Given the number of people killed by police in the U.S. each year and the disproportionate impact of police violence on people of color, we will be reviewing the policies and procedures of the Portland Police Department at our next Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 5:30pm.
Here's what we're looking to cover at the meeting:
Here's what we're looking to cover at the meeting:
DRAFT AGENDA
OVERVIEW OF MEETING
Chief Clark will be on hand to present information and answer questions from the Committee (me, Councilor Chong, and Councilor Ali). I expect many other Councilors will also be in attendance, including Mayor Kate Snyder, and they'll be welcome to ask questions and request information as well.
The primary goal of this meeting is to get core information on the table so all of us--elected officials and members of the public--will have a clear understanding of where we are as a city in terms of instituting the necessary policies and procedures to reduce and end police violence.
I hope many members of the public, from Portland and surrounding communities, will attend this meeting and get this information. Harrowing recent events and the resulting protests have put emphatic exclamation points on the fact that we have urgent work to do here, but we can't do the work without knowing our baseline. We must understand where we are in order to map a course that will help us to achieve meaningful results--results that will save lives, create a stronger community, and serve as a model for other cities and towns.
MEETING MATERIALS
You can find the agenda and back-up materials for the meeting as well as instructions for attending (via Zoom) here, in the City's Agenda Center, once it is posted.
A QUICK NOTE/CLARIFICATION OF THE MEETING TOPICS
I've received numerous emails on two related subjects:
We won't be discussing either of those issues at this meeting.
The Council has requested an in depth workshop to go over information related to the 6/1/2020 protest, and that workshop is tentatively scheduled for June 22nd.
The police budget will be discussed in conjunction with the overall City budget, and those discussions will likely take place at the Finance Committee in July and August. (Normally we would have voted on a budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021) by now, but our budget process has been delayed by COVID-19.
THANK YOU + A PROCLAMATION
I want to thank everyone who has written and called recently with concerns about police violence and questions about the way the PPD operates. There have been so many that I can't possibly reply/respond to them all, but I am reading everything, listening to all the messages, doing additional research of my own, and keeping my mind open to constant learning.
I also want to thank everyone who has taken to the streets here in Portland and across the country to protest police violence and the resultant conditions under which people of color, particularly those who are black and brown, have been living for so long. I know there is widespread systemic racism at work, and I know that racism lives within me. I pledge to do my best to continually check my biases and help to make positive change in our community.
- Review of current PPD policies and trainings including:
- Use of Force, Chokeholds/Strangleholds
- Body Cameras
- Crisis-intervention and de-escalation
- Implicit Bias
- Citizen Police Review Board
- Discussion of policy recommendations from President Obama's Task Force for 21st Century Policing and how they mesh with current PPD policies and practices
- Assessment of where the PPD is with Campaign Zero's "8 Can't Wait" platform ( https://8cantwait.org/ )
OVERVIEW OF MEETING
Chief Clark will be on hand to present information and answer questions from the Committee (me, Councilor Chong, and Councilor Ali). I expect many other Councilors will also be in attendance, including Mayor Kate Snyder, and they'll be welcome to ask questions and request information as well.
The primary goal of this meeting is to get core information on the table so all of us--elected officials and members of the public--will have a clear understanding of where we are as a city in terms of instituting the necessary policies and procedures to reduce and end police violence.
I hope many members of the public, from Portland and surrounding communities, will attend this meeting and get this information. Harrowing recent events and the resulting protests have put emphatic exclamation points on the fact that we have urgent work to do here, but we can't do the work without knowing our baseline. We must understand where we are in order to map a course that will help us to achieve meaningful results--results that will save lives, create a stronger community, and serve as a model for other cities and towns.
MEETING MATERIALS
You can find the agenda and back-up materials for the meeting as well as instructions for attending (via Zoom) here, in the City's Agenda Center, once it is posted.
- Scroll down, locate the "Remote HHS and Public Safety Meeting" scheduled for June 9th at 5:30pm and go to the Download column. Choose agenda if you just want the agenda for the meeting, and packet if you want the agenda along with all of the back-up materials.
- The agenda and packet should be up by Friday afternoon, June 5th, but we may need to add information to the packet over the weekend, so check back again on Monday to make sure you have the most up to date information.
A QUICK NOTE/CLARIFICATION OF THE MEETING TOPICS
I've received numerous emails on two related subjects:
- the police handling of a protest on 6/1/2020; and
- the police budget.
We won't be discussing either of those issues at this meeting.
The Council has requested an in depth workshop to go over information related to the 6/1/2020 protest, and that workshop is tentatively scheduled for June 22nd.
The police budget will be discussed in conjunction with the overall City budget, and those discussions will likely take place at the Finance Committee in July and August. (Normally we would have voted on a budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021) by now, but our budget process has been delayed by COVID-19.
THANK YOU + A PROCLAMATION
I want to thank everyone who has written and called recently with concerns about police violence and questions about the way the PPD operates. There have been so many that I can't possibly reply/respond to them all, but I am reading everything, listening to all the messages, doing additional research of my own, and keeping my mind open to constant learning.
I also want to thank everyone who has taken to the streets here in Portland and across the country to protest police violence and the resultant conditions under which people of color, particularly those who are black and brown, have been living for so long. I know there is widespread systemic racism at work, and I know that racism lives within me. I pledge to do my best to continually check my biases and help to make positive change in our community.
Finally, I hope people had a chance to see that the Council issued a proclamation on June 1st condemning racism and honoring Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. I know we need actions, not just words, but the words are an important indication of where we stand as a City, and I am thankful to Councilor Jill Duson for organizing and galvanizing others to bring this proclamation forward.
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