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July 19, 2017
A Step Back on 48-Hour Rule
DA says agreement
violates Oregon Law
by Z aChary s enn
t he P ortland o bserver
The Portland Police Bureau’s controversial 48-
hour rule, which was eliminated in negotiations with
the city’s police union last year, is now back stronger
than ever.
The rule was a lightning rod for advocates fight-
ing for reforms to bring more accountability to of-
ficer-involved shootings because it gave officers a
two-day buffer period during which they could not
be interviewed by the police bureau’s Internal Af-
fairs Department.
Police shootings spur two separate investigations;
the first of which is a criminal investigation to exam-
ine if there was any illegal wrongdoing on the offi-
cer’s behalf, and the second of which is an adminis-
trative investigation which determines if the officer
acted in violation of bureau policies.
While the officer’s right to remain silent is ob-
served in the criminal investigation, the police bu-
reau can compel statements from them during the
administrative investigation.
The District Attorney’s office, along with the Or-
egon Department of Justice, has now determined
that police agencies cannot compel officers to make
statements for administrative investigations while
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criminal investigations are ongoing.
Rod Underhill, the Multnomah County D.A.,
says that compelling an accused officer to make a
statement could effectively immunize them from
criminal prosecution. He cited a 1984 Oregon
Supreme Court decision that effectively deter-
mined that public employees gain transactional
immunity by participating in administrative in-
vestigations that occur concurrently with crimi-
nal investigations.
Under new city rules, which memos show
have been observed since May, Portland Police
officers are not compelled to give statements
during an administrative interview until after the
case has gone through the grand jury process.
This could give officers several weeks before
they are compelled to participate in an interview
about their conduct both leading up and during a
shooting.
Constantin Severe, who serves as the chair of
the Independent Police Review Board, says that
this new policy effectively turns the defunct 48-
hour rule into a 40-day rule. He argues that the
changes will adversely affect the police bureau’s
relationship with the community.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says that the
city is evaluating its options following the policy
change, and that he remains opposed to the 48-
hour rule and the even longer potential waiting
period.
Making Amends
C ontinued froM P age 3
name on Deady Hall. Matthew
Deady, supported slavery before
founding the UO in the 1800s but
later changed his views. They de-
cided to rename Dunn Hall.
Libby
Tower,
Unthank’s
daughter, said her father would be
amused by having a building he
didn’t design carry his name. But
he would support the reasons for
the name change.
“I think it is really more the
symbolism of what was Dunn
Hall and making a correction for
the right reason,” said Tower, 63.
After his graduation with a
degree in architecture, DeNorval
Unthank Jr. stayed in Eugene.
During his long career as an archi-
tect, he designed buildings on the
campus — including McKenzie
Hall, the former law school — as
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well as houses and other buildings
around the city and the Northwest.
“His fingerprints are all over
Oregon,” said Eugene City Coun-
cilor Greg Evans, who was a
friend of Unthank Jr.’s.
Other notable buildings de-
signed by Unthank Jr. include
the Lane County Public Service
Building and Kennedy Middle
School in Eugene, and Thurston
High School in Springfield. He
also taught architecture at UO
while still working as a profes-
sional architect.
A naming committee, which
included Evans, picked four fi-
nalists earlier this year from 19
candidates who met renaming
criteria for the former Dunn Hall.
UO President Michael Schill then
selected DeNorval Unthank Jr. in
May; the UO Board of Trustees
made it official in June.