaign, the mayor promised a nationwide search for a new police chief, a pledge he says he is keeping by looking for a department leader who can commit to making the reforms spelled out in the consent decree. “We are going to be a 21st Century police bureau,” the may- or said, adding, “We’re going to be diverse. We are going to focus on conflict resolution, de-escala- tion, and demilitarization. That is what the community wants.” Wheeler said that one key component of his approach to po- lice reform is de-escalating con- flicts by attempting to limit minor infractions that officers can use to cite citizens. “If we tell our police officers to stop citing people for spitting in public or crossing the road at something other than a 90 degree angle… then (police) no longer have the Constitutional hook to do a random police search,” the mayor explained, adding, “That’s the direction I want to move.” Threatening to pursue legal action if the new Trump admin- istration attempts to modify any of the standing federal oversight agreements with troubled police departments is the NAACP in Washington, D.C. NAACP President and Chief Executive Cornell Williams Brooks promised April 7 to con- tinue fighting for justice for peo- ple of color nationwide, calling the potential rollback of federal oversight a “morally bankrupt step that could have disastrous results regarding the protection of black lives.” Haynes gives credit to some of the progress that has already been made in Portland to the federal government coming as a form of leverage that is “totally separate from the city government.” One meaningful reform imple- mented as a result of Portland’s DOJ agreement shaved down some of the bureaucracy related to the processing of civilian com- plaints against Portland police of- ficers, Haynes said. “The DOJ described the sys- tem in Portland as Byzantine when citizens filed complaints,” he said. “They have been mandat- ed by the settlement agreement to correct that problem.” Additionally, revamped train- ing measures and an emphasis on mental health awareness have helped the Portland Police Bu- reau reform some aspects of its day-to-day operation. An April 3 compliance report by the COCL found that the Portland Police Bureau has partial compliance or substantial compliance with near- ly all of the DOJ’s orders. Haynes said that the federal pressure placed on the Portland Police Bureau is important for maintaining the momentum to reform. “DOJ is a not a panacea,” Haynes added, “It won’t solve all the problems. But it is another leverage of oversight.” Regardless of whether or not the Justice Department continues its oversight of the Portland Po- lice Bureau, Haynes said commu- nity members must continue to hold officers accountable. “Citizens have to be engaged in the process of community po- licing, engaged in the account- ability process,” he explained. Wheeler agreed, stating that the pressure from activist com- munity groups on city govern- ment is healthy in a democratic society. “There should be a healthy tension, because we have to be held accountable,” Wheeler said. Both Rev. 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