Portland councilors defer to new racial equity committee on suggested police reforms

Portland’s mayor and several city councilors were reluctant to take a position this week on a slate of recent recommendations to add more citizen oversight of use-of-force cases and internal affairs complaints, changes not immediately embraced by the city manager.

Instead, councilors pointed to the city’s newly formed racial equity steering committee as the right channel to address police reform recommendations.

The recommendations come from the city’s Police Citizen Review Subcommittee, which is tasked with ensuring that complaints from the public against police officers are investigated in a thorough, fair, timely and objective way. Its members recommended to city manager Jon Jennings in July that citizens be included in a regular, internal review of use-of-force incidents involving Portland police. The subcommittee also recommended that it be permitted to evaluate internal complaints made by one officer against another, instead of only onside complaints.

But Jennings, citing labor considerations, punted on adding citizens to the use-of-force panel in a letter to the committee this week.

“Although this could further stifle police staff from their ability to be self-critical, I can also see some value in having a perspective on use-of-force incidents from outside of the police department. Because this is a complicated issue that could also have labor implications, (Police Chief Frank Clark) and I will continue exploring our options for bringing additional perspective to the use-of-force review process,” he wrote.

Jennings also rejected the idea that the committee should examine more use-of-force cases filed by one officer against another. As with any labor union, changes to working conditions of employees, including police officers, must be negotiated, and Jennings pointed to that process in his response.

“In addition to potential labor implications, the police department has worked long and hard to foster an atmosphere where officers and supervisors understand the expectation that they report concerns about their colleagues and are comfortable doing so,” Jennings wrote. “The very last thing the city wants to do is stifle that willingness to report potential wrongdoing by other members of the police department.”

Mayor Kate Snyder said she did not think Jennings was rejecting the subcommittee’s suggestions of more citizen oversight outright, but said he was being realistic about the considerations that come into play with any labor negotiation. The latest police labor contract expired at the end of 2019, and officers are working under the old provisions until a new deal is hashed out.

Snyder lauded the city’s commitment to gather more race and demographic information about people who interact with police, which Jennings pledged in his letter. But she deferred to the committee to study the issue of citizen oversight of police.

Snyder, who proposed the creation of the Racial Equity Steering Committee and formally appointed its 13 members this week, pointed to the committee’s work – whatever it may say – as a guide for what comes next.

“The council has made some significant commitments within the context of that resolution (creating the steering committee),” Snyder said, including separate processes to investigate and gather potential complaints about the violent, confrontational demonstrations between anti-racism protesters and Portland police on June 1-2.

“That’s something I’d want you to underscore,” Snyder said. “This is an opportunity for folks to really engage in broad work that’s been defined by the resolution.”

Councilors Spencer Thibodeau and Tae Chong declined to comment on the issue and said they had not had time yet to study it.

Councilor Justin Costa texted later Friday that he would be available to discuss the issue Monday.

Councilors Nicholas Mavodones, Jill Duson did not return calls and email requests for an interview about the police recommendations.

Councilor Pious Ali, who was also named to the steering committee, said only that, “I don’t have a comment on this.”

City Councilor Belinda Ray agreed with the notion of adding a citizen perspective to the use-of-force evaluation process, but withheld comments on other issues until the racial equity steering committee weighs in early next year with a broader perspective on reform. Because the steering committee’s charge is focused on public safety, Ray said, she expects the group to include the little-known police citizen review subcommittee in its process.

“I think there is a need for change in policing nationally, and that makes me believe that there are things we need to do locally, as well,” Ray said. “I just want to make sure that we are taking this good, long look with the (racial equity steering) committee, many of whom represent those most impacted by these policies, get their recommendations and go from there.”

When asked about the possibility that the city will have to bargain with police unions over desired reforms, Ray said the committee’s work is likely to lay the foundation on which councilors will stand when they put policy positions forward next year.

“I think we’ll come up with some hard-and-fast ‘musts,’ and those won’t be things that we bargain away.” But Ray declined to identify which issues might make the cut. “I don’t even want to speculate,” she added.

Councilor Kim Cook, who responded to an inquiry via email, said she had not read Jennings’ letter but also hopes the police citizen review group’s recommendations will be taken up by the racial equity steering committee.

“Given that the police contract is due to be renegotiated, it seems like the perfect time to ensure that the manager and council ensure that changes to the citizen review and oversight functions are worked into the next contract with the police union during negotiations,” Cook said.