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Hi Portland! I see a lot of you are getting interested in how our police bureau works. As someone who’s reported on Portland cops for a few years, I’m THRILLED. To help get you up to speed, I thought I’d share some past stories I’ve written on policing in Portland:
Why the Department of Justice was initially called in to investigate Portland police in 2010: https://www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2018/04/25/19837743/hall-monitor-origin-stories
On how that investigation and resulting settlement agreement “concluded” in 2019: https://www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2019/11/07/27438204/hall-monitor-checking-boxes
On how the city’s current contract with its police union protects racist cops: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/02/06/25769367/city-council-approves-100000-settlement-for-racist-cop
On why Portland officers don’t wear body cameras: https://www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2019/06/20/26664950/hall-monitor-camera-shy
Why the city’s citizen committee that reviews police misconduct cases is, essentially, toothless: https://www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2018/06/20/20728512/hall-monitor-reasonable-people
Why Multnomah County grand juries seem to always side with abusive, violent police officers: https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2018/03/28/19773031/multnomah-county-grand-juries-keep-violent-officers-on-the-streets
Why the city’s attempts to fire delinquent police officers rarely works: https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2020/02/27/28049957/can-state-legislation-fix-portlands-police-accountability-problem
An analysis of 17-year-old Quanice Hayes’ death at the hands of Portland police officers: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/02/01/25716260/portland-police-didnt-consider-alternatives-to-shooting-black-teen-outside-report-finds
How City Attorneys tried to blame Quanice Hayes for his own killing in court: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/02/26/28050960/portland-city-attorneys-argue-that-teen-slain-by-police-was-solely-responsible-for-his-death
On the death of 24-year-old Terrell Johnson by Portland officers—and his family’s fight for justice: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/05/10/26457522/mother-of-terrell-johnson-requests-federal-trial-for-sons-death-by-portland-cop
On the small percentage of Portland officers living inside city limits (at least, in 2018): https://www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2018/09/27/23211988/hall-monitor-commuter-cops
On the 2018 audit that sparked Jo Ann Hardesty’s initial interest in defunding the PPB’s gang unit: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2018/03/28/19774027/audit-finds-portlands-gang-patrol-officers-disproportionally-target-african-americans
On Black Portlanders distrust of the police: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/03/20/26180688/report-shows-concerning-divide-between-portland-cops-and-the-public
On Portland Police Bureau's ties to West Linn’s racist police work: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/02/12/27972358/ppb-will-look-into-portland-cops-involvement-in-racist-retaliatory-arrest
There's also a LOT of other local reporters who've done spectacular reporting on the Portland Police Bureau over the years. That (exhaustive) list is for another time—but wanted to be clear that I am just one of many. Okay, bye!
