After over 18 months of negotiation, the City of Portland and police union are unable to agree on whether officers should be able to review footage from body cameras before writing an incident report. After declaring an impasse earlier this week, the city and the Portland Police Association (PPA), the union representing rank-and-file officers, will now rely on a third-party arbitrator to make a final policy decision. Portland has considered using body cameras since 2014.
This week, Portland City Council will discuss the selection process for a vendor to operate the city’s first police body camera pilot program. The council decision is only the latest step in a years-long debate over the program’s future. Unlike in the past, however, it appears that this endeavor to equip Portland police officers with cameras will make it to the finish line, which would bring Portland on par with all other major police departments.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) gave the City of Portland a to-do list Tuesday that, if met, could keep Portland from facing additional federal sanctions over its police force. Among its nine requests, the DOJ has asked the city furnish Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers with body cameras, hold accountable PPB supervisors who approved officers’ violence against protesters in 2020, and submit a transition plan for its new police oversight board. The new demands.
Six years ago, Portland's federally-required police oversight committee was in disarray. Now, it appears its replacement has reached a similar point. Dubbed the Community Oversight Advisory Board (COAB), the 15-person group of volunteers was tasked with overseeing the city's 2014 settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice, a decision meant to repair Portland Police Bureau's damning record of using force against people with mental illnesses. Part of the agreement required a level of community.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the idea comes five years after the predecessor of the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing was disbanded due to lack of training for its members, lack of city support and dwindling membership.