At Tuesday`s registration, city attorney Heidi Brown said the city had no objection to the nine recommendations and was required to implement the changes to deal with the notice of non-compliance. Mediation between the city, the Ministry of Justice and other authorities involved in the regulation on the implementation of these changes – particularly with regard to body cameras and the Community Monitoring Board – will begin early next month. Incorporating the supervisory board into the Justice Department`s settlement agreement would likely be the last layer of legal protection needed – one that the union would struggle to overcome because a federal judge would have to override state law and the federal settlement agreement. At Tuesday`s registration conference, DOJ lawyers explained PPB`s failure to adequately respond to the 2020 racial justice protests. Portland police broke with the agreement due to their use of force, incomplete training, lax accountability and limited community engagement during some 170 nights of protests last year. On December 17, 2012, the United States filed a lawsuit against the city and, along with the city`s cooperation, filed a joint application in which it asked the court to approve the negotiated settlement agreement and conditionally dismiss the case. In particular, the U.S. complaint alleges that ppB is applying a tendency or practice of using excessive force against individuals with real or perceived mental illness by: (1) too often applying a higher level of violence than necessary; (2) the use of electronic control weapons (« ECW »), commonly referred to as « Tasers », in circumstances where such force is not justified, or the use of ECW on a person more frequently than necessary; and (3) the use of a higher level of violence than low-intensity crimes is justified. The agreement requires changes – of which the PPS has already begun to be implemented – in the areas of policy, training, surveillance oversight, community mental health services, crisis intervention, staff information systems, formal accountability, and community engagement and oversight. The Agreement also provides for new innovative mechanisms for the continued participation of the Community in the implementation of reforms.
In addition, the agreement provides for the creation of an Independent Compliance Officer and a Community Liaison Officer (« COCL ») who will be responsible for synthesizing use of force data by ppb, reporting to City Council, the Department of Justice and the public, and gathering public comment on SCH`s compliance with the Agreement. Finally, the agreement sets out the framework for a Community Supervisory Advisory Board (« COAB »), which will be a crucial mechanism for civic engagement in the reform process. « There are so many issues that need to be addressed around the practices, culture and outcomes produced by PPB, but the settlement agreement focuses closely on police interactions with people with mental health issues, » Hardesty wrote in February. The city has invested millions of dollars in a process that does not change our results. I hope the courts will see that we need to withdraw from this agreement in order to change the safety of the Portland community in the future.â After months of tense back and forth with city officials, the U.S. Department of Justice sent an official letter of non-compliance to the Portland Police Bureau for alleged violations of a 2014 settlement agreement, which regulates the use of force. The proposed settlement agreement contains detailed provisions on the Portland Police Bureau`s policies and practices regarding: (1) the use of force; (2) deal with persons who are perceived as mentally ill or who actually suffer from a mental illness or mental health crisis; (3) deal with persons suffering from addiction and mental health problems; (4) crisis intervention; (5) the identification of employees at risk; (6) the accountability of public servants; (7) training; (8) supervision; (9) the registration, investigation and evaluation of complaints of misconduct; (10) transparency and oversight; and (11) community participation. The proposed Settlement Agreement also contains provisions on the implementation and enforcement of its provisions.
Today, the United States received court approval of a settlement agreement to reform the way the Portland Oregon Police Department (« SCH ») interacts with people with real or perceived mental illness. The agreement was entered into jointly by the United States and the City of Portland, Oregon, with the approval of the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform (« AMA Coalition ») and the Portland Police Association (« PPA »). The agreement deals with constitutional claims in a civil lawsuit filed by the United States under the Violent Crimes Control and Enforcement Act of 1994. In today`s decision, the court approved the agreement with the requirement that the parties must appear at regular hearings to inform the court of the progress made in implementing the agreement. « Today`s decision is the culmination of important work by all parties to achieve such a revolutionary solution for the citizens of Portland, » said U.S. District Attorney Amanda Marshall for the District of Oregon. « We are very grateful to the court for issuing this order and look forward to continuing to work with the City of Portland, the Portland Police Bureau, the Portland Police Association, the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform, and all citizens of Portland to ensure that the letter and spirit of this agreement is respected. » The hearing on 9 November, which will focus on whether or not the parties to the settlement agree on how to deal with non-compliant conduct, will be open to the public […].
Commentaires récents