ALERT! SECOND City Council Hearing on Changes to Police Oversight System
ALERT! SECOND City Council Hearing on Changes to Police Oversight System
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- Date: Wed, November 30, 2011
- Time: 2pm – 3pm
- Location: Portland City Council Chambers, SW 4th and Madison
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Purpose
ALERT! SECOND City Council Hearing on Changes to Police Oversight System and Bureau Policies
Portland's "Independent" Police Review Division (IPR) was established in 2001 and given authority to conduct investigations separately from the Portland Police Bureau's Internal Affairs (IA) unit ... yet NO SUCH INVESTIGATION HAS EVER HAPPENED.
In March, 2010, the IPR was given broader authority to review IA investigations, but The People's 9-member Citizen Review Committee was told to wait before they receive more power. A group of citizens, police, and city officials met for four months and, in Dec 2010, presented 41 recommendations for change to City Council.
On November 16, the City Auditor (who oversees IPR) proposed a meager SIX changes to the ordinance, only three of which in any way reflect community concerns. The Mayor and Chief put out a document essentially agreeing that the CRC should not have any more power than what the Auditor proposes, claiming the CRC's role is simply to review the quality of police-led investigations.
CRC's tagline is "community oversight of the Portland Police Bureau." It is not "oversight of the IPR and Internal Affairs."
- We need to demand more change. Ask for ALL 41 Stakeholder Report recommendations to be adopted. We need true civilian oversight, and if we don't get more meaningful change now, we may have to wait another 10 years for a chance.
On the 16th, 17 members of the public testified in favor of more changes and/or against police brutality. A second hearing on November 30 will allow more public input.
More info - Changes to Portland's Civilian Oversight System, here: http://www.portlandcopwatch.org
- Who: Portland City Council (call to action from Portland Copwatch)
- What: Hearing on Changes to Police Oversight System and Bureau Policies
- When: Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 2:00 PM
- Where: Portland City Council Chambers, SW 4th and Madison
- How: Just show up for support, or sign up and testify to Council
Flyer for event: http://portlandcopwatch.org/ipr_allout_flyer1111c.pdf
Other details
Over 150 recommendations were made from several different groups. The council is implementing 7.
- From Portland Copwatch
Police Oversight Stakeholder Report: 41 recommendations (mostly IPR/CRC)
Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform: 49 recommendations (7 about IPR/CRC)
Citizen Review Committee: 10 recommendations (about shootings), 58 recommendations (about IPR/CRC system), 9 priority recommendations (about IPR/CRC)
So including overlap and duplicates, we found, as noted below, over 150 recommendations covered in Mayor/Chief (103) and Auditor's (115) documents.
The Auditor's proposal to change the IPR/CRC ordinance address just three (3) of those proposed changes, though it now also includes four (4) other changes that are cosmetic or clarifying in nature, so a total of 7.
Note also this excessive force information: Portland Police plan to switch to Red Sabre Pepper Spray soon. It is 7 times hotter than current Def-Tec. Feel free to testify about this.
more information