Portland voters will decide on ‘framework’ for new police oversight system in November

Updated Jul 29, 2020; Posted Jul 29, 2020

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By Everton Bailey Jr. | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Portland residents will vote this fall whether to revamp the city’s police oversight system in a way that proponents say will lead to more accountability and transparency in investigations of officer misconduct.

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The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to refer the proposal to the Nov. 3 ballot, despite objections from City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero, who oversees the existing Independent Police Review, and the Portland Police Association, which represents the majority of the city’s officers.

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Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, whose office crafted the proposal, tried to reassure Portland police officers that those “committed to serving the community” shouldn’t fear the new plan.

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“This new measure will make them better and will make new officers who join them better,” she said. “This is about being accountable to each of us – the officers and the community.” Hardesty said community members have called for a “truly empowered, independent accountability system” before and after the Independent Police Review was created in 2001.

The other three members of the council acknowledged there is a risk in sending the proposal to voters, but they said they trust Hardesty and that demand for police accountability is at the core of nightly protests in Portland. 

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Overhauling the city’s law enforcement oversight system has been a priority for city officials, particularly Hardesty, amid the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice and vast public calls to decrease police brutality against Black people and other people of color. Her proposal would amend the city charter to form a new police oversight board that Hardesty said would be driven by the community

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