Portland City Council Meeting PM Session

5:25Good evening, everybody.

5:30It is Wednesday, February 19th at 6:01 PM, and we are calling this evening session of the Portland City Council into session.

5:41Uh, Rebecca, could you call the roll?

5:47Present.

5:48Here.

5:50Here.

5:52Here.

5:55Here.

5:56Here.

5:56Here.

5:57Here.

5:59Here.

5:59Here.

6:00Here.

6:02Councilor Zimmerman has indicated that he'll be about half an hour late to today's meeting.

6:07Pirtle-Guiney?

6:08Here.

6:10Thank you.

6:10Uh, I will ask our attorney to go over the rules of order and decorum now before we begin.

6:19Welcome to the Portland City Council.

6:25To testify before council in person or virtually, you must sign up in advance on the council agenda at www.portland.gov/council/agenda.

6:34Information on engaging with council can be found at the council clerk's webpage.

6:38Individuals may testify for 3 minutes unless the presiding officer states otherwise.

6:42Your microphone will be muted when your time is over.

6:45The presiding officer preserves order.

6:47Disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others' testimony or council deliberations will not be allowed.

6:56If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given.

6:58Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting.

7:01Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass.

7:05Additionally, council may take a short recess and reconvene virtually.

7:09Your testimony should address the matter being considered.

7:11When testifying, please state your name for the record, but your address is not necessary.

7:15If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent.

7:19Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the council clerk calls your name.

7:23Thank you.

7:25Thank you very much.

7:27The first item on our agenda is agenda approval.

7:33Are there any requests to amend, reorder, or today's agenda, or add an item to the next meeting's agenda?

7:42Councilor Kanal.

7:44Yes, um, I would like to move to place the item, um, appoint Laura Campos to the, uh, the TIF, the Cully TIF District, um, review board at the top of the regular agenda, please.

7:57So, councilors, because this item was moved off of the consent agenda, it was placed at the end of our regular agenda.

8:06This is a motion to move it to the beginning of the regular agenda.

8:09We do have guests here to speak to this agenda item, so this would allow them to not stay as late.

8:15Do we have a second?

8:16Second.

8:17I think Councilor Ryan was first there.

8:20Rebecca, could you call the roll?

8:22Actually, is there any discussion?

8:23I apologize.

8:25Is there any discussion?

8:27Okay, Rebecca, could you call the roll please?

8:31Aye.

8:32Aye.

8:33Aye.

8:34Aye.

8:34Aye.

8:35Aye.

8:35Aye.

8:36Aye.

8:37Aye.

8:39Aye.

8:40Aye.

8:44Thank you.

8:44The next item on our agenda is public communication.

8:48Rebecca, could you call up our Uh, first folks, please.

8:53Our first testifier is Val Burns.

8:59Val Burns.

9:04I'm not seeing Val in the room or online, so I will go to our next testifier, Laura Curry.

9:11Laura Curry.

9:17Next we have Joe Alfon.

9:24Joe Alfon.

9:29And Chuck Crockett.

9:37And Number 5, we have Thomas Karwacki.

9:49Mr. Karwacki, thank you for joining us tonight.

9:58My name is Tom and I'm an addict.

10:02You might share the same addiction— city council meetings.

10:08I hope you had something to eat today, this evening.

10:11Because my neighbors behind me, through generosity of the city at the Safe Rest Village, did get a meal.

10:19However, they don't get a breakfast and they don't get a lunch.

10:24And for that, they rely on the St. John Food Share.

10:29And it's really important.

10:31I've served over a ton of food to the— that I brought to the village.

10:36But it's really important to know that the food banks throughout the city Are the ones who provide the supplemental food for all the TAS and the Safe Rest Villages and all the other county villages, et cetera.

10:49And so it's really important that the city consider that in its budget decisions and maybe $5,000 or $10,000 to help those, to make sure that they have food.

10:59And especially for the 150 new beds that will be going in at Bybee Lake, I guess 50 for the city.

11:05So that's kind of important.

11:07So we'd like to consider that.

11:09Thank you.

11:10Um, one of the other areas that I'd like to look at is I have another hat sometimes that I wear, and that's as a neighborhood chair, association chair.

11:20And one of the things that is not known generally is that you spend about $1.6 million to the, uh, district coalitions.

11:30And how much do you think actually makes it to the neighborhoods?

11:34About $100,000.

11:37And on top of that $1.6 million, there's about another $2 million of overhead and other expenses for Civic Life.

11:44So you can see what it costs and how little actually goes to those neighborhoods that you all talk about so much and you enjoy, and those district coalitions that you meet.

11:54So just remember that maybe you could do something to help us actually, because it was supposed to be a public-private partnership.

12:01Yes.

12:02But it's about 99% city money now.

12:04And so really what we have to do is how do we engage and equip the neighborhood associations and the district coalitions to become more self-sufficient so that they can wean themselves from the investment that you are making in them and in the neighborhoods.

12:20So that's one of the things that I'd like to do.

12:22Last summer, I wore out a pair of shoes talking to neighbors.

12:26I bet all of you probably Did one or two pairs too.

12:30We've heard a lot of things, and I want to thank you very much for all of that.

12:35As far as the, uh, Kenton Fire Station, it's still standing.

12:41Thank you very much.

12:43Rebecca, have we heard from any of the other—.

12:46We have.

12:47Um, first we have Laura Curry.

12:50She's online.

12:51Laura, you can unmute and join us.

12:55Great, thank you very much.

12:57My name is Laura Curry, and I am a member of the Northwest Stadiumhood Group.

13:04Uh, personally, I live at 16th Avenue Northwest, and I'm bounded by 15th Avenue Northwest to my east, 16th Avenue Northwest to my west, Burnside to my south, Cooch Street, which is now Cooch Plaza, to my north.

13:24I clean needles every day, burnt foil every day, women's panties some days, clothing, human feces, etc., etc.

13:36I am testifying about the action to block Measure 110 grant funding from being awarded to organizations that are actively exacerbating the public safety and drug crisis in the Stadium Hood community.

13:51Specifically, I am referring to Portland People's Outreach Project— PPoP is their acronym— which now operates under the misleading name of Portland Health Action Team, as well as Portland Street Medicine, which works alongside them in distributing drug paraphernalia in school zones.

14:11Be very clear, this is not a needle exchange in any way.

14:16I work and have lived in cities where there are needle exchanges.

14:19There is no accountability.

14:21There is no data recovery.

14:23There is no information to let us know that they're in any way reducing any kind of communicable disease.

14:32These organizations are not practicing harm reduction.

14:35They are creating lawless zones where Schedule 1 drugs are openly used and dealt.

14:43Councilmember And this happens 24/7.

14:46I see this out of my north-facing window onto Couch Plaza every single day, full stop.

14:55Instead of providing legitimate medical or outreach services, they are enabling and expanding the addiction and drug use crisis on my streets, in my community, where children seniors, families in my building, uh, retired and workforce people live.

15:19It's making it easier for dealers to entrench themselves in my Stadium Hood neighborhood, particularly around the Cathedral School where I am across the street.

15:30So I, I recover people that are passed out on the plaza.

15:36Thank you.

15:37There has been overdoses, deaths.

15:40This is where children are forced to walk.

15:43We have photo documentation of children in cars going to school that are adjacent, can see out their window of drug deals and drug use, uh, happening right on the street.

15:58These sales happen every day.

16:01I am appealing to the city To deny any funding to block Measure 110 grant funding from being awarded to PPoP that is ruining my neighborhood.

16:15Thank you.

16:20Next we have Joe Alfon.

16:23I believe Joe is in the room.

16:34Joe is in the, in the outer, uh, chamber.

16:38Okay.

16:54I'd like to put my phone down.

17:14Thank you.

17:19So this isn't really— isn't worth my time.

17:21Yeah, Olivia.

17:21Yeah, you can smile at me all you want.

17:23Yeah, when I saw you at the, uh, social.

17:24Yeah, I feel like I I'm in a mosh pit.

17:27Yeah, okay, of course.

17:29So yeah, we're in the midst of a great man, Keith Wilson, a very great man.

17:34We're also in the midst of the new incoming police chief, great man, thank you.

17:39He supports the broken window theory, which brought a sewer and rat wasteland of New York City to national acclaim and prominence.

17:48Yeah, maybe it was Giuliani, maybe you have some problems with somebody like that, but you know, it's not about the politics, but it's about the The fact that I'm leaving tomorrow.

17:59I don't live here anymore.

18:01I'm tired of the harassment, the ridicule.

18:04Yeah, Dan Ryan, okay, so you want to like put like a spur into a new streetcar, like into like an industrial area?

18:13Well, you know, it didn't work out with Chinatown, you know.

18:16I mean, like, there's— it's disgusting, Chinatown.

18:20I mean, like, yeah, okay, so like you really want to do something like Well, support the Frog Fairy.

18:26Keith Wilson, he supports the Frog Fairy because this is visionary.

18:32This is like Hong Kong.

18:34This is like New Orleans.

18:35I've, I've lived all over the world, and this is without question the most horrible place during the 3 years that I lived here.

18:44Ridicule, harassment.

18:47Uh, let's see, um, a couple of days ago, I was assaulted by a cashier at the Chevron.

18:53Uh, maced and kicked, uh, because my sister died, uh, 10 days ago.

18:59Um, I was sending a text message to my other sister, and, um, sure, I complied.

19:04I went outdoors, and, um, but then because of the hatred in his heart, which is so prevalent in this city, um, he decided— he decided to, um, assault me.

19:15Um, Officer, uh, Vu Nguyen said that, yeah, sure, you know, this man has like a heavy-handed history of doing these type of things.

19:24But yeah, this is not a remote thing.

19:27This is not something that just happened that one time.

19:30Uh, let's see, I, I got punched in the face about 2 weeks ago as well too.

19:36Um, I'm just minding my own business.

19:38Oh yeah, walking in Chinatown.

19:41I'd like to make sure that we can pick you up for folks who are listening online, so if you can face toward us and the microphones, that would be helpful.

19:47So I have 38 seconds left.

19:50Oh great.

19:50Um, and so, um, if you want to I have so much to say to you people.

19:55Maybe I'll send you an email.

19:57But yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow.

20:00Support Keith Wilson.

20:02Stop with your bickering.

20:04I mean, yeah, Olivia Clark wanted to be like the president of this thing and all these backroom deals.

20:10Work together.

20:11Support the mayor.

20:13Support the police chief.

20:15Support this city because things are not working out here.

20:18And, you know, I ran for city council because I wanted to help you people out.

20:23Thank you.

20:23I'm leaving now.

20:24Thank you.

20:33Next up we have Chuck Crockett.

20:34Chuck is joining us online.

20:41Chuck, you're unmuted.

20:44Can you hear us?

20:50We can, if you could speak up.

20:59There's quite a bit of feedback.

21:06Can you hear us?

21:07Can you hear better now?

21:08That's much better.

21:09Yes, you can go ahead.

21:12Oh, okay.

21:16Okay, um, I contacted the city council about, uh, information regarding the, uh, uh, a records request that was made to the city of Portland regarding the jurisdiction of the city of Portland over the, over the freedmen, which are the Black Americans.

21:36And And not have the legal documentation to act as a representative government of the free human of Portland, Oregon.

21:50Now, I reached out to a few of the council members and I haven't received a response.

21:54Yes.

21:55Sorry, your audio is going in and out.

22:00Okay, hold on.

22:00Let me try to see if I can—.

22:04Let's try again.

22:05Can you hear me better now?

22:06Yep.

22:08Okay, so as I was saying, I did a records request to this City of Portland about the legal documents and the legal— and the jurisdiction of the City of Portland over the freedmen, which are the Black Americans of Portland, Oregon, and the state of Oregon.

22:23You guys replied that you did not have the legal authorization or the documentation to act as the governing body over Black Americans, who are the freedmen of Portland, Oregon.

22:32I requested the city council to sit down and come up with a solution to this situation, but nobody has responded and nobody has taken upon this task to do such a thing.

22:43And it has now raised a jurisdiction because the president of the United States is now challenging the state of Oregon and the 14th Amendment, and it's become a— actually a national situation and a jurisdiction.

22:55So this issue just blew up more than just locally from something that I've been doing and we've been working as a think tank and doing.

23:02Thank you.

23:11I think we've, we've lost Chuck altogether.

23:13Chuck, if you can still hear us.

23:15Yeah, I can hear you.

23:18Can you still hear me?

23:19Uh, nope, we dropped you for about 5 seconds.

23:23Oh, okay.

23:23Sorry, sorry.

23:25But the issue, the issue and the communication that I'm trying to get to is Because there is actually a legal jurisdictional issue over the— as the City of Portland as the governing body over us.

23:35And this has basically gone up to the presidential level because, like I said, the state of Oregon and the City of Portland itself is now challenging the president.

23:46Meant for freed men.

23:47That was the—.

23:53Chuck, we lost you again.

24:00Can you hear me?

24:01Can you hear me better now?

24:03Yes.

24:05Okay, so like I was saying, the, the issue is a legal and jurisdictional issue and a governing body issue.

24:12I've been— we've— I've been trying, and it's not just me, but a few of us have been emailing the City of Portland to try to figure out this issue, but no one has actually legally tried to address this issue.

24:21And like I said, it's become a national level, so My communication is that that legal jurisdictional and governing body issue needs to be solved because the Portland admitted that it's not— does not have the legal jurisdiction or legal documentation to act as the governing body of freedmen.

24:36And you shouldn't be using our tax dollars and giving out our tax dollars to non-government entities such as nonprofits on our behalf.

24:47You shouldn't be giving anybody money on our behalf.

24:49You shouldn't be spending any of our money because you say you're not the legal Representation of our governing body.

24:54So I believe—.

25:00Thank you.

25:01I think unfortunately we're out of time, and we may have lost you again, Chuck, but I'm sure that, um, council members will check to see if they've gotten that communication.

25:11I know that I will.

25:12Thank you for being here today.

25:16And that concludes testimony.

25:22Okay, thank you.

25:24The next item on our agenda is the consent agenda, isn't it?

25:33And we do have one item on the consent agenda, councilors.

25:36The second item has been pulled off of the consent agenda.

25:41Um, Rebecca, could you call the roll on the item left on the consent agenda?

25:53Avalos?

25:59Aye.

26:00Dunphy?

26:01Aye.

26:01Smith?

26:02Aye.

26:03Kanal?

26:04Aye.

26:04Ryan?

26:05Aye.

26:05Koyama Lane?

26:06Aye.

26:06Murillo?

26:07Aye.

26:08Novick?

26:09Aye.

26:09Clark?

26:10Aye.

26:10Green?

26:11Aye.

26:12Pirtle-Guiney?

26:13Aye.

26:16Thank you.

26:18We are now moving to the regular agenda portion of the council meeting, and because of the vote previously to reorder, the next item on the agenda is the appointment of Laura Campos.

26:35Uh, could you read the agenda item, Rebecca?

26:38Appoint Laura Campos to the Cully Tax Increment Finance District Community Leadership Committee for term to expire October 1st, 2025.

26:48Thank you.

26:49And this item has been heard by our Governance Committee and recommended to council for passage.

26:56Uh, Mayor Wilson, would you like to speak to your appointment at all, or should we move to your bureau director?

27:03Okay, Helmi, go right ahead.

27:04Great, thank you.

27:05Good afternoon, or good evening.

27:07Helmi Hisarik, director of the Portland Housing Bureau.

27:10Um, on November 16th, through Ordinance 191071, City Council approved the Cully TIF District Plan.

27:19The plan includes, uh, a community governance charter that articulates a community leadership committee and their responsibilities, which are namely to advise the City of Portland and Prosper Portland staff, mayor, city administrator, city council, and the Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners on the implementation of the TIF plan, by providing guidance, public recommendations, and oversight of the city's Prosper Portland's implementation TIF plan.

27:47Uh, we are here, uh, asking on behalf of the Housing Bureau and Prosper Portland for the confirmation of Laura Campos to the Cully TIF District Community Leadership Committee, where we have one vacancy created by someone who has stepped down.

28:02Uh, this item came before the Housing and Homelessness Committee.

28:05I, at the time, read her full bio.

28:08Yes.

28:08Um, I'm going to refrain from reading that right now other than to say that Laura Campos has tirelessly and graciously provided her time and, and attention through efforts at Verde, Cully Gathering Garden, and NEA, and is a wonderful representative for the leadership committee.

28:25Um, she was unanimously approved in committee, and I'm well happy to read more information, but she's also online if you have questions for her, uh, specifically.

28:36Thank you so much.

28:37Miss Campos, would you like to say a few words?

28:41Oh, hello.

28:42My name's Laura Campos.

28:43I live at 3419 Southwest 1st Avenue, and, um, I previously chaired the SWEENI, which was Southwest Neighborhood Inc., Equity and Inclusion Committee.

28:57We developed an equity policy.

28:59We also did best practices And what one of our events was on 2016, the Portland All Nations Canoe Family had a canoe naming and blessing ceremony at Willamette Park.

29:12Now we had it at Willamette Park because, well, I should say I'm a Native American elder, but to do a ceremony you need water that is, um, not as toxic.

29:24And Cathedral Park, which is a Superfund was deemed inappropriate for that.

29:30Um, I've also worked at the Cully Gathering Garden, and that came out of my involvement with our youth at NEA.

29:43Um, we were having trouble getting some of the materials for basket making, so we, we determined that if parks would plant, um, native plants, then it could be a source of gathering for our community.

29:58I'm also a member of the Great Spirit United Methodist Church.

30:03Um, and let's see, uh, what else?

30:08Oh, I also worked with Tony DeFalco.

30:10That was during the Cully Gathering Garden.

30:13Um, he was previously with Verde, so I have a long-standing history with the community.

30:20And even though I live in Southwest.

30:25Um, urban renewal is— has been of an interest to me since growing up in the South Side of Chicago.

30:32It's something that, um, really touches my heart because as we make improvements to our communities, I've watched for 45 years the changes in the neighborhood where I currently live, Laird Hill.

30:48Where many of the long-standing residents were displaced.

30:52I in fact am frequently challenged when I stand in front of the house I reside in for 44 years.

31:01Um, people say, you're not one of us, um, you're not from around here, don't people like you live on the east side?

31:11And then I have to tell them about all the things that I've done To improve the neighborhood.

31:17But it seems ironic that there's really no place for me in Southwest, um, and I want to preserve Cully because it's one of the last places where I can go and feel safe and not be challenged for the way I look.

31:39Thank you very much.

31:41Councilor Koyama Lane, this item came out of your committee.

31:45Do you, or does anybody from your committee, wish to speak to it before we move on to a motion or general discussion?

31:53Yes, I'd like to say a few things.

31:54Thank you, Madam President.

31:56Um, just to kind of set the stage and explain, so colleagues, last week in our Governance Committee, we discussed this proposed appointment of Laura Campos As Director Hisarick shared, Laura Campos was first vetted by the executive side, so came to us in the Governance Committee.

32:16We heard public testimony in support of her appointment.

32:20Councilors asked questions and were satisfied with the responses.

32:24We voted 5-0 to advance this appointment to full council.

32:28So I wanted to speak to specifically how that went with Laura.

32:32She has our full support.

32:34I want to speak a little bit Yes.

32:36More separately, putting that, that aside, that, um, we are working in governance to ask a lot of questions about what our rules, procedures, um, what, what those are going to be.

32:51And just as I've had some of colleagues up here talk about how they can geek out over the budget, this is what I geek out over, is good government, governance, and the co-creation of Yes.

33:02Of different rules and procedures and really talking about a lot of different perspectives and figuring out the right way to set things up.

33:10So I think we're all aware that just as this appointment came up, we're going to have a lot more, many more of these specific appointments of volunteer community members to these volunteers' boards, commissions, committees.

33:25So that's why, as the chair of the Governance Committee, Yes.

33:28After we voted on Laura Campos's specific appointment, I started our first governance committee, uh, with an open discussion on possible procedures for these types of appointments.

33:41So, um, if you're interested, you might have already seen there's, uh, the draft of the resolution that we discussed last week.

33:47And beware, it's, it's pretty drafty, um, and just talking about what are some possibilities for how these appointments come to us.

33:59Um, my vice chair, Councilor Ryan, and I are continuing to work together, and we are going to be talking more about this specific process in our next governance committee.

34:13As, uh, our— the agenda will be made public tomorrow on Thursdays, right?

34:18So you'll be able to see what we plan to discuss Yes.

34:21At that meeting on Monday.

34:23And here are some things that have come up that I want to be really clear about.

34:27I think we all agree we need a clear, efficient process for these appointments.

34:32So one that's really clear to the executive side of our city government, to the public, and also to us councilors.

34:39It also came up in that committee that we really want to value and honor the time of our volunteers on these boards, commissions, and committees.

34:48One part of that is making sure that the appointment process is not too arduous, that there's not vetting from the executive side and then vetting happening in multiple committees.

35:00And so that— the thought is that we do kind of need to make sure that the vetting happens in one committee and then maybe come to full council on the consent agenda.

35:10That's kind of where this conversation is right now.

35:12Thank you.

35:15Yeah, and also keeping in mind when these volunteers come before us that, uh, public comment is, is taking up time.

35:23And so just thinking about how we're, um, respecting those volunteers.

35:29Um, I know there's discussion, there's continued discussion about if it makes sense for all the appointments to come through the Governance Committee or if they should be routed to policy-specific committees Or some combination.

35:44Um, I just want to say that I invite all of you to, um, to weigh in on this.

35:50We welcome your input, uh, without breaking any quorum laws.

35:54So you can, as soon as that agenda goes up, you can attach written testimony.

35:58I encourage all of you to come testify to the Governance Committee.

36:02You can also send your chief of staff to come testify.

36:05And, um, And I'll even say, like, since Monday when I was speaking with my colleagues on this, uh, I am submitting a resolution.

36:15I've actually sat a little bit more with this and personally have a bit of a change in what I'm thinking.

36:20So, um, just a reminder that your input is welcome.

36:25And also, we're, we're talking about resolutions and rules here, so they're important because they do set up a precedent.

36:32But we also could try something and check back in and see.

36:35If we send these appointments to your policy committees, is that— are you feeling bogged down about by those?

36:42Should we do that?

36:43And then maybe there's a release valve where, uh, chairs or co-chairs can say, okay, we want to vet these here, but governance, can you take care of some of them?

36:52Um, so that's just a little bit— just, I know that, um, it's kind of messy doing this all in front of you, but like, I can't have these conversations, um, with you one-on-one.

37:01So we're working on that.

37:02And then The second part, which is different from this conversation, is there's an understanding that we need to have a larger conversation about these volunteer boards, commissions, and committees.

37:13There's a lot of them.

37:14We want to make sure that if we are taking people's time, that their feedback is— and work is used and valued.

37:20We need to ask some questions about who do they advise.

37:23So that is kind of another topic that we will return to.

37:26The last thing we want is to make our community members feel like they're wasting time.

37:30So thank you.

37:33Thank you, Councilor.

37:34Um, it looks like we have some discussion on this.

37:37Councilor Kanal.

37:39Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Mayor Wilson, Director Hysteric, and Miss Campos for being with us.

37:44I'm going to say some things that, uh, I would normally say during a vote and then just be briefer then, um, because I think it might be helpful if anyone does want to react to it.

37:53Um, I'm the person who requested that this item be removed from the consent agenda.

37:56It has absolutely nothing to do with Miss Campos.

37:58It was for process reasons only and wanted to add this to the regular agenda to talk about the process through which we bring appointments to council for a vote, which is very similar to what our vice president just spoke about.

38:10And, you know, I presented over 20 items to this council regarding appointments to a volunteer group, either a council appointment or a mayoral appointment through a report that was then accepted by this council.

38:23And I also served on a workgroup regarding the future of city advisory groups.

38:25So I'm going to claim A little bit of expertise on it.

38:28So I wanted to speak to the fact that while I appreciate the work done by the Governance Committee, um, for this particular nomination, uh, for both timing reasons, um, and the need for subject matter expertise, I think it should be either the full council alone or the relevant policy committee that goes through this, um, process of vetting.

38:48I think there are some, um, big picture things in particular around The demographics, the geographies, things like that about the city's— who the city is appointing in general, which I think we should look at having our staff track as well.

39:04For example, in a hypothetical world in which one demographic is being systematically favored or disfavored in appointments, that would be a good thing to know.

39:13I think that makes sense.

39:15But having the full discussion at the council allows for the full council to be accountable for things.

39:20In this particular case, Cully is in District 2.

39:23Um, I'm, I'm, you know, representing District 2.

39:25I'd like to be able to have the full conversation here, and having it at a committee as well as here would be the least efficient way.

39:32So, um, I, I would recommend Arts and Economy for something like this, for example.

39:36But that's, uh, my comments on it, why I pulled it.

39:39I, I, I hope I didn't cause any, uh, stress to anyone thinking that this was about, um, the particular nominee or, or particular, uh, Committee, um, and I intend to vote yes.

39:48Thank you.

39:49Um, thank you, Vice President Koyama Lane, for setting out that, uh, framework.

40:00I agree with where you're headed, or where the Governance Committee is headed.

40:04Um, uh, I have definitely a long history of being on lots of these boards, and just putting on the record, it is exhausting.

40:10We do not give our volunteers Resources to be successful.

40:16One thing that I'll put on your list— I've got 2 things to put on your list.

40:20When people are on our commissions, if they're having some kind of interpersonal conflict or something that in a normal workplace setting would have an HR intervention, those services are not available to us as volunteers.

40:34That is something I have personal experience with.

40:36And so there needs to be some kind of way that Those volunteers are able to access, whether that's, you know, mediation resources or all the various things that HR can offer a regular employee, because then it puts them in a really hard spot because they have nowhere to go.

40:51And then they might be in a hostile situation and the city is not intervening in those.

40:57And I think also just in general, we want to make a volunteer's time fully valued.

41:02And so if they are generating reports or doing all this Community work.

41:07Um, you know, we've— there's been lots of discussion on various compensation models, you know, whether that's actually stipends or child care options or parking or whatever.

41:17And so I, I've just seen those conversations in flux over the years, and I'd like us to have a, a good direction for how to do that.

41:25Um, another thing is, you know, kind of to what Councilor Kanal is speaking, uh, what are our standards?

41:32For vetting.

41:32I would love to see us come up with maybe a rubric of some kind, um, so that we understand what are our values of who we're looking for, because right now it's just inconsistent.

41:42And I think, you know, it's going to be different for each commission, but there should be a set, a standard set of values that we are agreeing to so that we're judging each applicant, um, under the same expectation.

41:54Um, let's see, what else do I have?

41:57Councilor I think that's it for now.

41:59Thank you.

41:59Thank you, Councilor.

42:01Councilor Green.

42:04Thank you, Madam President.

42:06Um, because this was pulled from the consent agenda, I feel compelled to just say a little bit about TIF districts and why I think it's really important for us to, um, to say a little bit more about why these appointments are really important.

42:17Um, so I don't represent District 2, but I did grow up in Northeast Portland.

42:22Um, I went to school at Scott Elementary School.

42:25That is in Cully.

42:27I remember when Cully was an affordable place to live that had working-class families.

42:33And so I think— I tend to think it's really, really important when we create these urban renewal districts, which we do quite often in this city, we've done it for a long time, that we weigh the pros and cons of those.

42:44And if we're going to do them, let's make sure we put into place governance structures that allow for voices from the community to be heard broadly, not just a small group.

42:52Thank you.

42:52Not just a small subset of people who are connected, but broadly to the community.

42:56And I see Ms. Campos as someone who has those values, who cares a lot about Cully, who cares a lot about ensuring that the property tax resources that would otherwise flow to the whole general fund that are now going to a small neighborhood are going to be used for investments that are anti-displacement in nature and then build up that community.

43:18So— Councilor I support this nomination, but I think I would echo this idea that for TIF district governance committee appointments, I think Arts and Economy would be an appropriate committee to at least have some sort of conversation around this.

43:33And so I intend to vote yes on this.

43:40Councilors, we do need a motion and a second to move this forward.

43:44So moved.

43:49Second.

43:50I believe that was Councilor Dunphy on the second.

43:55Rebecca, could you call roll?

44:00Avalos.

44:03Um, as someone who spent a lot of time with the Cully TIF folks, I want to thank Laura Campos so very much for your service.

44:10It's really important that the folks we are adding to these committees have deep relationships in the community, as Laura clearly does.

44:17So I gladly vote aye.

44:19Ms. Campos, thank you so much for being here tonight.

44:22Uh, glad to get to hear from you directly.

44:24I proudly vote aye.

44:28Aye.

44:29Thank you so much.

44:29I vote aye.

44:31Yes, I'm really gratified to see the interest and optimism and continued community dedication from you, Laura Campos.

44:38Thank you so much, and also thank you for your patience this evening.

44:41Um, it was probably a little awkward.

44:43Um, so anyway, we're all enthusiastic, it appears to be, about you, and we're building something up here, and we're clearly thinking out loud about how to do that.

44:51So don't take it personally.

44:52I vote aye.

44:54Thank you, Ms. Campos.

44:56I vote aye.

44:58Thank you so much for choosing to serve our community.

45:00Aye.

45:02I second the thank you for your patience.

45:05Aye.

45:06Uh, hello, Laura.

45:07This is Olivia speaking to you.

45:10Um, I want to say thank you for everything that you do in South Portland, my neighborhood association, and you've made an incredible difference.

45:17Thank you so much, and I vote aye.

45:21Thank you for your service.

45:22I vote aye.

45:24Aye.

45:25Ms. Campos, thank you so much.

45:28When I first heard we were having an appointee brought forward for this TIF district specifically who didn't live in the area, I was a little nervous, and then I learned who it was and, um, heard from so many people who were excited to have your continued involvement in the area and your continued involvement around the TIF work.

45:46And I appreciate all that you've put into the, the neighborhood already and your willingness to put more time into Cully as well.

45:53Thank you so much.

45:54Aye.

45:55Councilor The next item on our agenda is, uh, acceptance of a report.

46:13Could you read the agenda item for us, Rebecca?

46:17Accept the Portland Police Bureau report to City Council on the 2025 Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force.

46:24Thank you so much.

46:25I'd like to welcome Chief Day and Sergeant Thank you for being with us tonight to bring this report forward.

46:33Just by way of background, and councilors, I think most of us are familiar with this report, but in 2019, the Portland City Council established parameters for cooperation between our police bureau and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force with an intent to remove the city from the task force force but continue to ensure that we still maintained public safety, um, and had clear standards for how we interacted with the task force.

47:06We have parameters in place that we only interact with the FBI on a case-by-case basis with the direct approval from the Chief of Police or the Deputy Chief of Police in cases that have a nexus to threats of life, terrorism, and bias crimes, and that we will receive an annual report on those cases where interaction has occurred.

47:29So this is the acceptance of that annual report, or the presentation, I guess, of that annual report and the ask for our acceptance of it that is required under that previous resolution that council passed.

47:43With that, I will turn it over to you.

47:46Thank you.

47:46Good evening.

47:47Thank you, Madam President, councilors.

47:49Mayor, City Administrator Michael Jordan, appreciate the opportunity to be here.

47:53I really dislike opening a presentation with an apology, but I recognize that this was due to you last month, and, um, we have, uh, made sure that we continue to try and make that January expectation.

48:07Uh, ask for a little grace as we've all navigated the new zeitgeist that we're operating in.

48:12Um, but it's not lost on me that there is a, a January expectation for this report, and you can be assured that you'll have that in January.

48:19Thank you, Mayor.

48:20Of 26.

48:21Um, with that being said, I'm really proud of the work that Sergeant Friedman has led, um, in this effort.

48:27I'm going to turn the sort of nuts and bolts of this over to him, and then we'll be available for your questions and, uh, hopefully provide some answers, as I know this is a, a new learning process for all of us in regards to this particular matter.

48:40Thanks.

48:41Thank you, Chief.

48:42Um, Mayor, Madam President, and councilors, thank you for having us.

48:47Good evening.

48:48Um, some of the information I have is probably going to be a little duplicative.

48:52My presentation, I made some notes, but I'm just going to read ahead and, uh, provide you with, uh, what I've got.

48:58My name is Mark Friedman.

48:59I'm a sergeant with the Police Bureau, um, where I'm currently assigned to supervise the personnel working in the Criminal Intelligence Unit.

49:08I want to thank all of you for the opportunity to present the 2025 report to City Council.

49:12And to begin with, I thought it would be beneficial if I provided you a brief history explaining the parameters of cooperation between the Police Bureau and the JTTF and the origin of the report we're submitting to you today.

49:24In 2019, the council, uh, made the decision to withdraw Portland police officers' full-time participation with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and they passed City Council Resolution 37424, which only permits the Police Bureau to work on JTTF cases selectively.

49:43The resolution limits when and how the Portland Police Bureau will work cases with the JTTF, and it also provides for information sharing and oversight, including the annual report to City Council.

49:54The cases that the Police Bureau is permitted to work with the JTTF are significantly restricted to specific terrorism, threat, and bias-related investigations.

50:04There must be reasonable grounds to suspect criminal activity has occurred.

50:08There must be a direct nexus to the city of Portland.

50:13And in all instances, the special agent in charge of the FBI here in Portland must make a request to the chief of police for PPB involvement on a case-by-case basis.

50:22In the instance that all of those conditions are met, the chief makes the final determination on whether to assign Portland police officers to any JTTF investigation.

50:32Portland officers that are assigned JTTF cases are required to follow all Oregon law.

50:37Police Bureau directive and must receive additional legal training from the City Attorney's Office to ensure compliance with all state and federal law.

50:45You will see in this year's report that annual refresher training was completed by the City Attorney's Office, uh, and delivered to Criminal Intelligence Unit on the 21st of January this year.

50:57Additionally, the City Attorney's Office has advised us that there are no state or federal changes— law changes— that impact or preclude the ability of the Police Bureau members to work with the JTTF when requested.

51:09Council Resolution 37424 requires the Police Bureau to deliver an annual report to City Council which summarizes 4 specific metrics from the JTTF-assigned cases, which I'd now like to highlight from the 2025 report.

51:24The first item is the frequency in of which the FBI Special Agent in Charge requested the PPBCIU to assist on an investigation.

51:33In 2024, the FBI Special Agent in Charge requested the assignment of police officers from Portland for the assistance with criminal investigations 3 times, covering a total of 3 cases.

51:44In all 3 of those cases, the procedure outlined in Portland Police Bureau Directive 750.00 was followed, and the chief approved the police bureau's investigative support in all of those requests.

51:58The second, uh, metric is the number of cases that were referred to the Portland Police Bureau by the FBI.

52:04In 2024, the JTTF did not refer any cases to the Police Bureau for review and investigation separately, uh, outside of that process.

52:16The 3rd metric is the number of cases that were referred to the Portland— uh, referred to the FBI from the PPB.

52:22And in 2024, the Police Bureau referred one case to the JTTF for review and possible follow-up investigation.

52:28The nature of that case involved 2 individuals who were seen trespassing in a restricted area of the airport facility where the police bureau maintains its air support aircraft.

52:38These individuals were ultimately identified, and they were adult white males.

52:46The fourth metric that we have as part of this report is the nature of the closed cases that were referred to the police bureau by the FBI.

52:54And we include with that the demographics of the persons involved in the disposition of those cases.

53:00At this time, only one of the three assigned JTTF cases from 2024 is considered closed.

53:07The nature of that closed case involved an interstate threat of violence to an elected official made by a white female adult living in Portland, and this case was ultimately referred to the U.S. District Attorney's Office for, uh, their consideration.

53:24Based on the open and active invest— uh, status of the remaining 2 cases from 2024, we're unable to report out specific details at this time, but we do anticipate being able to provide that required information by the time of this report next year, which has sort of become customary just based on the timing.

53:42Um, we were in the same similar situation in January of last year when we submitted the 2024 JTT At the time of last year's report, there were also 3 cases to discuss, and we couldn't discuss any of them.

53:57But we are, and we have been tracking those cases, and we are able to report that information out to you now.

54:03And I can briefly summarize them as, as follows.

54:07So 2023 Case 1 was a case of emailed threats involving targeted violence by an individual who was residing in Portland.

54:14Thank you.

54:16This person was identified and was a white male adult.

54:21Our 2023 case number 2 was a case involving threats to commit a crime of violence which were made online and originated from Portland.

54:29The individual involved in that case was identified as a white male adult.

54:34And 2023 case number 3 was a case involving a threat of violence sent by mailed correspondence and originating from Portland.

54:41And in this particular case, we were unable to identify a suspect, so we have no demographics to report out.

54:47In all 3 of the cases from 2024, uh, those are in closed status.

54:54And that is, uh, that is my prepared statements and, um, the, the report.

54:59I think you all have a copy.

55:00Happy to answer questions, take questions if you have them.

55:05Thank you.

55:05We also, um, Have some folks signed up for public testimony.

55:11I'd like to have the opportunity for councilors to ask questions, but perhaps save our broader conversation and discussion for after public testimony.

55:20Does anybody have any clarifying questions first?

55:22Councilor Novick?

55:25Yeah, maybe the answers to this should be obvious, but, um, the nature of closed cases referred to the PPB by the FBI Um, that grammatically it sounds like they're referring a case that's already been closed to us.

55:39Does that really mean that the nature of cases that were referred to PP by the FBI and then were closed?

55:47That's correct.

55:48Yeah, it's, it's worded a little bit, um, strangely, but those are cases that were referred and then ultimately are closed, so we can offer some additional information about those cases once they're closed.

56:00Thank you.

56:03Just a quick clarifying question.

56:06It might be outside the scope of this report, but I think it might be helpful to know how— to what degree this is continuing.

56:12Um, has JTTF requested any coordination from PPB since January 20th of this year?

56:20I don't believe so at this point.

56:21No, no, no requests have been made since January 20th this year.

56:25Thank you.

56:30I'm actually in the queue for a question, not just moving us along.

56:33Um, of the 4 cases that have been closed, 1 from 2024 and 3, 3 from 2023, 2 note what happened when they were closed and 2 just say case closed.

56:46Is there anything else that you can share with us about those other cases and what occurred with them, why they were Um, so I provided a little more specifics.

56:57Um, all of this is obviously in, in coordination with the FBI as far as the information that we are— we have access to.

57:05So as far as the cases where there was some disposition beyond a closed case, that was additional context that was provided to me, um, by the FBI regarding those cases.

57:17The cases that are closed without any additional, um, Information is simp— is due to the fact that, uh, those cases may, may be sitting over at the AUSA's office.

57:29Uh, there may be follow-up that occurs.

57:32They may reopen the case at a later time.

57:34It, it's, um, I, I can, I can ask them to provide additional information about those, but, um, we offer investigative support, and then many times we discontinue our involvement with the case.

57:47Thank you.

57:48It stays on the federal side, yeah, and then ultimately they either close a case or they may choose to prosecute a case.

57:54And I thought it would be helpful in the cases where we had some definitive, uh, action that was taken by the, you know, post, uh, case closure, that it would be helpful to supply that information.

58:07Hopefully that's clear.

58:09It is helpful, and I appreciate that.

58:11I just was hoping that we could get more information on the 2 where there wasn't more information provided if those were also referred for prosecution or if it was closed without any action taken, um, if there was anything else that we could know about those.

58:26I know at least in one case where there's an unidentified suspect, um, that there is no further action to take.

58:32And so in that case, that is a closed case.

58:35The, the remaining case I think you're asking about, it could be— it could have been that it was referred to the to the prosecutor's office, but that information didn't make it back to us, so, um, we didn't supply it simply because it wasn't provided.

58:51Okay, thank you.

58:53Um, Rebecca, I think we have some folks signed up for public testimony.

58:57We do.

58:58We have 6 people.

58:59First up, we have Ethan Crowe.

59:02Is Ethan Crowe in the room?

59:10Just as a reminder, you can sit at any of the mics.

59:12Please stay within 12 inches of the mics when you're speaking.

59:16Absolutely.

59:17Thanks.

59:21Ethan Crowe representing the ACLU of Oregon.

59:25Council President Pirtle-Guiney, Council Vice President Koyama Lane, and city councilors.

59:30The ACLU of Oregon is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and advancing Thank you, Mr.

59:36Mayor.

59:36Thank you, Councilor Mitch Green.

59:37On behalf of our more than 42,000 members and donor supporters statewide, thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony.

59:45Since the Portland Police Bureau first joined the Joint Terrorism Task Force in 2002, we've had significant concerns that this partnership is not consistent with our state and city's values and laws.

59:56Over 30 years ago, Oregon's leaders demonstrated these values through the passage of ORS 181A.250, which prohibits law enforcement from collecting or maintaining information about people's political, religious, or social views, associations, or activities without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

1:00:15A significant concern is that while PPB must comply with state laws like ORS 181A.250 as well as the Oregon Sanctuary Promise Act, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the FBI does not.

1:00:27Second.

1:00:28The city's votes to withdraw from JTTF were due in part to the long-documented history of the FBI conducting unfounded and invasive surveillance, frequently targeting people of color or people based on their religious or political views.

1:00:41These concerns are now extremely heightened due to the Trump administration.

1:00:45The FBI is being directed by a second Trump administration whose 2020 Department of Homeland Security collected and maintained baseball card-style dossiers on racial justice protesters in Portland.

1:00:56According to Senator Ron Wyden, these, quote, political DHS officials spied on Oregonians for exercising their First Amendment right to protest and justified it with baseless conspiracy theories, end quote.

1:01:08In fact, in the first week of his second term, Trump's DOJ issued a memorandum directing JTTFs to assist with immigration enforcement activities.

1:01:17Another significant concern is that oversight of the JTTF is very limited.

1:01:21Since only 2 officers have security clearance allowing full oversight of JTTF cases, outside oversight review ensuring that PPB officers are not violating the law is challenging.

1:01:32While JTTF reports of the last few years have included more detail, we still believe they require more transparency to ensure that the city's resources are being used as intended and not in a manner that violates Oregon law or harms civil liberties.

1:01:45For example, On page 5 of the report, the report refers to several past cases, 2023 cases 1, 2, and 3.

1:01:53For all 3 cases, we would appreciate increased detail about how this constituted terrorist threat or hate crime.

1:01:58Our full comments are submitted, uh, in writing for the record.

1:02:00Thank you.

1:02:03Thank you.

1:02:08Next we have Brandon Mayfield.

1:02:14Can I use either mic?

1:02:20Can everybody hear me?

1:02:21So I just want to— first of all, I want to say salaam alaikum.

1:02:25Uh, I'm a Muslim attorney.

1:02:27I've been in Portland for, uh, over 25 years.

1:02:31I've been practicing for over 25 years, and almost 20 years ago I was arrested in connection with the Madrid, Spain bombing.

1:02:39Had an office between Beaverton and Portland in the unincorporated area there.

1:02:46I was held for 2 weeks and then released, and it was all based on a faulty fingerprint.

1:02:52Before I was arrested, Beth Ann Steele later reported she was a spokesman for the local FBI, that the government didn't have probable cause to arrest me, and yet they did.

1:03:04And so that's my concern and why I'm here today, not in part, but primarily because Ethan from the ACLU had just expressed what our restrictions are for our officers here in Oregon.

1:03:18And that is we have anti-spying, anti-profiling laws.

1:03:23We have sanctuary laws.

1:03:25So our city officers, our Oregon State officers, they can't be assisting in immigration.

1:03:30Thank you.

1:03:30They can't do open-ended investigations.

1:03:34And many of the surveillance techniques used by the JTTF are known and documented through lawsuits, leaks, FOIA requests.

1:03:45And that's how I learned, by the way, in the weeks leading up to my arrest, the local Portland Police Bureau officers were working with the JTTF, and they were watching my coming and going.

1:03:58Okay.

1:03:58From the local Beaverton mosque.

1:04:00And we know that the way that the FBI does investigations is through emails, texts, and phone calls, social media monitoring, fusion centers, which include sharing with DHS, FBI, NSA, and private sector databases.

1:04:15Uh, something that's troubling in, in this report is the last paragraph, and I would strongly ask all of you to remove this because it says, uh, and there's no reason for it to be there, It's the spy on your neighbor program.

1:04:28Say something, do something if you see suspicious activities.

1:04:32That is very open.

1:04:33It's a DHS mandate.

1:04:36It has a history of profiling and surveillance.

1:04:40And it also says— it references the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency.

1:04:47That's a mouthful.

1:04:48But these are all sharing data, and that data is Is it gets data from private sectors.

1:04:54And the point being is they do open-ended investigations and they have loopholes under FISA, under federal laws, that our officers don't.

1:05:03We have community policing.

1:05:04So just in a nutshell, things to consider: working with the JTTF conflicts with local laws.

1:05:14It's an erosion of community trust.

1:05:16It's a lack of transparency.

1:05:18Thank you.

1:05:18There's potential for civil liberty violations.

1:05:21Recording requirements are vague.

1:05:24And the new administration has announced it intends to use JTTF to assist in deportation.

1:05:30And I would just— I would say that we need to get out altogether.

1:05:34And if we are going to stay in, even on a case-by-case basis, to tighten up some of these problems.

1:05:39Okay, thank you.

1:05:40Thank you so much for your time.

1:05:44Next we have Debbie Iona.

1:05:46Debbie's online.

1:05:54Debbie, welcome.

1:05:55I'm Debbie Iona representing the League of Women Voters of Portland.

1:05:59The League first commented on the city's involvement in the JTTF in 2001, and we have shared our views with City Council throughout the years.

1:06:10We appreciate the annual reports and the opportunity to provide oral testimony before the full council.

1:06:17We urge you to continue the practice of presenting the report before the full council in upcoming years and allowing oral testimony.

1:06:26As an organization that promotes an open governmental system that is representative, accountable, and responsive, and that protects individual liberties established by the Constitution, The League continues to support the city's 2019 decision to work with the JTTF only on a case-by-case basis.

1:06:48We believe democracy is strengthened when members of the public vote, express their views before a decision-making body, or join in a demonstration.

1:07:02Can you hear me?

1:07:04Yes, we can.

1:07:05Okay, good.

1:07:06It seemed like things were sort of frozen.

1:07:07Okay, in Oregon, we are fortunate that state law protects participation in First Amendment activities unless there are reasonable grounds to suspect criminal conduct.

1:07:18On the other hand, FBI actions in Oregon and around the country raise concerns that those protections may be ignored when Portland Police work with federal agents.

1:07:30Those concerns can and do have a chilling effect on public involvement, activism, and lawful dissent.

1:07:38In our written comments, we cite several news stories related to FBI actions that underscore the importance of maintaining vigilance over our police bureau's work with them.

1:07:51Two hit close to home.

1:07:53The articles reveal that the FBI, in conjunction with local law enforcement in Southern Oregon, tracked environmental and indigenous activists opposing the Jordan Cove LNG terminal.

1:08:06The surveillance continued even after the pipeline project had been canceled.

1:08:11In conclusion, we recommend that the annual reports include more detail in the descriptions of the closed cases.

1:08:21It would be helpful to know, for example, why the cases were considered hate crimes or acts of terrorism.

1:08:27Thank you.

1:08:28Finally, the League encourages the city to exercise caution when working with the FBI.

1:08:35In Oregon, we value our right to engage in political speech without fear of surveillance.

1:08:41Thank you very much.

1:08:44Thank you for being here with us.

1:08:47Next is Dan Handelman.

1:08:48Dan is also online.

1:08:52Oh, good evening.

1:08:52Can you hear me?

1:08:53Thank you.

1:08:56Hello, good evening, councilors.

1:08:57I'm Dan Handelman with Peace and Justice Works and its project group Portland Cop Watch.

1:09:01I use he/him pronouns.

1:09:03To add to the history you've heard from other folks, Portland Cop Watch discovered the Joint Terrorism Task Force agreement between the FBI and the Portland Police hidden on the consent agenda in November 2000.

1:09:12For nearly a quarter century, we've been organizing with other people in the community to make sure the PPB follows state law protecting people's rights.

1:09:19Law enforcement spying has infringed on Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, labor organizers, environmental activists, civil rights activists, immigrants, Muslims, and others.

1:09:28Our group was twice subject to inappropriate information gathering by the PPB.

1:09:32In 1992, at one of our first meetings, people working undercover took notes and labeled their report Civilian Police Review Board.

1:09:39A PJW member sued for that violation of state law.

1:09:42The judge asked what possible criminal activity could there be in advocating for civilian review board.

1:09:45And ordered the document destroyed.

1:09:48Later, my name popped up on a police report about a 1998 protest where some people were arrested demonstrating against the U.S. bombing of Iraq.

1:09:54I was not arrested.

1:09:55The document stated that I organized a lot of protests about U.S. policy in Iraq.

1:09:59True, but not a crime.

1:10:01After the 2010 FBI sting against Mohammed Mahmoudou, uh, centering on Pioneer Square, the city reentered its agreement with the FBI, having been out for 6 years.

1:10:09Between 2012 and 2015, the bureau was to give annual reports on their work with the JTTF, but those were grossly inadequate.

1:10:15Thank you.

1:10:16And this year's report is moving back towards the inaccuracy of those earlier documents.

1:10:20We testified in 2024 there was no indication why the FBI sought help from the Bureau, as its case descriptions did not seem to fit the criteria of terrorism or other crimes outlined in the resolution.

1:10:29This year, the FBI referred 3 cases to the PPB.

1:10:32I'm not sure what item number 2 says about there being none referred.

1:10:36The first case has the clearest outcome, though incomplete.

1:10:38It says a white female in Portland was identified for making threats to an elected official.

1:10:42The case was referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

1:10:44But it was also closed.

1:10:46The two other FBI-generated cases are still open.

1:10:48The PPB referred one case to the FBI about two white males trespassing near the Bureau's airplanes.

1:10:53As you heard, there's no information on the outcome.

1:10:55We appreciate the PPB continues to include demographics on cases they sent to the FBI, as the resolution does not at this time require it.

1:11:02In the 2024 report, two cases were referred from the FBI to the PPB, and they were handled by the Behavioral Health Unit, indicating that people had mental health issues and did not pose a.

1:11:11Recent discussion at the BHU's advisory committee public meeting indicated the FBI is not interested in getting people entangled in the criminal justice system if they really need mental health support.

1:11:21We hope that's true.

1:11:233 Unresolved cases from last year's report are included here.

1:11:26One white male was prosecuted for threats of targeted violence.

1:11:29The nature of the crime, verdict, and the threats are not— white man in Portland threatening violence.

1:11:34The case was closed with no reason stated.

1:11:36The last case was an unknown suspect, mainly a threat of violence, and it was closed, presumably with no action taken.

1:11:42Peace and Justice Works in Portland and Copwatch continue to call upon the city to treat the relationship with the FBI as something that will only occur in a true case, when a true case arises where lives are endangered due to politically motivated violence, but to stop deputizing 2 officers for the occasional team-ups which seem to lead nowhere.

1:11:56I just want to acknowledge that Japanese American Citizens League is part of our efforts over the years, and they were unable to come.

1:12:00Thank you.

1:12:04Thank you, Mr. Handelman.

1:12:07Next we have Carol Landsman.

1:12:10Carol Landsman.

1:12:20And then we have Natalie Paravicini.

1:12:23Natalie's online.

1:12:26Uh, good afternoon.

1:12:28Thank you very much.

1:12:29I'm speaking on behalf of the Pacific Green Party and the Portland Area Green Party, and we are— the party itself is leery of collaborative structures like the JTTF because of the FBI's history of spying on innocent people in politically active communities.

1:12:47This is really very important.

1:12:49And in addition, in light of limited funding for the city and meager results from the JTTF in the past 5 years, we feel that the JTTF appears to be a poor investment of limited resources.

1:13:02More important is the direction of federal policies targeting communities of essential workers.

1:13:08The federal government's intent on using local task forces or local policing resources to enforce immigration law is extremely disturbing.

1:13:18The Green Party and many of its allies are opposed to the use of local and state resources to do the work of federal agents.

1:13:23We pay enough taxes for the federal government to fund its own operations.

1:13:28They do not need to further drain limited local resources to do the federal job, especially when it's going to be very disruptive to our Oregon economy.

1:13:38And this brings me to the major problems of if the JTTF is, or anybody related to it, is involved in enforcing immigration laws.

1:13:48It's not going to make the community less safe.

1:13:51On the contrary, as we all know, when community migrant communities are targeted, they are less likely to report criminal activity and engage and trust local police would be further eroded.

1:14:04More importantly, the agriculture in Oregon contributes more than eight billion dollars each year.

1:14:10These are 2022 figures.

1:14:13Two Portland area counties, Clackamas and Washington, are in the top seven agricultural producing counties in the state.

1:14:20State.

1:14:21The metropolitan area of the North Willamette Valley between Salem and Portland represents one-fifth of the state's gross farm revenue.

1:14:28Migrants represent over 50 to 65% of the workforce in the agricultural sector.

1:14:35Trying to enforce complex immigration laws in such an indiscriminate and basically hostile manner is only going to— or by, by having local police forces, uh, or joint task forces stop people on their way to work is only going to lead to catastrophic, terrible, uh, impacts for our agriculture and crops.

1:15:00Um, moreover, um, this in terms of public health, if people do not seek healthcare, it's going to have terrible consequences for the Safety of our food contamination and also to prevent infectious disease, especially considering that migrants represent a large part of healthcare sector and caregivers and cleaning facilities and everything in the state.

1:15:30They are essential workers and they should be protected.

1:15:37Thank you for your testimony today.

1:15:39And Carol Landsman has joined us online.

1:15:41Carol, you—.

1:15:42Hi.

1:15:44Yes, can you hear me?

1:15:45We can.

1:15:47God, that was a confusing moment when I didn't know how to let you know I was here.

1:15:52Anyhow, hi, I'm Carol Landsman.

1:15:55I live in District 3.

1:15:57I was gonna say what a good-looking group, but I can barely see you.

1:16:01But what a big group.

1:16:02Anyhow, I, uh, I'm representing JPAO, the Jewish Palestinian Alliance of Oregon.

1:16:10We're a group of Jews and Palestinians who are working to help reach— get a ceasefire in Gaza and also to end the Israeli oppression of Palestinians.

1:16:24You might wonder what that has to do with JTTF.

1:16:28Well, initially we found JTTF to be very Islamophobic.

1:16:35We were very concerned about Arabs being singled out.

1:16:40Uh, I still recoil when I think of the case of 2010 of Mohamed Mohamed, a young guy who clearly had some— he probably didn't have any friends, I'm not sure, but the FBI and the local police came in and became his buddy to set him up to commit an act of terror.

1:17:05Um, I keep thinking that they should have said, we'll take you to the Boys and Girls Clubs, but I can only believe they wanted to get a good arrest.

1:17:16I don't trust JTTF at all.

1:17:19Anyhow, the report, it's a start.

1:17:26But it doesn't have much information.

1:17:29I read it and I said, gee, that's what's going on?

1:17:32We have all these laws and regulations for, um, for some people making hateful emails.

1:17:44We need more in the report, I think, to give us a good understanding if we have to stay involved at all with the JTTF.

1:17:51Councilwoman I'm even more concerned now under the present administration, federal administration.

1:17:58It's very concerning.

1:18:01Uh, we know that the president has suggested that JTTF be used to apprehend immigrants.

1:18:10We're very happy that Chief Day took a stand saying that would not happen.

1:18:17Thank you.

1:18:17Thank you so much, Chief.

1:18:20Check.

1:18:23Thank you for your time tonight.

1:18:24We appreciate it.

1:18:27And that completes testimony.

1:18:31Okay, Councilor Dunphy.

1:18:36Thank you.

1:18:37Thank you, Madam President.

1:18:38I had a question for the chief.

1:18:40Um, Chief, as you're making your way up to the dais, Can you give us some context here?

1:18:45JTTF is but one part of the federal law enforcement spectrum, and I know that a big part of policing is working across jurisdictions and transferring things back.

1:18:56How does JTTF and the report we have in front of us compare to any other body of reference or referring cases back and forth?

1:19:09I'm going to, I'm going to start out, uh, try and answer that, Mark, but feel free to correct me.

1:19:14Uh, first of all, uh, I appreciate you recognizing the fact that we communicate and work regularly with all our federal partners, and I believe that's very important, probably more important now than ever that we have open lines of communication and understanding.

1:19:28And I will tell you that the federal leadership in the city of Portland, um, that I'm regularly communicating with Are— we're all trying to navigate this complex time.

1:19:38In my experience, and certainly things have changed a little bit because we made this change in 2019 and I left shortly after, but in my experience, and the report identifies this, there's actually a pretty small amount of information comparatively speaking.

1:19:53In our other programs where we have task force officers assigned, whether it be the U.S.

1:19:58Marshals or other assignments, And I think there's a much greater degree and flow of information.

1:20:03Sergeant Friedman touched on it when asked by a little bit of detail from Madam President that, you know, some of these cases, because they are being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office, um, or furtherly being further investigated by the FBI, our part remains, you know, small and visible and known to Portlanders and within the organization, um, but limited in terms of what actually Yeah, I would just, um, emphasize that, uh, the collaborative work that we do with the JTTF—.

1:20:37I mean, outside of the investigations, which there are very few, um, that we conduct every year— the relationship that we have with the JTTF and the, the folks that are assigned there is critical to public safety.

1:20:49There's a lot of information that gets shared, um, back and forth between our partners over there that keeps Portlanders safe.

1:20:57Um, you know, I, I just recall, uh, you know, January 1st of this year we had 2 tragic events, one in New Orleans and short— followed shortly thereafter by, um, a terrible event in Las Vegas.

1:21:12And we were scrambling here to try to figure out what does this mean for Portland, and, you know, is there, is there a threat that we need to be aware of.

1:21:19And my first phone call was to the supervisory special agent in charge over at the JTTF asking for whatever information they could provide to us to help keep Portland safe.

1:21:30And that, that is, you know, that's, that is more commonly the relationship that we have with the folks assigned over there is sharing bits of information.

1:21:41Some, you know, we, the, the more information— I mean, I'm sure in in your professional lives, the more collaboration and the more information you're able to glean from people that you work with, the more effective you can be at what you do.

1:21:54And so in our case, I just feel like the relationship that we have really helps to enhance safety in the city.

1:22:03Is that— are those additional touch points— I mean, they seem informal and, you know, frequent, but are those documented in any sort ongoing way, or is there any sort of way to get a scale in terms of like the number of times that, you know, PPB is having specific conversations about specific incidents with our federal law enforcement partners?

1:22:26Well, we don't, we don't collect any metrics around just informal communications, which is what I would consider some of these to be.

1:22:35It may be briefings that we receive, you know, in written or oral form.

1:22:39There's other, you know, just conversations by telephone, um, that we have with, um, and, and in-person, you know, face-to-face meetings.

1:22:48Um, but, but we don't collect information on those.

1:22:51They're typically pretty informal, and, and it's mostly in an information-sharing, uh, type format.

1:22:57Could you give me maybe— I know it's hard to estimate, but just rough estimate of like, is it in the tens or hundreds of times that, uh, I would say it's probably, um, somewhere between the two.

1:23:11Uh, you know, it's not hundreds, um, but, but where we, we have communication on a, on a weekly basis, uh, it's fair to say, um, with, you know, it varies depending on the week to week, but we do have conversations with people working on the task force, um, on a weekly basis is probably fair to say.

1:23:31Thank you.

1:23:34Thank you.

1:23:38Thank you, Madam President.

1:23:40Um, thank you guys for being here.

1:23:41I, I understand that this vote is ultimately going to be to just approve the report.

1:23:46Um, I will say that a 6-page report on something as crucial as this, it felt very vague and it had very limited details, and I would love to have more details, especially given that In— on January 22nd, 2025, the Acting Deputy Attorney General Emily Bove talked about how they want to use the Joint Terrorism Task Force to help with prosecutions against immigrants.

1:24:11It's no surprise that immigrants are under attack in a different way right now.

1:24:15Right before this council meeting, I had the pleasure of opening up some of my unmarked letters from the public, and I received some creative Oh, wow.

1:24:23Nazi poetry about how I should go back to my country.

1:24:26So I think that I appreciate some creativity in my hate mail, you know what I mean?

1:24:32It was creative.

1:24:33But, you know, it's happening overall, and if it's happening to a city councilor, it's certainly happening to our community members.

1:24:41And BOV called on U.S. attorneys to use state and prosecute state and local actors who resist, obstruct, or fail to And she said that specifically in reference to using the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

1:24:57So I'm curious what protections we actually have to prevent our police from being utilized in this way.

1:25:05And I think that we can talk about, you know, sentiments as far as making promises that we're not going to do that, but as a council, we're not getting that information in those briefings.

1:25:14So we have no way to ensure that that's not happening.

1:25:15Councilor So what is the material mechanism that we have other than your word that that is not going to happen?

1:25:25Well, that'd be up to the council to determine what kind of material record they want.

1:25:30I mean, Portland Police Bureau handles about 200,000 calls a year, interact with, you know, another 20-some-odd thousand from self-initiated activity.

1:25:39We're involved across the spectrum, both locally, nationally, federally with our partners.

1:25:43So I think that's a pretty good record.

1:25:44I mean, at some level, there has to be an understanding of trust and an understanding of how the system works.

1:25:52But if the report's inadequate or you want more information, then I'm certainly open to having that request made, and then we will continue to have conversations with our federal partners about what it is we can and cannot provide.

1:26:04I just cannot emphasize enough the importance for ongoing relationships and communication with our federal law enforcement partners.

1:26:10Thank you.

1:26:11Partners.

1:26:11It's absolutely essential, not only for the overall safety of Portland in terms of preventing acts of violence, but also allowing clear communication as we navigate this new paradigm that's upon us in law enforcement in general.

1:26:25So I'm happy, Councilor, uh, to, you know, have a conversation maybe through the Safety Committee about what it is that you would like to see and what are the metrics that you would like to see.

1:26:36And then we can discuss with our federal partners what the possibility of being able to provide that is.

1:26:42Thank you.

1:26:44So it sounds like maybe we need to workshop this all together, but I'm curious how the Portland Police Bureau is going to ensure transparency and accountability through— about the information that they're getting with the JTTF, if that's going to be happening more frequently than the annual reports.

1:27:01And I'm also just generally curious about the metrics that JTTF is using for who they're choosing to surveil and gather information on.

1:27:10Like, you know, I think that that's something that's really critical.

1:27:15Like, what sort of triggers the events where the Joint Terrorism Task Force is starting to gather information on, say, community activists versus, like, white supremacists or Proud Boys in the community, something like that.

1:27:29Yes, thank you.

1:27:31I appreciate that folks like what they're hearing.

1:27:33I do want to just remind everybody that we have rules of decorum.

1:27:37I don't object to anything that's being said, but we need to make sure that we are, are following those rules.

1:27:44Yes, ma'am.

1:27:51Councilor, did you have—.

1:27:52That was a question.

1:27:54Okay.

1:27:55Oh, you—.

1:27:55It was— that was a question about metrics?

1:27:57Yeah, I'm asking what's the criteria that the Joint Terrorism Task Force is using for who they're choosing to collect data on and to surveil in perpetuity?

1:28:08Because, you know, you could say that some, like I think some of the testimony said, you could say climate activists, indigenous activists are people that are gonna be surveilled under the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

1:28:21Are they gonna be categorized in the same way as like white supremacist Well, I don't have that information in front of me.

1:28:34I think that would be directed towards the FBI.

1:28:36We're not doing surveillance in that regard.

1:28:38We have clear state laws already pointed out by the ACLU, and of course bureau directive that wouldn't allow for that.

1:28:44So those would be questions for the FBI.

1:28:46I'm certainly willing to ask them, and I don't know that, Mark, that you have anything specific to specific add to that.

1:28:49No, I don't.

1:28:50To add to that?

1:28:51Nothing beyond the understanding that any case that we're involved in must have a criminal nexus.

1:28:58So, um, and there are other rules around, um, how we interact.

1:29:01State— we have to follow state law, we have to follow directive, um, and it's pretty clear that there, there is an underlying requirement that there's some type of criminal conduct at the heart of whatever an individual is doing for Portland Police to be involved.

1:29:15I, again, similar to the chief, I can't speak to the specific metrics you're looking for, um, that FBI may use for when— what it takes for them to initiate an investigation.

1:29:26And so that would have to be directed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation directly.

1:29:33Okay, I appreciate that.

1:29:35Um, if you have their contact info, let me know.

1:29:37Um, I was expecting that you would be the liaisons for that since our police are the ones that Thank you, Madam President.

1:29:53Um, looking back over the information on the 3 closed cases from 2023, it occurs to me that there's nothing that explains why these cases were ever considered to involve terrorism.

1:30:05All of them involved threats of violence, which are bad, But it doesn't indicate why those threats of violence were considered terrorism.

1:30:12I was just wondering if it's possible to give that information.

1:30:16Why was this ever considered a terrorist case?

1:30:20So, um, to be clear, there's 3 separate categories that, um, where we're permitted to work with our JTTF partners, and there's, there are 3 separate categories, one being terrorism, one being threats to life, and, and one being bias crimes.

1:30:35Okay.

1:30:36Or crimes that might be designated.

1:30:37And so most of the, most of the cases, if you look historically since we've been reporting out since 2019, most of the cases that we've worked collaboratively with the FBI JTTF have been threat-to-life cases.

1:30:49And so these would be cases that rise to the level of criminal conduct and they're a direct threat to either an individual or a number of people.

1:30:57And so, um, that triggers the, uh, the Thank you.

1:31:03My other question was, there's obviously a great deal of concern that this administration will convert the FBI into a tool of political persecution, and I would hope that even this administration's FBI folks, which I assume they'll stock with their own people as J.D.

1:31:24Vance has said, will be smart enough not to ask you to participate in political persecutions.

1:31:28I think that's a fair assumption.

1:31:29But if they did, if they came to you and asked for assistance in something that was obviously unsavory and smacked of political persecution, could you tell us about that?

1:31:38Could you come to us and say, hey, here's what they're trying to do?

1:31:44You know, I had— that's a great question.

1:31:46I hadn't thought about it.

1:31:47I—.

1:31:48But it seems it's in this new world order that we're facing, this new system, that's probably something that we need to consider.

1:31:56Off the top of my head, I don't see why not.

1:31:58I've demonstrated a pretty high level of transparency, and to say at a public hearing that probably sends a message to the FBI that if they're going to tell me something they don't want everybody else to know, that probably should, you know, keep that top of mind for themselves.

1:32:11In my conversations with not just the FBI, with all of our federal agencies that are involved in the work that's going on right now, feel confident that they know clearly what our lane is, what our boundaries are, what state law is.

1:32:24And we're working very closely to make sure they're aware of that, as well as to make sure our community is aware of that.

1:32:30So, um, you know, I personally, I would be shocked, appalled, disappointed if I was approached by a federal officer and asked any of our members to participate in something that is knowingly outside our policy or outside our state law.

1:32:46And I would expect to be able to Thank you.

1:32:53Councilor Kanal.

1:32:56Thank you, Chief.

1:32:56Thank you, Sergeant, for being here.

1:32:57Um, I have 3 questions.

1:32:59So, uh, first thing was something that came out of a community testimony that was written.

1:33:04I just figured I'd, I'd give you the opportunity to respond to it.

1:33:07Um, not implying I agree, but, uh, it's about third-party conduits of information.

1:33:11There was written testimony that raised some something, uh, that I wasn't familiar with, that there's another, uh, agency, the State Patrol, which, uh, PPB collaborates with, um, and that there's an officer there that is, uh, linked to JTTF in terms of their work, um, and raised the possibility that information shared with OSP might be shared, uh, with the, with the FBI even beyond the parameters allowed for direct information sharing, and that that might circumvent restrictions, uh, that exist.

1:33:41Could you to that and just potentially put my mind at ease on it?

1:33:46Um, I'm trying to understand the question.

1:33:48Um, so yes, there, there is a member of OSP that is part of the JTTF.

1:33:53Um, is the, is the concern that something that we tell OSP would make it back to JTTF?

1:33:59Is that— wait, um, I suppose that's possible.

1:34:03I don't know what, what we would be sharing, what we would be sharing with OSP that would Um, violate the spirit of the agreement that we currently are working under as far as information flowing from us to, um, to the JTTF versus— the agreement really speaks to the process in which, you know, we are asked to assist specifically with investigations.

1:34:28Um, I'm, I'm not clear exactly what, what your concern about OSP bringing information that they might obtain from other police agencies to that body specifically are, if you could help me understand that.

1:34:42I, I'm not sure that there's anything in our agreement or expectations that, um, would protect information that we give OSP that would prevent them from providing it to the JTTF if they felt it was appropriate.

1:34:58Okay, thank you for, for clarifying that.

1:35:00Um, I want to speak to the idea that a Kind of building off of Councilor Morillo's question, um, that developing trust requires the transparency and, and also where needed accountability.

1:35:11Um, as you mentioned, the committee, the Community and Public Safety Committee, and I want to use my position as one of the 2 co-chairs to sort of pursue getting the information necessary for us to have a full understanding into the next year's report.

1:35:24And so I wanted to ask you, in terms of your cadence as you prepare this report, when would be the best time if we wanted to to talk about the type of information included in this report, to ask you to come speak with us and try to collaborate on, uh, the type of information that could be included in the 2025 report.

1:35:40When in the, the sort of annual cycle is that ideal for you?

1:35:45So are you— your concern is that we're so early in the year that it's hard for us to talk about cases contemporaneously from 2024?

1:35:54Is that—.

1:35:55No, I mean, you're, you're looking at, um, This report is about 2024, right?

1:36:00Correct.

1:36:00And so, um, I imagine you started collecting information before the end of the year, but that you develop it over the course, usually in January, and then come and present it to us, right?

1:36:10Um, or our predecessors before.

1:36:13Um, but if the nature of the information that council wanted to receive was, was to change, I— when would be— I, I don't want to ask you that in December if that's too difficult to make a change for this year, right?

1:36:27When is an optimal time to have it?

1:36:28I understand the question now, and I apologize.

1:36:31Yeah, I mean, sooner rather than later, obviously.

1:36:33If there's additional information you were seeking to learn that we could potentially provide, the sooner I have it, the better it would be in order to provide a comprehensive report for you for next year.

1:36:47Thanks.

1:36:48And then just a comment.

1:36:49I think we were talking about the specific nature of the federal context being new, but This is not— the specifics are new, the general idea is not new.

1:36:58We've seen the FBI weaponized against communities of color, and particularly, uh, well, I'll just say people that look like me, over the course of, uh, the Bush administration, not just the Trump first administration.

1:37:10And I think there's a lot of, uh, really great work that's been done, uh, in the community, and I'm grateful for everyone who's here, uh, to, to try and push back against that.

1:37:18And so I, I want to make sure we're learning the lessons, not not only of 2017 to 2021, but also of 2001 to 2009.

1:37:26Just wanted to flag that for the future conversation.

1:37:29Thank you, Madam President.

1:37:34Thanks.

1:37:35Um, I've always appreciated that Portland was a part of JTTF.

1:37:39I think it's an important partnership, as I said during our briefing about emergency management, and I believe it to my core with anybody who's ever been a first responder The first time you work with people, or first time you're having to call somebody, shouldn't be in an emergency, shouldn't be the first time you've ever met them.

1:37:57So I just, uh, I believe that partnerships in the, in this community matter, and I know that we have a stunted partnership, and I think it is kind of contributing to why there isn't a lot of information to share.

1:38:12Because at the end of the day, this is not a very robust JTTF.

1:38:14I think it's a very robust JTTF.

1:38:15In this community.

1:38:16It's, it's one of the, uh, least involved is a, is a, I think, a fair term.

1:38:25And that's a parameter that our community and, and our previous electeds have put on, on Portland and, and its participation.

1:38:32It can also be sometimes a little hard to know how to talk about it.

1:38:35And I would, I would encourage, uh, you, Chief, and, and you, Sergeant, as As we get oriented to spend the time and, and take up Mr. Kanal on that invite for working with the Public Safety Committee to now bring us up to speed, right?

1:38:52In terms of JTTF is a really, um, it sounds kind of scary in terms of what a term it is, but I have a full expectation that before you were the assigned sergeant to this, that you, when you were maybe a detective or a beat cop, That at some point you got a call from another agency about a person who lived in our community, and you— and they said, hey, we've got this person from Portland, they're in your jurisdiction, but they're doing something in our jurisdiction, can we talk about it?

1:39:20I'm sure that that has happened, and I think we all probably have an expectation that that occurs.

1:39:25We want that proactivity to occur, but we slap a term like JTTF on it and we add some other agencies in it, and I think we We, um, we take on all of the failures of all agencies who've ever been a part of, uh, our entire law enforcement apparatus with that term, right?

1:39:46And so we're constantly learning.

1:39:48The testimony today was helpful.

1:39:50Uh, there are— for those of us who've lived here a long time, there are stories we know, um, and we're constantly learning.

1:39:56So I just— I think it's an invitation, Chief.

1:39:59That's what I think most of all.

1:40:01And then, um, I am— I just want to think a little bit, since we've all taken an oath, they've taken an oath, every member from Portland Police who's a sworn officer has taken an oath.

1:40:14But I'll remind— one of the most wonderful and unique things about this country is that we don't swear oaths to humans, we swear oaths to constitutions.

1:40:22And it's a powerful, powerful thing that I think I think it is time to think about it, Chief and Sergeant, for if you are faced with a critical dilemma.

1:40:36But I'll remind us that, you know, the FBI takes an oath to the Constitution.

1:40:40We take an oath to not only the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Oregon, and the charter of this city.

1:40:46And so we have 3 parameters that we're working through.

1:40:48And I think at the end of the day, that is a human endeavor.

1:40:51I think it's time to think about it, Chief.

1:40:51That it's got to be interpreted, uh, through humans to know when a line has been crossed, to know when we are outside of our scope of what an organization was set up for.

1:41:04And so, um, I, I don't shy away from the fact that maybe this report doesn't have a lot in it.

1:41:10I don't shy away from the fact that transparency in these topics can be hard and that investigations require patience and people working on our behalf that we don't talk about in this room.

1:41:20Um, but I have to— there is a difference between— we use the term sworn and unsworn for a reason.

1:41:27There is—.

1:41:28An oath means something.

1:41:29It has meant something to me for a long time.

1:41:32It's meant something now to all of us who are up here.

1:41:34And so I, um, what I— the reason I'm bringing this up is that I am restating my trust for folks who've taken that oath And that we will have your back at any time when you feel like you are being pressed and that, that things are butting up against each other.

1:41:51And I think that's important for us to say that out loud so that this can be a friendly sounding ground, um, instead of, uh, worrying if it could be contentious.

1:42:01And over the course of 25 years, it has— it's been tough in this room at times.

1:42:05That's easy for you to say when you're a white male.

1:42:09Um, I also I also—.

1:42:11But we— if folks have things to say, we have the opportunity for public testimony.

1:42:20And so I, I also, um, I want to encourage the chief, if you could at some point, I think it would be, um, helpful for the invitation also with the Public Safety Committee.

1:42:32I think one of the important things in intelligence work and in law enforcement work is that you've got to have somebody up the chain of command to talk about or say that you've faced a dilemma or that there is a problem.

1:42:46They've got to be read on.

1:42:48So I have concern when I read in this report the chief and the deputy chief can only be given security clearances, uh, based on certain situations.

1:42:57You know, I, I've had a security clearance my whole life.

1:43:00I mean, my whole adult life.

1:43:01They're so more boring than the TV makes them to be.

1:43:04We all know that.

1:43:05They're not a sexy thing.

1:43:07But I think that the deputy chief, the chief, and frankly the mayor— and I remember this with Mayor Potter, this being a point— but I do think that those 3 individuals in this organization should have.

1:43:18And I would, I would like to have that discussion as a public safety committee and how we can approach for that, because I think that for Sergeant Friedman, uh, you know, you've got— you have to have a release valve.

1:43:32Somebody's got to be read on in our organization.

1:43:35And I look at the Deputy Chief and I look at the Chief.

1:43:38You also have to have a release valve to the mayor because you may have to bring someone in on a thing.

1:43:41I just think that's an important thing, and it gives me, as a person who's lived a little bit in a related part of this world, uh, it allows me to provide, I think, more cover for any tough situations that come up with JTTF or tough cases.

1:43:55Thank you.

1:43:56So with that, I also— and what I didn't mention, I wish I had earlier when I was talking about it gets a little innocuous when you use the term JTTF— is let's talk about who the other members are, right?

1:44:09Who the other small forces, large forces, who are parts of JTTF across the Oregon community, across the Washington community?

1:44:16Just give some context, and I'll stop there.

1:44:19But thank you.

1:44:20I appreciate the report, even as small as it is.

1:44:24Thanks.

1:44:34Thank you, Madam President.

1:44:35Thank you, Chief.

1:44:36Thank you, Sergeant.

1:44:38Today is February 19th, which is a day of remembrance for the Japanese American community, recognizing and remembering Executive Order 906 That was signed exactly 83 years ago today on February 19th, 1942.

1:44:53So this executive order turned law enforcement and communities against Japanese American residents.

1:44:59It authorized the mass forced removal and incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry, including my Grandma Eiko and my Grandpa Ray, who were high schoolers at the time and both U.S. citizens.

1:45:12Thank you.

1:45:14So this is an example of federal law enforcement weaponizing rhetoric and scapegoating to turn neighbors against each other.

1:45:21Executive Order 9066 was made possible by the Alien Enemies Act, and this connects directly to today because we have a resurgence of calls to invoke the Alien Enemies Act.

1:45:33I am glad that in 2019, with the backing of many groups and individuals in our city, that council voted to pull Portland police out of regular assignment in the FBI's task force on terrorism in the name of national safety and security.

1:45:48My family was surveilled, stripped of their home, livelihood, and dignity.

1:45:52And so my question is, how can we work together to make sure that history like this isn't repeated?

1:46:00Well, I'm confident in state law, city ordinances, Bureau directives doesn't allow for participation in any of that type of behavior.

1:46:11Certainly can't speak for the federal government.

1:46:13Uh, and, um, you know, to Councilor Novick's comment, you know, I have given a great deal of thought as this plays out into what role law enforcement, local law enforcement, may be asked, right?

1:46:26If the Supreme Court comes down with a decision a year or 2 from now that supersedes state law, how are we going to show up?

1:46:32What is that going to look like?

1:46:34I think these are all relevant questions, and they're certainly top of mind for me, and they weigh heavily on my shoulders as I think about leading the men and women of the organization and providing the highest degree of safety and service to the Portlanders that we dearly care about.

1:46:49So, I mean, in the immediate, I— we need to stay the course.

1:46:54We need to be vigilant.

1:46:55We need to have these public conversations.

1:46:57I welcome the challenge and the call for transparency and the ask.

1:47:01Of additional information.

1:47:04Um, and we're going to be, you know, learning this and being watchful as we go.

1:47:09But I, I definitely am aware of the fact that, that those days may come, and I don't anticipate them to come, as I said, from a federal partner coming to me and just saying, hey, can you help us out?

1:47:20I'm talking about if there is some type of ruling that comes down that, you know, directs the state.

1:47:26We've seen legal action already taken in Chicago and other cities.

1:47:30That I think is going to drive this through the courts, and we'll just have to make an understanding.

1:47:35You know, I was with a group of university leaders the other day, and it's not lost on me, um, in the Nuremberg trials that the reference that most of the leadership used at that time was they were just following orders.

1:47:47They were just following orders.

1:47:49And I'm well aware of the history of policing in the United States as well around the world.

1:47:54And although I still believe it's the most honorable profession in America, and I'm proud I understand the risk associated with it, the authority associated with it, the power that comes with it, and the history that comes with it.

1:48:07And the fear and concern that our community shares right now is real, and it has reason to be there.

1:48:15It's not something that I am in denial of, and we are working diligently with many of our immigrant partners and community members to convey to them that we are here for them.

1:48:23Thank you.

1:48:23That we're sensitive to that and we're aware of that.

1:48:26At the same time, upholding the oath of office that we've been asked, and then trying to navigate whatever the challenges might be legally as they come down from the courts or legislators or otherwise.

1:48:38Thank you, Chief.

1:48:42Chief Sergeant, thank you for bringing this forward.

1:48:45Um, I recognize the importance of having relationship As you spoke to and as Councilor Zimmerman spoke to.

1:48:52I also recognize, though, that we are in a time where these relationships could put Portlanders and put your officers in difficult situations.

1:49:02I appreciate that you reiterated in your report that your officers have to follow all of the relevant federal, state, and local laws as they do work assigned through joint cases with the JTTF, and that The importance of that local laws piece matters a lot to me.

1:49:21I hope that your officers who do engage in this work remember that their directive from Portlanders, from us, is sometimes different than that of their partners, and that we expect them to maintain the highest standard in their work even when working with other agencies.

1:49:39I also would ask you to be judicious over the next few years.

1:49:43Over the, the period for the last report, we accepted the, the ask to work on every case that the JTTF asked us to work with them on, and that may have been appropriate.

1:49:56But I hope that you are judicious as you look at the cases that come over the next few years, and that if we accept the ask to partner with JTTF, it truly rise to the level Thank you.

1:50:08I hope that we continue to have this conversation about the intersection of threat to life, terrorism, and bias crime, that it requires our interaction, that it is so important that it is worth that risk that some of my colleagues have spoken to tonight.

1:50:19I also hope that my colleagues on the Community and Public Safety Committee continue this conversation that I know many of the members of that committee have started today as well, to make sure that the things that we're asking for in the report are Thank you.

1:50:34I would just like to ask if you could share with us what you've heard from your community about whether or not this report is sufficient, because we've heard from a number of people that the report feels a little bit light.

1:50:39And I know that we don't all have security clearance.

1:50:42There are things you can't share with us in this report.

1:50:45But as much as you can share for us to understand what those interactions look like, the more confidence we will have and the more confidence Portlanders watching this, this council meeting next year will have in the work that you're doing.

1:51:00As a part of the JTTF and in the work that you do every day through our local policing.

1:51:05So thank you, councilors.

1:51:11We have a report before us and no other discussion in the queue.

1:51:17Do we need a motion to accept this?

1:51:19Okay.

1:51:20So moved.

1:51:22Second.

1:51:23Thank you.

1:51:24Rebecca, can you call the roll?

1:51:30Aye.

1:51:31Aye.

1:51:32Aye.

1:51:35So briefly, I, I want to just say first that I'm, I'm very grateful that we're having this conversation in public and that the public has a chance to provide testimony.

1:51:43This has been a debate over the last few years.

1:51:44It was not guaranteed under previous councils, and I want to commend everyone involved for ensuring that that's the case.

1:51:50Um, I appreciate the coordination with the JTTF was so minimal.

1:51:55Uh, I have concerns about, uh, local law enforcement collaborating with federal law enforcement.

1:52:00I think like many of our colleagues here, given the federal context, federal context ushered in by the Trump administration, in particular given the FBI, the new permanent head's, uh, stated, um, intentions with that.

1:52:12Um, and, uh, I want to just note for the record and for the public that, uh, we should not be using city resources to support politically motivated actions.

1:52:20I'd also like to highlight the testimony in the, the written testimony from the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, and others about alleging violations of the First Amendment by the FBI specifically, including continued surveillance of protesters after the protests ended.

1:52:36And while I do have concerns around the ongoing communication coordination with the FBI, it's also notable, as Councilor Zimmerman mentioned, that there are other partners Beyond the FBI in it, but those partners don't have the same standards of accountability that PPB do.

1:52:51They don't have the same level of training that you do, the directives and things like that at PPB, those smaller agencies.

1:52:58And at the same time, I agree with Councilor Zimmerman that in an emergency, the first time you talk to someone shouldn't be the first time you talk to someone.

1:53:04So the way that I would argue that we can square this is with the transparency and with the accountability.

1:53:09And so I'm— so that there's trust being built.

1:53:11Thank you.

1:53:12And I just want to recommit to that, uh, thank the testifiers that— for writing in, for coming in, and, um, to say that we do need the increased detail, in particular as Councilor Novick put it, around why is something a terrorist threat or a hate crime, or the other things that, that you mentioned, Sergeant, that fit into, uh, the particular parameters.

1:53:31Um, I found that saying just trust me doesn't tend to be successful as an elected official and previously as a candidate.

1:53:37So I'm beating a dead horse here about trust, but that's the focus that I'll take going forward on this.

1:53:42I will vote yes to accept the report.

1:53:43Thank you.

1:53:45Ryan?

1:53:46Yes.

1:53:46I appreciate the report, Sergeant Friedman, and thank you so much for providing a briefing to council staff about the contents of this report and general education regarding how the city works with FBI on cases of mutual interest.

1:54:01Although Portland is not a member of the JTTF, And notably the only major city in the US that is not, there is a need to work with the federal government on cases that cross jurisdictional lines.

1:54:12The City of Portland has drawn bright lines around this juridic— judicial relationship, jurisdictional relationship, and for reasons of transparency and accountability.

1:54:21You can tell we're all into that.

1:54:23And to build necessary relationships, this report assists with getting information out.

1:54:29Thank you.

1:54:30I accept this report and I vote aye.

1:54:35Aye.

1:54:38Aye.

1:54:41Um, I have to— the one reservation I have is that, as Brandon Mayfield mentioned, the document appears to sort of endorse the national If You See Something, Say Something campaign by DHS, which he raised some questions about.

1:54:55I haven't reviewed the elements of that campaign myself, so I'm not going to vote no based on that.

1:55:00But I just want to say that, um, I am going to review that and see if I have the same concerns as Mr. Mayfield does.

1:55:07And so if this language is still there next year, that may or may not be an issue.

1:55:12Aye.

1:55:13Clerk?

1:55:15Aye.

1:55:16Green?

1:55:17Aye.

1:55:18Zimmerman?

1:55:19Aye.

1:55:21Aye.

1:55:22And with 12 ayes, the report is accepted.

1:55:25Thank you.

1:55:26Thank you both for being here.

1:55:30The next item on our agenda, we're going to call the mayor up for.

1:55:36And Rebecca, can you read item 7— or 6, I apologize.

1:55:406.

1:55:42Appoint Robert Day as Chief of Police.

1:55:50Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here.

1:55:52Chief Day, thank you.

1:55:54Uh, go right ahead.

1:55:57Council President, thank you.

1:55:58Madam Vice President, Council, good evening.

1:56:04In accordance with Portland City Charter Section 2-401, I'm honored to present to the City Council my nominee for the Chief of Police, Robert Day.

1:56:13The role of the Chief of Police is not only a position of immense responsibility but also one that requires a unique blend of leadership.

1:56:21He needs vision and unwavering commitment to our community.

1:56:26The Chief of Police is tasked with guiding the Portland Police Bureau and ensuring that it aligns with the city's overarching vision, mission, and strategic objectives.

1:56:35Chief Day has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, and dedication to public service throughout his tenure with the Bureau.

1:56:45His extensive experience, coupled with a deep understanding of our community's needs, has enabled him to effectively address complex challenges and implement forward-thinking strategies that enhance public safety.

1:56:58Chief Day's leadership has been instrumental in fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and mutual He has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at improving public safety, strengthening community-police relationships, and advancing modern policing practices.

1:57:16His commitment to community engagement has been unwavering, as he has worked tirelessly to build trust and collaboration between the police bureau and the diverse community we all serve.

1:57:27In addition to his exemplary leadership, Chief Day has demonstrated strong financial oversight and strategic planning capabilities, ensuring that the bureau operates efficiently and effectively.

1:57:38His policy development and implementation skills have been critical in addressing evolving public safety concerns and enhancing the bureau's operational capabilities.

1:57:48Having thoroughly reviewed the chief's qualifications and accomplishments, I am confident that he possesses the expertise and dedication needed to continue leading the Portland Police Bureau with distinction.

1:57:58Thank you.

1:58:00His appointment as Chief of Police will provide the stability and continuity necessary to further our city's public safety goals and build on the progress we have made.

1:58:10I respectfully request the City Council's support in confirming Robert Day as the Chief of Police for the City of Portland.

1:58:17Together, we can continue to work towards a safer, more just, and inclusive community for all.

1:58:23And thank you for this consideration.

1:58:25Thank you.

1:58:28Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1:58:30Chief Day, um, before we move on to public testimony, would you like to share anything with the committee, with the council?

1:58:38Yes.

1:58:39So as I was preparing for this over the last few weeks in anticipation and really thinking heavily about each of you and what questions you might have, how you may vote, uh, what your opinions are are and trying to anticipate that.

1:58:54And yesterday, as I was ruminating on that, it occurred to me that I really need to think more about why I'm doing this, and that, you know, I can't speak for each of you.

1:59:08And I'm not going to go through, you know, 37 years of history here, but when I started my career in 1988 with the Oregon State Police and coming to the Police Bureau in 1990, it was a much different profession then.

1:59:19We didn't have tasers, we didn't have body-worn cameras, we didn't have mace, and we didn't have a whole lot of oversight.

1:59:26Uh, we didn't have a whole lot of transparency.

1:59:29We didn't have social media.

1:59:31We treated the victims of human trafficking as suspects and called them prostitutes.

1:59:37And domestic violence was not a mandatory arrest.

1:59:41And we did write their immigration status on the custody report that we turned into the Multnomah County jail.

1:59:47Having served for 29 years previously with the city and seeing the numerous changes that came about and the learning that took place, but the real— what prepared me for this was a recognition in coming back and the great appreciation I have for the men and women who do the work every day in the Police Bureau, both sworn and non-sworn, and my confidence and trust in them and my confidence and belief in Portlanders.

2:00:12Having sat out for 4, almost 4 and a half years, and watched the city struggle in many areas that I had given so many years of service, and my decision to come back and my decision to even sit here tonight is based simply upon my passion and my love for the profession and for the city.

2:00:29I appreciate your consideration.

2:00:34Thank you.

2:00:35We do have public testimony.

2:00:41We do, but first we have one invited speaker.

2:00:44Yes, um, the invited speaker is on video and we're going to play that.

2:00:49I want to let everyone know the audio is very low, the recorded audio, but we're going to give it a try.

2:00:57Thank you.

2:01:02Good morning, President Pirtle-Guiney and Councilors.

2:01:04For the record, I'm Jessica Vega Peterson, Multnomah County Chair.

2:01:08Thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of Chief Bob Stennis.

2:01:12Even though we might not have a bigger diversity in our city, Keapton has a long history of leadership in Portland.

2:01:19Our city was lucky with the time of Chief Keapton's tenure.

2:01:22We've put the people he's worked for over many years in good credit to honor him with Deputy Chief of Police in 2018 before Retiring the next year, that in itself would be of a long and impressive record of service.

2:01:35But it was really when Chief Day answered the call to step back into this work and was sworn in as interim police chief in the fall of 2023 and permanently in April of last year that we really saw his leadership in full stride.

2:01:48Bob has been recognized for his innovative ideas in crime reduction, as well as his ability to lead difficult conversations.

2:01:55About race, civil disorder, behavioral health, and how these issues impact the criminal justice system.

2:02:02Though Chief Day and I have known each other and worked together for several years now, it was really in the spring of last year, with the change in drug laws at the state level and the opportunity to build a table to provide Multnomah County with a proactive and realistic approach to deflection, that we had an opportunity to deepen our work together.

2:02:19Thank you, Deputy City Administrator Nancy Thorington.

2:02:20One of the things that we both recognized at the time was the huge opportunity we had to build and strengthen the partnership between law enforcement and our behavioral health system.

2:02:30We know that this was no easy task, but it was something that many leaders had prioritized in the past with mixed results.

2:02:38But we also knew that we couldn't miss this opportunity, especially on behalf of people whose only crime was possession of a personal amount of drugs.

2:02:46Those people deserve a system that offers them options, and we were determined to build it.

2:02:53We set out with Mayor Wheeler's office and many of our law enforcement and behavioral health partners to build a system toward recovery and accountability that this community deserves.

2:03:04We definitely had tough conversations, and it took all of our leadership to get there.

2:03:08I think I can speak on behalf of everyone at the leadership table when Table I say that we are proud of the work that we've done.

2:03:11Thank you.

2:03:12That we're proud that we did get there, launching a deflection program on September 1st, 2024, opening a coordinated care center the following month, and creating a handoff between PPB and our behavioral health system that is leading the state.

2:03:28Through this recent work, I've gotten to spend more time with Chief Day, and I speak with him often.

2:03:34He's one of my favorite phone calls on any given day.

2:03:37Even if what we have to talk about is a tough issue.

2:03:41I know that when I talk with him, he's going to speak his mind and he's going to have our community's interest at heart.

2:03:47He is a true partner in the shared work of the City of Portland and Multnomah County.

2:03:53Chief Day has a special gift to talk directly and understandably to the public on complex, sometimes highly charged matters that our community cares deeply about.

2:04:02What sets What sets him apart is his belief in people and what our organizations can do together to better hear them, support them, and respond to them.

2:04:11Those are values we share and one of the many reasons I look forward to our continuing partnership in the future.

2:04:17That skill, paired with his years of experience, makes Bob Day the best person to continue leading the Portland Police Bureau at such a critical time in our city.

2:04:27Thank you.

2:04:28Thank you, Chief Day, for your continued service, and I encourage this council to support Bob's reappointment as Portland Police Chief.

2:04:35Thank you.

2:04:40Thank you, Rebecca.

2:04:40Should we move on to public testimony now?

2:04:43Yes, uh, first we have Brian Ferriso.

2:04:48Is Brian Ferriso in the room?

2:04:56Second, we have Joe Alfaro.

2:05:06Charles Hunter.

2:05:07Charles is joining us online.

2:05:16Hi, Charles, can you hear us?

2:05:18Yes.

2:05:24Oh, looks like he's gonna come on.

2:05:30Yeah.

2:05:33Oh, there it is.

2:05:34Okay.

2:05:35Hi, Charles, we hear you.

2:05:37Okay.

2:05:37All right, there I am.

2:05:38Okay.

2:05:40Um, yeah, thank you for the opportunity, and I certainly do agree with Everything that the mayor and the others have said about Chief Bob Day, and I have been working in this city, in this community for many years trying to make it a better place to live.

2:05:55And so these comments that I would like to make in the next couple of minutes are not something that are lofty ideas or thoughts that we just pull out from emotion, but they are things that are deep to our hearts and And so I just want to express, first of all, appreciation to Chief Bob Day for the man that he is and for the work that he has done during the time that he has been chief.

2:06:25I've known him for a number of years, and I want him to know that not only myself, but there are others that are very, very grateful for all the things that he has done and has accomplished up until this point.

2:06:41He has connections with many people in this city, in this community, and he has connection with all of the communities, which makes him so valuable.

2:06:51And he has proven that he is an asset to what is done.

2:06:56The years that he has been working and doing the things that he has been doing has grown him into the person that he is, and to me, that is a person that I can trust.

2:07:10After listening to a presentation that he did a few weeks ago, the deep insight, the keen perception that he had about the matters that are facing us today showed me that he was really the right person for the job.

2:07:32When you talk about a man, say a Black man, who is an honest, law-abiding citizen who hasn't broken any laws, and when he look into the rearview mirror and he sees the red and blue lights go off and his heart beats faster, this shouldn't be.

2:07:51And it has to do with the thing that has been paramount over the years, and that's called Trust.

2:07:57And so Chief Day realized that that is an important factor, and it's not a one-and-done deal.

2:08:04It's something that you have to actively pursue on a daily basis.

2:08:09And so these things have brought me to the point to say this, that I believe that for such a time as this, that Chief Day is the man for the job.

2:08:21Thank you.

2:08:21And I would encourage him, if he will, to take in consideration to bring more SROs into the school building.

2:08:29Thank you for this time, and thank you, Chief Bob Day.

2:08:33Thank you for being here today to share those thoughts.

2:08:38Next we have Marta Gambes Herrera.

2:08:42Marta's online as well.

2:08:56Hi, Marta, can you unmute yourself?

2:09:02Okay, we can hear you and see you now.

2:09:05Thank you.

2:09:07So, buenas noches, good evening, uh, uh, Mr. Mayor and councilors.

2:09:12I am Marta Wembe-Carrera.

2:09:14And I play many roles in the community.

2:09:16First, I am proud mother and grandmother.

2:09:18I'm also proud immigrant from Guatemala and proud North Portlander.

2:09:23I do advocate for the Latino community and my Portland community, which has been my home for the last 35 years.

2:09:33I am the honorary consul from Guatemala, and I have been serving my Guatemalan families in Oregon for at least 29 years.

2:09:42In 2020, a group of Latino leaders and activists together with the Portland Police members established the new Latino Advisory Council, of which I am the co-chair.

2:09:54Community safety and safety in our city are the foundation on which we all can build healthier families, focusing on education, economic health, and physical and mental health.

2:10:06Thank you.

2:10:07As a criminal justice conversation, it's not an easy one.

2:10:10There's a lot of trauma, pain, fear, distrust, and blame.

2:10:15But I choose to continue to choose and focus on solutions, on things and programs and projects that I could either remove or minimize the community pain to improve our lives.

2:10:28So we need to— we must be and feel safe in our communities.

2:10:33Many of us come from home, from countries that continue to experience safety problems and instability.

2:10:40Since I was a member of the first Hispanic Advisory Council in the late 1990s, I know, and I speak from experience of social justice worker and activist, when I stated that the community safety is extremely important.

2:10:59Our new Latino Council and my engagement with many chiefs and officers since 2020 Allow me to say with this confidence, and, and that Portland Police Bureau continues to show up with our community, and Chief Day and his officers show up to listen, to learn, and to work with our council and our community on addressing community safety in a way that is actually community-led and driving.

2:11:28Our relationship with the Portland Police has not always been a good one.

2:11:34Or a positive one.

2:11:36We have many times challenged an organization, and we have challenged past chiefs.

2:11:43Well, Chief Day, when we get together, we ask him hard questions.

2:11:47We ask for accountability on criminal investigations and police procedures because we want to know that.

2:11:57But we also want to inform and guide Chief Day on how to Do policing differently, better, with more humility and understanding in our community needs and perspective and experiences with the police.

2:12:09Last month, I called Chief Day and asked him to meet in person Sunday evening to discuss new federal administration charges on immigration policy.

2:12:20Chief Day came to a meeting and talked to a few of us, 2 hours listening to our concerns, but also committing to do His part in homework.

2:12:31Uh, I am— we do need you to wrap up.

2:12:33I'm sorry.

2:12:35Okay.

2:12:41Uh, next we have Dr. J.W.

2:12:43Matt Hennessey.

2:12:52Good evening, uh, Mr. Mayor, to the Council President, to the Vice President, to each of you as members of our City Council and our city administrator.

2:13:03For the record, my name is J.W.

2:13:04Matt Hennessey.

2:13:05I am the second longest serving pastor at the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church here in Portland.

2:13:1420 Years I just celebrated.

2:13:17But I'm here tonight, by the way, and let me say, as soon as I finish, I've got to go.

2:13:21I was supposed to be at church in a business meeting with other churches at 7 o'clock.

2:13:28But because of Chief Day, I did not want to leave.

2:13:33Next time I'll go and do a Zoom.

2:13:37I want to say to you tonight, I'm grateful for you.

2:13:40I want you to know that.

2:13:42Thank you for serving our city.

2:13:44Thank you for being in the roles that you're in.

2:13:47I come to you not just as a city manager, or rather as a pastor, But a city manager, a person who has been in the role of focusing on issues of public safety and making decisions about who will be the police chief, who will be the fire chief, who will help us run the city.

2:14:08And when I think about that, I think about the greatness of someone like Chief Day.

2:14:13He is a great human being.

2:14:16He's well Versed in police work.

2:14:20People in my community, as you know, haven't always had a good relationship with the police bureau.

2:14:27But I can say that he's a person who has worked diligently to make sure that he does his part and those that work for him to make sure that they're doing their part to bridge the gap between police and community.

2:14:42And And that literally over time we all become community.

2:14:48I would also say that he's really— one of the things I've been impressed with him about is that he really takes to heart the things he reads, the people that he focuses on.

2:15:00One of them is Bryan Stevenson, who wrote the book Just Mercy, who focuses on if You are in leadership, then you need to be proximate.

2:15:12You need to be willing to feel uncomfortable.

2:15:15You need to keep going at it and never lose hope.

2:15:19And in all the work that we've seen him do— and I've worked closely with him in a number of capacities— that's what I've seen in him.

2:15:27I will also tell you that there are times that I have not agreed with him, and he and I have been able to have those conversations And to see him be willing not only to hear me, but also to make changes as well.

2:15:42And in our community, we've done the same thing.

2:15:45So I just want to say, I believe that the mayor could not have chosen a better leader at a time such as this than Robert Day.

2:15:53He has my full support, and even though I have to leave, I want you to know my hope is that you will concur with the mayor's recommendation.

2:16:01Thank you.

2:16:02Thank you very much.

2:16:05Thank you.

2:16:07Next we have Liani Reyna, and Liani is online.

2:16:23Hi, Liani, you can unmute yourself.

2:16:45Looks like, looks like Liani may have dropped off.

2:16:49We can come back to her if she comes back on.

2:16:52Um, next up we have Charlie Michelle Wesley.

2:16:58Good for you.

2:17:09Okay, hold on.

2:17:12This is my medicine bag, so I don't want to wrap it up around my neck.

2:17:22Okay, so I'm Charlie Michelle Wesley, tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, on this our sacred land.

2:17:30I need to take a minute to honor T-Rex and Dog, who paid the ultimate price for justice, for Black lives, and for real police accountability on this 3rd year anniversary today.

2:17:46I wanted to sing a prayer But what I will say, I would like for us to take a moment of silence.

2:18:02This brings me to, to ask, ask for you, City Council, and Chief Day, to start addressing the core city values.

2:18:11I know— I don't believe you take an oath But these feel like, how can you have respect for the Constitution and all these other items if you don't have these values in play?

2:18:27Address them in yourselves personally and systemically.

2:18:32These values, especially anti-racism— I mean, they're all special, but a major systemic issue.

2:18:39And if not implemented into all your decisions Councilor Smith.

2:18:42Will continue to cause this city and, as you see, this country to erode.

2:18:49We will never experience real accountability, and we will not have integrity and humanity, and the blue culture will continue to be a barrier to a better, safer, just tomorrow for all community members, not just some.

2:19:08Chief Day likes to quote our great Black leaders.

2:19:11Thank you.

2:19:13I do too, but I mainly like to quote our community members.

2:19:19Uh, I come from lived experience and from the communities you all are kind of talking about.

2:19:27Um, I feel really outnumbered here with the people who have been testifying so far.

2:19:32You're not hearing our stories.

2:19:33Thank you.

2:19:35Yes.

2:19:36So one of our community members, one of my comrades, he, he, he wanted to— his concern is, what are you going to do to acknowledge that white supremacy cannot have a foothold in the Portland Police Department nor the city?

2:19:58Also, another one was concerned about the kind of last-minute, uh, explanation of the Normandale shooting, uh, concerns.

2:20:08Today I attended T-Rex and Dog's vigil.

2:20:12I also went to the Black History Museum and was asked to fill out this, this card.

2:20:17It says, young Black men, and then you fill it in, and it says, young Black men.

2:20:24I wrote, my grandchildren.

2:20:25They deserve a future Free of police violence.

2:20:33I would just love for you to all review those core values, take them to heart, hang them up in front of you.

2:20:41Don't make any decisions until you have read them and start actually applying them to you, because what I saw in the very first city council meeting was really concerning.

2:20:58Thank you.

2:21:00Thank you for being here.

2:21:05That concludes testimony.

2:21:10Councilor Smith, would you like to start our discussion?

2:21:15Yes, ma'am.

2:21:16Thank you, Madam President.

2:21:19Good evening, Chief Day.

2:21:20Good evening.

2:21:23I had the, the great fortune of seeing you for the first time in a public setting at the Hazelwood, um, Neighborhood Association in October, and I was running for a city council seat.

2:21:40And, uh, as many have said before me, it was good to see you in a setting with Everyday people, and I saw at how much ease you had with people, and you answered all questions.

2:21:56You didn't shy away from any question, and you stayed there.

2:22:00Most importantly, you stayed there until the end.

2:22:03And so I really appreciated, um, seeing you in action of sorts.

2:22:11Um, I have a question.

2:22:12Yes.

2:22:13What keeps you up at night as police chief?

2:22:20Well, I made this comment, um, last fall during the election cycle.

2:22:25Uh, I really believe that Portland is poised, um, at a time of resurgence.

2:22:35That it saddens me as I have traveled around the country and I hear the criticism of the perspective or the perception of Portland.

2:22:44And, um, I, I— what keeps me up at night is missing this opportunity, missing this time.

2:22:51When Mayor Wheeler asked me to come on board in the fall of '23, and, um, after extensive conversation with then-Chief Lovell, uh, it was clear that he was not going to run for reelection, that crime was a priority.

2:23:06And by the way, we're going to this entirely new form of government in '25.

2:23:09So any chief that would want this job, we don't want.

2:23:13So we'd like to know if you'd be willing to step in and try and do this.

2:23:17And that's why it was so clear at my swear— my appointment when I was asked if I would stay past July of '22, or excuse me, July of '25, and I was clear that I would not.

2:23:27But what I didn't anticipate over the last 16, 17 months is frankly how much I have loved this role.

2:23:35And being in that Hazelwood meeting, I mean, that was a, that was a fiery meeting.

2:23:40There was a lot of energy in that room.

2:23:42I don't know if you remember what I said at the end.

2:23:45I didn't walk out of there discouraged.

2:23:47I walked out of there motivated.

2:23:49Since that time, I've been out to 122nd and Burnside.

2:23:52I've been out there personally.

2:23:54We've directed additional resources.

2:23:56We're in talking to Menlo Park.

2:23:57We're talking to Hazelwood.

2:23:59We're talking to folks out there, making sure East precinct is hearing those concerns.

2:24:03And that's the joy and the benefit of being able to be the chief of police, is that I can direct that and I can be in those spaces.

2:24:09And we're doing that other places around the city.

2:24:12So what keeps me up at night is the risk that we will squander the time that we're seeing where Portlanders are coming together alongside of law enforcement, which has not always been the case, but really holistically as a community and What lies ahead, I think, is, is incredibly more opportunistic and exciting than maybe even what we've seen in the 3 decades I served before.

2:24:38And my last question— thank you, Chief, for that answer, I appreciate it.

2:24:43I had an opportunity to meet with your deputy this morning and talk to some of your officers over the last month or so, and one of the concerns that I have As a mother of a, a, a 34-year-old Black man in this city, I want to know what are your plans, because I'll be asking this of folks in the Public Safety Department next week at my Labor and Workforce Committee.

2:25:10What are your plans to improve, increase, and expand the number of Black officers on the Portland Police?

2:25:19Yeah, so recruitment challenges are something that's happening across the country in law enforcement right now, and certainly Oregon and Portland is no stranger to that.

2:25:31Just, um, I was at a conference in DC 2 weeks ago with the 80 largest cities in America, and everybody's struggling with recruitment.

2:25:40Um, excuse me.

2:25:41So, uh, we have, uh, doubled our efforts, meaning we added an additional recruiter this year.

2:25:46It was a, a woman officer.

2:25:48I believe Councilor Ryan went and rode with her on one of her last shifts before she took this assignment.

2:25:53Um, but we are constantly evaluating the process in which we go through recruitment and how we recruit and who we recruit and intentionality.

2:26:02Um, last week, uh, on a snow day, we swore in 10 new police officers, and 2 were white males and 2 were females and 6 were people of color.

2:26:12Thank you.

2:26:13And we have a ways to go.

2:26:16I was looking at the numbers recently.

2:26:17In the last 3 years, I would say on average, and I can get you more specifics next week, but I would say we're probably run about 5 to 6% of our hires are African Americans.

2:26:29And we definitely want to continue to focus on that.

2:26:32The ways in which we do that, frankly, I'd say 2 things.

2:26:37One, Portland police officers are our best recruiters.

2:26:39Right.

2:26:40I mean, really, the best people to recruit are the people that are doing the job.

2:26:44So I think by valuing and recognizing and honoring our Black officers, making sure they know that they're included and cared for and valued in the organization, and they can communicate that to other communities of color.

2:26:57And then second of all, you know, this is aside from the mechanics of where we advertise and what we do.

2:27:02Second of all is really going back to what's been said several times, is that community engagement community outreach, that community trust.

2:27:08And the number of Portlanders that we're hiring— and this is once again broad, I've got some numbers in front of me else for the sake of time— but the number of people we're hiring out of our Portland public high schools is really remarkable.

2:27:19I was surprised when I asked for it because I was concerned that maybe our emphasis on recruiting was casting too wide of a net.

2:27:26And we're seeing an increase in number of applicants.

2:27:29Just today I was on the elevator, a young, a young man was introduced to me who's born and raised here saw our podcast, has applied, is going on a ride-along next week.

2:27:38So hopefully our internal efforts around recruitment, utilizing our members, as well as our emphasis with our reliance upon community to, to direct people to this profession.

2:27:50Thank you, and thank you for your response, and thank you for your service.

2:27:55Okay, um, let me start with some pleasantries because I forgot to do this with Michael Jordan.

2:28:05I like you as a human.

2:28:06I've really appreciated working with you.

2:28:08I think you are very honest, and I appreciate your efforts to be transparent.

2:28:12So let's start with that before all the hard questions come.

2:28:15Cool.

2:28:15Okay, um, so let me start here.

2:28:20A few years ago, we— and we means the Citizen Review Committee, which is the outgoing Police Accountability Board— did some research on, let's call it, discipline off-ramps.

2:28:30Yes.

2:28:31And in other words, alternative processes to have with an officer and a harmed person in the community to have a mediated discussion to resolve misunderstandings.

2:28:44We even had the people from Washington, D.C.'s Office of Police Conduct come and explain their program.

2:28:51And some of the benefits to this was, you know, this was— the goal is rooted obviously in Reparation and restorative justice, repairing community harm.

2:29:02And importantly, this mediation process can be a substitute to the traditional hearings trial-like process that ends in punishment, right?

2:29:11Um, I would encourage you to look at their website too.

2:29:13They have some really good testimonials that explain the impact.

2:29:16So I'm curious if you have experience with these systems.

2:29:19Do you support reopening that discussion?

2:29:21At the time, you know, I know There is somewhat a mediation process built in, but the difference in DC is they have more mechanisms to encourage officers to go through that process.

2:29:33So yeah, I just wanted to see if you knew about that program and had any interest to try to make that a thing here in Portland.

2:29:40Yeah, so thank you, Councilor.

2:29:42And I don't want to speak to the program exactly, I'm not familiar with it, but in terms of concept, absolutely.

2:29:47I mean, I think the opportunity for Anytime we can sit down across from one another and have a conversation and, um, share experiences, perspectives— it's been my experience in the law enforcement world that sometimes when that's happened informally, maybe not around specific discipline, but when we've had a chance for officers and community to sit and share their stories, that that's really where the change happens.

2:30:13And not because we're necessarily seeking agreement, but You know, an understanding.

2:30:17And on Sunday, we're going to do a community academy, and I know some of you will be in attendance as well as others.

2:30:23And sometimes that's criticized as, you know, form of propaganda by the police.

2:30:28We're trying to convince people of one thing or another.

2:30:31But I really feel like it creates a space for that type of conversation, absent of maybe the conflict that exists when we actually are doing a mediation over a, um, allegation, as you mentioned.

2:30:44So short answer, yes, I would be open to that.

2:30:46I'd be happy to look at that as we enter into this new Police Accountability Commission and things that are going on.

2:30:52I think, you know, we want to make sure that we're doing it in alignment with DOJ, etc., but I would be open to that.

2:30:59I appreciate that.

2:30:59And I'll just say, in my experience in the CRC, I saw a lot of cases that could have been repaired with discussion.

2:31:06Of course, these are, you know, they're kind of like the professional conduct code, or I'm forgetting all the terms.

2:31:12You know what I'm talking about.

2:31:13Anyway, I just thought that it's an important discussion we need to have here.

2:31:18Similarly, in about 2016 or '17, I can't quite recall, at the time the Portland Police President Daryl Turner sent a scathing letter to the CRC ultimately saying that he was urging all of his members, AKA Portland Police Bureau members, to never again attend a CRC hearing.

2:31:39This made it really difficult to judge cases when we only had one side of the story.

2:31:44It contributed to a spiral of negative morale that affected the appellants and the CRC members.

2:31:50So what is your opinion in general, especially since we're entering a new system here, and I know there's some different rules that will be applying, but what's your opinion on officers' participation in the conduct review process in the new system?

2:32:02And do you plan to encourage your officers to change this culture and begin attending those hearings?

2:32:08Yeah, I certainly am not going to in any way speak for the PPA here and, and the role of the PPA president, and certainly not a past president.

2:32:17But as chief, I'm regularly encouraging all of our members to take advantage of any of those opportunities that may exist to tell our story.

2:32:25The reality is that if we don't, then that story is going to be told anyway.

2:32:30And so I will not be one to, you know, discourage or emphasize a non-participatory role.

2:32:38I would want us to be able to be engaged.

2:32:41Certainly, you know, labor is going to have their opinions and, and thoughts, but as a leader of the organization, I think that's paramount that we take advantage of those to tell our story.

2:32:50And then You know, it's going to play out like it's going to play out.

2:32:54Yeah, culture starts at the top.

2:32:55So that's the context of my question.

2:32:572 More questions.

2:32:58The context of this next question is sensitive because we are at the 3-year anniversary of the Normandale shooting.

2:33:04I actually lived in that neighborhood.

2:33:06That was my home park, and my neighbor was shot and survived that shooting.

2:33:11So it's very personal to me.

2:33:13Um, first, let me say thank you for the apology that PPB issued, um, ahead of The PCEP, the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing, they were in the process of requesting police communi— I'm sorry, requesting, yes, this apology regarding the police communications after the Normandale shooting.

2:33:31The communication occurred before your term as chief, I'll note that, but you have a person as the primary conduit for external communication from the PPB who was responsible for that dishonesty.

2:33:42So I want to understand from you, If a PIO is accused of being dishonest, do you support investigation of them and possibly discipline?

2:33:52And secondly, do you support the integration of communications at all in the service area level?

2:33:57I'm curious what your thoughts are as we are moving into this new system about how communication, um, will be coming out of PPB, if it might flow up to the DCA area or not.

2:34:07Yeah, so, um, question number one, regardless if it's a PIO or otherwise, I absolutely would want to be made aware of allegations of dishonesty, um, any violation of bureau policy.

2:34:17I absolutely encourage people to either report to us or to IPR or whatever the new system comes online.

2:34:24Second of all, in the communication strategy, I think it's paramount that a chief of police has a dedicated comms team.

2:34:33The volume of information and expectation around communication from law enforcement agencies, particularly in a municipality of this size, is staggering.

2:34:41I'm amazed at the amount of requests that come in.

2:34:45And, you know, we're required by law to respond to those requests.

2:34:49And there certainly is a nuance that goes with that.

2:34:52And so as we look at the efforts being made under the city administrator and the DCA, I've shown a real propensity and appreciation for the public safety service area and the opportunity to increase deficiencies, but I will continue to be, uh, a pretty ardent, uh, proponent of having a comms team that is dedicated and a resource to me.

2:35:13I meet and talk with them almost daily and, uh, rely upon them, especially in today's age where communication and information flow is really just overwhelming.

2:35:24Thank you.

2:35:25One more question.

2:35:27There is a nominating committee that will be evaluating applicants for the new charter-required Community Board for Police Accountability.

2:35:33This nominating committee includes 3 police officers, one of which is going to be appointed by the Chief of Police.

2:35:39So how will you be deciding on who to put on the nominating committee?

2:35:42And furthermore, how will you ensure that the nominating committee, despite having 3 police officers on it, promotes an independent police oversight board?

2:35:51Yeah, so decisions like this shouldn't be made in a vacuum.

2:35:55So I've reached out to my executive team and ask for their input on that very question.

2:36:01Um, you know, and it's a diverse group of folks with very, uh, different backgrounds and tenure, so I'm certainly looking to them to provide that perspective to me, to that council.

2:36:12It's not an independent decision that I will make.

2:36:16Um, second of all, in terms of, you know, the process itself, you know, I'm, I'm going to communicate to the officers involved what I would always communicate, that You know, I expect them to be, you know, people of integrity, to follow the rules, to stay in their lane, to understand, you know, what is trying to be accomplished here, regardless of our personal feeling one way or the other, that they maintain a level of neutrality and professionalism in their recommendation.

2:36:40I think it's important that we do have a law enforcement voice on the, uh, as this, uh, commission becomes formed.

2:36:47I do think it's important to have that perspective shared.

2:36:50Thank you.

2:36:51Um, I'm a big believer in having what I like to say is the entire conversation, and to eliminate law enforcement from that, I think, would not be in the best interest of the council or the committee as it comes together, as well as its legitimacy going forward.

2:37:03So, A, I will use a collaborative approach to seek out recommendations, and then 2, make sure that whoever is selected understands my objectives and goals and values.

2:37:15I appreciate your answers.

2:37:16I'll stop there for now.

2:37:18Thank you.

2:37:20Thank you, Madam President.

2:37:23Chief, um, I've brought up a number of times from this spot, um, that I have a deep concern about the city's long history of using police as a general-purpose government response tool, especially after 5 o'clock.

2:37:36I think that, uh, the volume of calls you were mentioning, of those, you know, 200,000 calls, probably it wasn't necessary.

2:37:43For every one of those calls to have a sworn officer show up.

2:37:47I'd like to know specifically about your vision for the PS3s, the Public Safety Support Specialists.

2:37:52These are non-sworn officers who are not— or non-sworn members of the PPB who are responding to things.

2:37:59What is your vision for what that system would look like in an ideal situation, and how would you use them within the bureau?

2:38:06Yeah, thank you, Councilor.

2:38:07First of all, let's be clear, they're being underutilized.

2:38:10Currently as is.

2:38:11You know, city's been very gracious.

2:38:13We have 40 of them.

2:38:14I'm super appreciative of their service.

2:38:17Um, it's really, uh, some tremendous people there.

2:38:20Some, you know, are retired law enforcement.

2:38:22Some are people who truly are drawn to the role.

2:38:24Some are interested in maybe moving into policing.

2:38:28Um, but real public servants.

2:38:30There's a couple things.

2:38:31One, I think we need to do some structuring within the PSC program itself to create some Supervisory or leadership opportunity.

2:38:38I'm not suggesting a sergeant rank, but maybe a lead PS3.

2:38:42And, you know, understand, and I know we're on the record, these are ideas that I have floated with the union and I have thought about internally, but we haven't put into action.

2:38:49But since you opened the door, one is I think we need to give them a little bit of ownership, right?

2:38:54We haven't done a good job as an organization really bringing them into the fold, holding them accountable, but also not really giving them direction.

2:39:02So I think we need to create, you know, like a lead PS3 role.

2:39:05Maybe it's somebody they could rotate every, you know, 2 years.

2:39:08I don't know, but we need to give some ownership and some accountability to them.

2:39:12They know best what, you know, some of their capabilities and, and opportunities are.

2:39:182, Um, we just recently identified that they're not being dispatched by BOEC.

2:39:23This was news to me.

2:39:24Um, it's always embarrassing to admit what you don't know as the boss, but Unfortunately, in an organization this size, there's some things that I still don't know.

2:39:33We're working towards figuring out, you know, why is that the case?

2:39:36Why can't they be dispatched to calls for service instead of waiting for another officer to call them, or assuming that they will take the initiative, which many of them do?

2:39:44We have some PS3s that have done some really amazing work.

2:39:50And so I don't want to suggest that they're not, but, you know, providing a little bit more direction.

2:39:54And 3, Um, we have not had a quote-unquote home for them, and, and I won't get into too much of the structure of the organization, but they are, um, going to be— we're going to be assigning them into the precincts and more directly having them work with the different precincts.

2:40:09So instead of sort of like, hey, here's your PS3, here's your— like, no, East Precinct, these are your PS3s.

2:40:14Let's bring them into the East Precinct community.

2:40:17Let's help them understand the needs of East Portlanders.

2:40:20And make sure that they're working in line and in conjunction with our officers.

2:40:24So those are 3 things that are top of mind that I'm hoping to implement sooner than later.

2:40:28Just a quick follow-up.

2:40:30Do you think that within the scope of what the work that they're already doing, are there things that, uh, PS3s could simply take off the plate of, of sworn officers generally?

2:40:39The, the short answer is yes.

2:40:41The long answer is I can't give you examples of that right now.

2:40:44That's just based upon gut feeling and experience.

2:40:46But as the council has noted And I've said, you know, um, I mean, I'm the only, only CEO in America who goes to work every day and tries to put himself out of a job.

2:40:54So, um, if we can, uh, identify those and make more space for them, I'm all for it.

2:41:02Thank you.

2:41:06Councilor Morillo.

2:41:09Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Chief Day, for being here and for, uh, your presentation.

2:41:13It's obvious that you've earned the respect and care of your colleagues, and that's not easy to do in this position.

2:41:20So I appreciate that a lot.

2:41:22Thank you.

2:41:22Um, I have, uh, and I appreciate your candor and the way, uh, with which you responded to, um, Councilor Koyama Lane's, uh, you know, experience and sharing about that.

2:41:33The way that you acknowledge that history and the fact that there are changes that need to be made, I think, meant a lot to me and to a lot of the people listening.

2:41:39So I appreciate You know, your willingness and humility in that, because I think that that can be hard to do sometimes, and, and I think that's a sign of good leadership.

2:41:49I just have one question for you, so it'll be short.

2:41:52We have, you know, obviously a terrible budget crisis, and we— one of the things that we're looking into is the call reallocation process to make sure that the right 911 calls are being triaged to the right spaces, and that's going to be happening in 2 parts.

2:42:07The first stage would be to identify low-priority calls that can be redistributed, and obviously that would happen through bargaining with PPB as well, or with the police union, to the appropriate responder, and then to ensure that the high-priority calls are also going to the appropriate responder and with the appropriate response time.

2:42:29I'm just curious what your commitment is to ensuring that that call reallocation process actually happens so that we're having a data-driven approach to ensuring that we have the right number of officers on staff, and that we're taking a data-driven approach first before saying, you know, we need more staff.

2:42:47Because the reality is that across all bureaus, there's going to be pain points.

2:42:51This is something that I'm not taking lightly.

2:42:54There's going to be a lot of— we talked about monuments that are going to be closing, you know, just yesterday or the day before.

2:43:00During our council session, um, and we're going to need your cooperation with the call reallocation process and assigning officers to work on that process.

2:43:10Is that something that you're committed to as we answer those hard questions as a council about how many officers we need on staff and who is the appropriate responder for each 911 call?

2:43:22Yeah, thank you, Councilor.

2:43:24And so in regards to the study itself, I made the call to Bob Cossie early last year and asked him to begin this process.

2:43:30So, um, would be disingenuous to have started something and not demonstrate ongoing support to it.

2:43:36So I'm very, very supportive of it.

2:43:39I mean, as I mentioned earlier, I mean, policing has evolved in a way that is really remarkable as we look at, you know, what is the role of law enforcement in the community and what are the calls that, you know, police need to go to.

2:43:51Portland Police Was one of the first— I, I, when I was handed the instructions to start the behavioral health unit in, I don't know, 2012, 2013, something to that effect, you know, we looked around the country.

2:44:04There was only one or two that we could find that had clinicians embedded with their police officers.

2:44:08We now have 5, and our behavioral health unit is a national model.

2:44:13Um, we're the first agency in the country to go to all crisis intervention team training, and then we developed enhanced crisis intervention team training.

2:44:21So, you know, I'm really proud of the history of the Police Bureau and of the city to be progressive in its thinking around law enforcement.

2:44:27And I think this alternative response is there, as well as how we utilize the system, the 911 system, to identify what calls officers go to.

2:44:37I would caution Council though that that is a study and it's happening and it needs to happen, and I will be supportive, including dedicating Uh, resources to it as available, but also know that I will continue to message that we are, you know, at an all-time low of staff.

2:44:53And if we are going to make changes to a system, and that's what we rely upon right now, the 911 system, then we need to have those alternatives in place.

2:45:03And my concern, particularly going into the next couple of budget cycles, is that, you know, we can't stop and wait to see what that's going to look like.

2:45:11Thank you.

2:45:11That we have to continue to hire, we have to continue to fund the police bureau while we look for that.

2:45:17And I think the goal, this, this, this aspirational goal, which I think exists, I really believe exists, that someday we could have smaller police departments and more civilian responses or non-armed responses.

2:45:30I believe that exists.

2:45:31I think it's smarter financially.

2:45:32I don't think they need to go to all these calls, and a lot of cops frankly don't want to go to them.

2:45:37But I don't think that's a year out.

2:45:38Thank you.

2:45:38I mean, I think that dream is 3 to 5 to 10 years out.

2:45:42And the reason it's been so difficult is because it's hard to make that commitment.

2:45:45It's hard to make that commitment in these chairs.

2:45:482 To 4 years, however long you sit, you're making— you know, it's hard to make that commitment because it's expensive, it takes time, it's— it seems, um, you know, almost fiscally irresponsible.

2:45:59Because to your point, and I agree, you know, what's the right number?

2:46:02I mean, geez, if we have these calls that we don't need to go to, do we need all these police officers?

2:46:06That's a great question to ask.

2:46:08The problem is, is in real time right now, people are calling 911, and I haven't looked lately, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's 20, 30, 40 calls holding right now, and we're operating at a shortage.

2:46:20So it's, it's, it's a matter of, you know, that flexibility and being able to build the plane while we're flying.

2:46:26And I hope that we're able to get there.

2:46:29But in terms of specifics right now, this call study and this review, absolutely.

2:46:33I'm, I'm excited to see where it comes and, and what we, what we learn from it.

2:46:37Thank you so much.

2:46:38Appreciate your answers.

2:46:41Councilor Kanal.

2:46:43Thank you, Madam President.

2:46:46Thank you for being here, Chief.

2:46:48Um, I'm going to ask a few questions and I'll pause and give, uh, my colleagues some time.

2:46:51Um, in discussion regarding rank-and-file officers career pathways.

2:46:56One thing I've heard is that having more opportunities for officers to become investigators, uh, detectives, would be beneficial for that career path, um, as a second sort of, uh, pathway, uh, eventually vertically.

2:47:07And increasing investigators would also help resolve one of the 2 biggest criticisms of PPB that I've heard, which is the feeling that when your bike gets stolen or there's a burglary at a business, that there's little to no expectation that any person would be found and held responsible.

2:47:23At the same time, when we're hearing about staffing requests from PPB, it's usually framed as needing more patrol officers rather than investigators.

2:47:31So my question is, why does PPB prioritize investigators lower than increasing patrol officers?

2:47:38Yeah, well, first of all, um, you know, sadly, your comment about the feeling around the bike or the burglary is— there's legitimacy to that feeling.

2:47:46I'm not going to sit and say that we're meeting the expectation of Portlanders in many ways, and property crimes probably most significantly.

2:47:53I had a conversation with this about— with the comms team just today.

2:47:56So it saddens me that— to know that the number of people who experience, whether it be minor or significant, um, break-ins— we just saw the article a couple days ago about the, the card store, you know, a couple of break-ins in a week and, you know, several over the course of a decade.

2:48:11That's unacceptable and, and is worthy of our attention, but not Not just because it was in the Oregonian.

2:48:17So the reason that we frame it that way is because people come through the organization to the rank of detective through officer.

2:48:25And as we have this conversation around staffing— and I know we don't need to go into detail this evening— but it can— it all starts at the officer rank.

2:48:33The system is designed— and, and this is true of any agency I know of in the country— um, we wouldn't hire somebody as a detective as an investigator.

2:48:41They don't have any frame of mind.

2:48:42They don't have any reference.

2:48:43They have to go through the basic police academy to do that.

2:48:46So as I'm speaking about the officers and the need to increase officers, I'm speaking about the organization.

2:48:53I have 18 sergeant vacancies right now.

2:48:5518 Sergeant vacancies.

2:48:58Usually when police departments are sued, they're sued because of training and lack of supervision.

2:49:03You asked about what keeps me up at night.

2:49:05You know, knowing that I have vacant supervisory roles.

2:49:08But if I fill those 18 sergeants with 18 officers, now I got 18 officer vacancies.

2:49:14My call times just went from 19 minutes for a priority call to 25 minutes for a priority call.

2:49:20If I fill those 18 officers— sergeants out of the officer ranks, my overtime just went from, you know, $25 million a year to $25.5 million a year.

2:49:30It all starts at the officer rank and comes through.

2:49:33We have 88 detectives right now.

2:49:36When I made the move to, uh, reassign some of those detectives in the precincts that were focusing on property, and we moved them over to our Special Victims Unit because I wanted to prioritize domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse, we granted the opportunity within the precinct.

2:49:51We have officers that are working as active detectives, so we, we understand the importance of investigation.

2:49:57And some of those officers have produced some amazing cases in their investigative role.

2:50:02So investigations is a significant priority, but it all comes from the officer piece.

2:50:07So when I'm speaking of staffing, I'm speaking about the whole organization.

2:50:12When I started— I'll end with this, and I promise not too many war stories to my staff— but when I started, we had detectives at 24/7, and if you made a felony arrest, that person was brought downtown and they were interviewed and there was an investigation done.

2:50:28On every felony arrest except for, um, drug cases, but any property crime or person assault or, you know, person crime or property crime.

2:50:36And that was about 135 detectives roughly.

2:50:41And today we have 88 positions, and I think we have about 83 of those positions filled.

2:50:45So I, I would love to grow the investigation arm.

2:50:49I think it is a great pathway for our members, uh, the work they do with their victims.

2:50:54I mean, it's— it is important.

2:50:56Thank you.

2:50:57Yeah, and I, I'd like to support in that regard as well.

2:50:59Um, I've heard you say many times that the mission of the police bureau is to reduce crime and the fear of crime, and I'm curious how you view solving crime as part of it as it relates to that, and specifically around, um, clearance rates, because one of the, uh, best ways to reduce gun violence is to, is to increase clearance rates for both fatal and non-fatal injury shootings.

2:51:19Um, I believe that every bureau and the city, not just the police bureau, should have metrics for its success.

2:51:22And I would personally like to see clearance rates as one of the, if not the primary, uh, metric for the police bureau's success.

2:51:29Could you speak to why it isn't already one and your thoughts on that?

2:51:33And there's been, um, the feeling, and maybe this is not necessarily accurate, of pushback on that.

2:51:38Well, I'm not aware of any pushback on it.

2:51:42Um, I am aware of the fact that, you know what, um, There are many things that, you know, we don't measure that might be beneficial to measure.

2:51:51Uh, I'm not opposed to the clearance rate metric.

2:51:54I do know that in my conversation with other police leaders around the country, much like anything else, there's a lot of different factors that go into even how you clear a case and—.

2:52:03Excuse me—.

2:52:04How you list it as cleared or closed, or, you know, if there's no other leads.

2:52:08You know, there's, there's a lot of, um, nuance to that.

2:52:12But, and I don't have the numbers in front of me, but once again, and I'm not trying to, to kick the can down the road, but maybe in our Public Safety Committee we can revisit that.

2:52:20And, um, I would love to bring our investigative leads in, you know, whether it be around the gun violence or, or others who are really experts in the clearance rates conversation.

2:52:30Just know that I am looking at that.

2:52:32I am, uh, we are doing and starting a review, actually, uh, not in anticipation of your question, but we are starting a review, um, just the end of this month, the 1st of March, around clearance rates as a whole in our investigation unit, just to try and get a handle.

2:52:46The mayor has commented a couple times, um, and, uh, is a priority for him as well as understanding.

2:52:52So I hope to be able to provide more as we go through the year on that.

2:52:56Yeah, thanks.

2:52:57And 2 notes on that.

2:52:58There's a, uh, I shouldn't imply that was PPB.

2:53:01There was a conversation around the gun violence emergency declaration and including that as a metric, which was, uh, there were— it was reduced as a, as a reference under previous leadership, and that's not a Police Bureau comment.

2:53:14Um, also, I think that when we're using it, using it not in comparison to other cities because of the difference in how it's, uh, measured, but in a comparison to itself year over year.

2:53:24Um, third, I've heard you say that community engagement is a core priority, uh, for you, and one of the ways that you've describe community engagement is sending armed officers to community events or just sort of being out and about, bike patrol for example, which obviously does more than just being out and about.

2:53:40Uh, one example was the use of, uh, roughly half a million dollars in overtime expenses sending police officers to holiday patrols— uh, sorry, holiday markets in December.

2:53:51Um, best practices on community engagement generally include lower barrier forms of engagement, and I know you know this because you often personally choose to attend events without a visible weapon, for example.

2:54:02I also know that due to fears of retaliation, many community members, though not all of those who want to weigh in on police-related issues, don't necessarily want to weigh in to police.

2:54:11And it's vital to have opportunities for people to speak directly to police, as our testifier, uh, Miss Guembas-Herreras, I think, and groups like TAC.

2:54:19It's also vital to have independent community engagement without administrative housing Police, uh, I'll note some members of the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing are here.

2:54:27Can you speak to your theory of community engagement and the parts of it that do not involve interactions with armed officers?

2:54:36Yeah, and in, um, 2006, I went to work as a lieutenant at North Precinct and, um, probably hadn't worn a uniform every day up until that point.

2:54:47And I worked for Commander Brett Smith, who who dressed much like I did today.

2:54:50In fact, he wore jeans often, and, you know, we called him Kitzhopper in spirit of the governor at the time.

2:54:57And, uh, we were going to a community meeting, and I'm like, what's the matter, you're not proud of the uniform?

2:55:02You know, you're not proud of— I mean, I'm saying this to my boss as politely as I can.

2:55:07And, and, and he didn't order me to change, but he just shared with me some of the very things that you just expressed.

2:55:13Um, It took me a while to get there.

2:55:16It wasn't something that I embraced, uh, because as I said earlier, I'm incredibly proud of the uniform that, that I wear, um, and that I represent.

2:55:25And not just the Portland Police Bureau, but what it represents.

2:55:27Councilor Zimmerman's comments about an oath.

2:55:30And I would never ask anybody to be in uniform and not be armed.

2:55:33Unfortunately, we live in a violent society, and regardless of our position on law enforcement, that, that would be an So what I'm encouraging, and this has happened even in recent weeks as we've talked about attending events, is attending events more dressed like this, dressed more casually.

2:55:52You know, tonight I had a long discussion with my lovely wife about, you know, do I wear a tie, do I wear a uniform, what does it look like, what do you do?

2:56:00And this is where I landed, because this is how I've showed up for the last 16, 17 months, and this is how I'm how going to show up for I the next 16, 17 months.

2:56:06Intend Thank you.

2:56:06To.

2:56:07Doesn't mean that you're obviously not going to see me in uniform.

2:56:09So community engagement for me is twofold.

2:56:12One, we have to recognize the barriers of the uniform and of, of the presence of a firearm, and that, that shows up.

2:56:18And we have to know the history.

2:56:20We have to understand that experience is real.

2:56:23We also need to ask the community to understand that that is a uniform.

2:56:26It's part of what we wear.

2:56:27It's part of what goes with, you know, the outfit, so to speak.

2:56:31Um, so there's some understanding on both sides there a little bit.

2:56:33But then also, as I look at it, is looking for ways to reduce those barriers, whether it be in plainclothes or, as I mentioned, you mentioned the holiday walking beats.

2:56:42You know, we've done this 3 times now since I've been here.

2:56:44We did it twice during holiday seasons and once during March Madness when the women's Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 were here.

2:56:51And, you know, when I first proposed this in the fall of '23 and said, you know, I don't want you to go out and do police work, I just want you to go out and just visit I just want you to go out and visit and just be seen.

2:57:02I just want you to have coffee.

2:57:03I want you to go to Mother's and have lunch.

2:57:05I want you just to be out.

2:57:07And, you know, it was a little bit of a head-scratcher for folks, but we, we found as this thing progressed, the feedback from the community was amazing because they appreciated the opportunity to have conversations even though they were in uniform.

2:57:20But one of my favorite comments was when an officer about 3 or 4 weeks in mentioned to to one of the other command officers, like, does the chief know that we actually enjoy this too?

2:57:30And, um, so I want to be looking for ways to reduce the mandate that the only time that police are in our community is when it's enforcement-oriented.

2:57:40And whether that's in plain clothes or whether that's in uniform, I think we need to start there.

2:57:46Challenging to do, but I think that's where we start, is creating other spaces Because in the moment, in the intensity, that's a really difficult time.