On Tuesday, June 9, 2020, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced he is committing $12 million to black and brown communities, and shared a list of significant reforms to local policing he will be implementing and pursuing. Because systemic racism extends beyond police agencies, Mayor Wheeler is also directing all City bureaus in his portfolio to develop strategies to better serve black communities.
“The public has given us this historic opportunity to re-imagine what policing and public safety looks like in Portland and all across America,” Mayor Wheeler said. “Too often, the very institutions that are supposed to protect and serve our community have instead failed people of color, specifically our black community.”
The list of reform action items (attached) includes financial, policy and legislative items that Mayor Wheeler will take in partnership with other elected leaders. Among the 19 items on Mayor Wheeler’s action list are:
- Redirect $7 million from Police Bureau and $5 million from other City funds to communities of color
- Call on criminal justice system partners to match the City commitment and reinvest in communities of color
- Call for a community-led review and re-envisioning of core police patrol services, convened by the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing (PCCEP)
- Decline renewal of Intergovernmental Agreement with TriMet, dissolving the PPB Transit Division and putting transit officers back on patrol
- Dissolve Gun Violence Reduction team and fundamentally reshape our approach to reduce gun violence in collaboration with the Office of Youth Violence Prevention, District Attorney-elect and other partners
- Remove police officers from schools, dissolving Youth Services Division and School Resource Officer program
- Create local legislation enshrining PCCEP in Portland City Code, making it a permanent community oversight body
- Create local racial profiling ban with private right of action for intentional discrimination by law enforcement
“These actions are long overdue, and government is not doing this alone,” Mayor Wheeler said. “We are doing it with everyone, with our community partners and with our black leaders and community.”
Mayor Wheeler announced his list of reforms in a virtual press conference that can be viewed at this link.
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