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April 7, 2021
Police Reforms Gain Traction
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ing intervention by an officer witness-
ing police misconduct. It also requires
officers to report abuses to “a super-
visor.”
This year, lawmakers are tweaking
the new law to strengthen how the
complaints are handled. It is spon-
sored by Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Dem-
ocrat who chairs the House subcom-
mittee on equitable policing.
“For me, the original trigger was
the George Floyd case,” said Bynum,
who is Black and from a Portland sub-
urb.
Portland was an epicenter of Black
Lives Matter protests that erupted na-
tionwide after Floyd’s death. On the
night of Sept. 5, a Black resident came
to police officers to inform them their
tear gas was seeping into his house,
affecting his son and dog. One officer
whacked the man on the head with his
baton, causing a concussion.
Other officers told their colleague
the man was an area homeowner, not
a protester. Bynum says that shouldn’t
matter, that even if he was a protester,
he shouldn’t be attacked unprovoked.
“He wasn’t doing anything. And so
I never got really clear answers from
the city about why that was OK,” By-
num said.
Police said back then that the in-
cident was being investigated, but a
half-year later they remain mum on
the outcome or status.
“I have not been provided infor-
mation to release about the incident,”
Lt. Greg Pashley, a police spokesman,
said in an email. “Generally, the Pro-
fessional Standards Division does not
provide updates about internal inves-
tigations.”
Bynum’s new bill aims to address
such cases. It requires complaints to
be filed with a direct supervisor of the
reporting officer, their chain of com-
mand or with the Oregon Department
of Public Safety Standards and Train-
ing, or DPSST, which licenses law
enforcement officers across the state.
The bill sets a three-month deadline
for investigations to be completed.
Under the bill, if an investigation
confirms misconduct occurred, the offi-
cer’s unit must notify the DPSST, which
would be tasked with establishing a da-
tabase for reports of misconduct.
Rep. Ron Noble, a Republican who
co-chairs Bynum’s subcommittee and
previously served as a police officer
for 28 years, said at a hearing that the
additional steps over last year’s bill
are needed.
“This is a result of our experience
in ensuring that what officers do re-
port does get investigated and is fol-
lowed up on,” Noble said.
Failure by an officers to intervene
or report misconduct are grounds for
disciplinary action. The employer
may not retaliate against a reporting
officer.
Maryland lawmakers are also work-
ing on legislation containing duty to
intervene provisions. So is Washing-
ton state.
When the Washington state Senate
passed such a bill in February, Repub-
lican senators opposed. Some said it
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