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Document title: Direct the City Attorney’s Office to seek required approvals related to the Settlement Agreement with the United States Department of Justice and comply with any mandatory collective bargaining obligations for amendments to City Code related to the Community Police Oversight Board
Written testimony is not read out loud into the record during the meeting. Testimony is archived as a part of the record after Council acts on the item.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 41 written testimonies
| Name | Position | Comments and attachments |
|---|---|---|
| Matt LaVine | Support | Hello, everyone, I’m Matt LaVine. As you consider implementation issues related to the CBPA, I wanted to publicly thank Councilor Kanal for bringing these issues up that show his continued commitment to public safety, to racial and social justice, to the people of Portland, and to the core city values that former Police Accountability Commissioner Charlie Michele Westley does such a wonderful… Read more |
| Charlie Michelle-Westley | Support | As a former Police Accountability Commissioner (PAC) and a community member with extensive lived experience around the obvious need for real police accountability, not to be confused with any hate for police, just the need as any other employee who needs to be accountable for one's actions, except this is around being accountable for police violence, it astounds me that those city leaders,… Read more |
| Brian M. Owendoff | Oppose | I have attended over 100 Portland City Council and other committee meetings since 2008. Yesterday’s Community and Public Safety Committee meetings was one of the most poorly run, NON transparent and frankly insulting meetings I have attended in my 34 year business career! Councilors Novick and Kanal preach transparency, non-bias, and public trust. Your actions last night showed THE EXACT… Read more |
| Allison Siphron | Support | Hello, I am writing to commend the Community and Public Safety Committee for working to restore the recommendations of the Police Accountability Commission in forming the Community Board for Police Accountability. The previous City Council deviated from those recommendations in what they presented to the Department of Justice. However, I think that the proposal that is before the… Read more |
| Laurie Wimmer |
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| KAREN CHIRRE | Support with changes |
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| Anonymous | Oppose | As an aside, the fact that people took time off from work to verbally testify and were not allowed to do so, is an absolute OUTRAGE. I am a minority immigrant mother who has lived, worked and volunteered at great length in Portland for 28 years. My comment is about the desired change to the city code about the new accountability board. Mr. Kanal has played out that change as a “minor”… Read more |
| none | Support | I support the Kanal item and the Novick amendment adopted today. See my attached citations and testimony in PDF attached. This does not end if cops union says no in the short term future. Com smith. said this ends.
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| Christian Orellana Bauer (former member of the Police Accountability Commission) | Support with changes | Members of the Community and Public Safety Committee, I am writing to you today as a former member of the Police Accountability Commission in support of the changes on this agenda item. The deviations from the PAC's original recommendations will only serve to hurt the relationship between Portland's law enforcement and its citizens. Any attempts to realign with the intended community… Read more |
| anonymous | Support | I support Councilor Kanal's amendment to better define who can serve on the Community Board for Police Accountability, consistent with the letter/spirit of the law passed by about 82% of Portlanders who wanted only community members independent of police to be on the board, and to comply with the DOJ requirements given the decades of Portland police violating the law and civilian rights, and… Read more |
| Cameron Browne | Support with changes | As a former member of the Police Accountability Commission and a life long resident of Portland I am writing to commend the Community and Public Safety Committee for working to restore the recommendations of the Police Accountability Commission in forming the Community Board for Police Accountability. The previous City Council deviated from those recommendations in what they presented to the… Read more |
| Adam Breindel | Oppose | I oppose the changes to an already strong oversight board structure. These changes represent yet another attempt to limit and encumber our police force in a city that is already underpoliced relative to peer cities and FBI guidelines. Portland has historically been fortunate to experience lower crime rates—particularly violent crime—than many other cities. However, that trend has collapsed in… Read more |
| Gary Grossman | Support | I support amendment 2. Oversight means problems don’t get ignored, which strengthens community relationships and makes everyone safer in the long run. |
| jassa grewal | Support | Having a citizen board for police accountability keeps things fair and transparent. It helps prevent misconduct, builds trust, and ensures officers do their job ethically. With independent oversight, issues get addressed properly, improving community relations and public safety. Without it, trust in law enforcement can quickly break down. |
| Sandy Chung, ACLU of Oregon | Support |
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| Sally Joughin | Support |
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| Mary King | Support with changes | I support the passage of the current resolution, but only as a first step to getting back into alignment with the Police Accountability Commission’s recommendations and code. It’s very upsetting to see the will of the voters and all the hard work to bring about an empowered community review board set aside so easily to weaken the Community Police Oversight Board to the point of impotence. We… Read more |
| Dan Handelman Portland Copwatch | Support with changes | Members of the Community and Public Safety Committee:
As a former member of the Police Accountability Commission and a co-founding member of Portland Copwatch, I certainly agree that the new oversight board should be set up as soon as possible-- and that it must be set up right.
Portland Copwatch supports better defining what is meant by "bias" in the current City Code. But the… Read more
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| Nader Absood, MultDem PCP, Criminal Justice Study Group member | Support | I support Agenda Item 2 to update and clarify language in the City Code related to the Community Police Oversight Board and would like to submit the attached written testimony.
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| Corinne Frechette | Oppose | I oppose the change because it goes against maintaining order and rationality on the accountability board. Also, forcing to reopen a labor contract violates labor law. |
| Brian, NE Portland resident since 2003 | Support | I support this resolution wholeheartedly. I'm a 20+ year Portland resident of N/NE Portland and have been continually frustrated with the city's inability to truly implement police oversight despite efforts that have been bouncing around nearly the entire time I've lived here - this resolution brings us closer! Please get it done! |
| Brian, NE Portland resident since 2003 | Support | I support this resolution wholeheartedly. I'm a 20+ year Portland resident of N/NE Portland and have been continually frustrated with the city's inability to truly implement police oversight despite efforts that have been bouncing around nearly the entire time I've lived here - this resolution brings us closer! Please get it done! |
| Cleric Heather Van Wilde | Support with changes | Good afternoon, councilmembers. My name is Cleric Heather Van Wilde. I've been an infrequent speaker here, and that is my first time speaking in front of the new Council. I live in District 1 and I am speaking today to express concerns with the proposed amendment here before Council. I am a disabled Portlander who has been living in this city for many years, and in 2020 while working as a… Read more |
| Sarah | Support with changes | I am writing to commend the Community and Public Safety Committee for working to restore the recommendations of the Police Accountability Commission in forming the Community Board for Police Accountability. The previous City Council deviated from those recommendations in what they presented to the Department of Justice. However, I think that the proposal that is before the Committee should go… Read more |
| Anonymous | Support | Committee Chairs Novick and Kanal and Committee Members Morillo, Zimmerman, and Smith, My name is Mary-Margaret Wheeler-Weber and I’m a resident of North Portland. I submit this testimony in support of Agenda Item 2, which directs city code amendments to establish a community police oversight board that is fair and impartial. I support the proposed changes because I believe they are in… Read more |
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