Federal Judge to Weigh Portland’s New Police Oversight System

Points of contention with the proposal include the influence of the police union on the disciplinary process.

A police officer stares at shattered glass.
MLK damage A Portland police officer surveys damage to buildings on Northeast Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. (Justin Yau) (Justin Yau)
By Lucas Manfield

The city of Portland and the U.S. Department of Justice are asking a federal judge to approve a new police oversight system.

Voters overwhelmingly demanded the overhaul via a 2020 ballot measure. But the committee-crafted result was extensively pared down by the Portland City Council, to the frustration of advocates. Now they’re making that frustration known to U.S. District Judge Michael Simon, who must sign off on the new system. Simon retains oversight of the city’s policing policies thanks to a decade-old lawsuit by the DOJ.

Points of contention with the proposal include the influence of the police union on the disciplinary process and the requirement that members of the new oversight board do ride-alongs with police. The Mental Health Alliance and the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform have both filed briefs in protest.

“Allowing the Portland Police Association and the Police Bureau to have a veto power on the selection committee will doom this project,” reads MHA’s brief, authored by lawyer Juan Chavez.

The next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29.

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