Portland Police Association Warns City Council New Police Oversight Proposal Is Illegal

On July 29, the Portland City Council will consider an ordinance proposed by Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty that would refer a charter change creating a new police oversight agency to the November ballot.

As WW reported last week, Hardesty proposes the formation of a new entity that would have greater access to police records; the ability to question officers directly; the authority to investigate fatal incidents; and a budget equal to 5% of the Portland Police Bureau's budget. In all those areas, the proposed agency would have more authority than the city's current oversight agency, the city auditor's Independent Police Review.

Today, the Portland Police Association, the union that represents more than 900 officers, detectives and sergeants, weighed in with objections to Hardesty's proposal.

In a five-page letter to the four City Council members and City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero, PPA president Daryl Turner said the proposal "is neither good public policy nor in the best interest of the citizens of Portland."

Read more: https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/07/27/the-portland-police-association-warns-city-council-new-police-oversight-proposal-is-illegal/
(Williamette Week)