With the city’s gun violence rate still hitting historic highs, Portlanders are looking for new ways to crack down on shooters. The latest suggestion comes from a new volunteer-led police oversight group, which meets weekly to analyze the previous week’s shootings with officers from the police bureau’s gun violence prevention unit, the Focused Intervention Team […]
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Portland Remains Out of Compliance With DOJ Settlement
A scene from the 2020 racial justice protests in downtown Portland. MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND It’s been 16 months since the city of Portland first fell out of compliance with the settlement agreement it made with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding police use-of-force against people with a mental illness. Yet, the city is still a […]
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City Attorneys Ask to Dismiss Lawsuit Because Protester Didn’t Know Which Officer Injured Him
A PPB officer during one of Portland’s 2020 racial justice protests. MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND Portland city attorneys are asking a federal judge to throw out a use-of-force lawsuit against the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) because the plaintiff can’t identify which PPB officer shot him with a munition from behind during a 2020 protest. Portlander Dexter Pearce […]
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UPDATE: Portland Police Shoot One Person During a Traffic Stop
Mathieu Lewis Rolland Update 6/1 10:27 am: The driver shot by Portland police during a traffic stop was released from the hospital Friday and identified as Matthew Leahey. According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), a team of two officers were on patrol in the Roseway neighborhood on May 6 and pulled Leahey over for […]
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Police Detective Hit With Third Lawsuit for Treatment of Protesters
Detective Erik Kammerer, right, during a 2020 protest. Doug Brown Portland police detective Erik Kammerer is being sued, again, for the way he treated members of the public during 2020’s racial justice protests. A lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses Kammerer of using violence to retaliate against individuals who protested against the police, suggesting that this is […]
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Portland DA Seeks to Revive a Conservative Policing Tactic With ‘Neighborhood Prosecutors’
The Multnomah County DA’s rebranding of an old practice paints prosecutors as social workers, worrying local public defenders and civil rights advocates.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt at a 2020 press conference. NATHAN HOWARD / GETTY IMAGES This article was produced as a collaboration between Bolts and the Portland Mercury. Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt knows he has an image problem. Schmidt, who took office during Portland’s racial justice protests in August 2020, says he […]
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Portlander Sues Feds for Abduction During 2020 Protests
Evelyn Bassi OJRC Federal agents were hit with a lawsuit Friday for allegedly abducting Portlander Evelyn Bassi during the city’s 2020 racial justice protests. The federal complaint names agents with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal law enforcement officials with violating Bassi’s constitutional rights to due process, free speech, and protections […]
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After Previous Rejection, Sheriff Candidate Peterson Approved to Obtain Law Enforcement Certification
Derrick Peterson Derrick for Sheriff Multnomah County Sheriff candidate Derrick Peterson, who currently serves as a captain within the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, has been granted permission to earn his law enforcement certification. It’s a significant step for Peterson, whose candidacy has been repeatedly criticized for lacking this qualification. While Peterson obtained his corrections certification […]
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Police Force Against People With a Mental Illness Has Risen, Despite Federal Oversight
MATHIEU LEWIS-ROLLAND Police use of force against mentally ill Portlanders has only increased since the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the city in 2012 for Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) disproportionate use of violence against people with a mental illness. This data came to light during a routine federal court check-in between the DOJ and […]
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Portland is the Boogeyman in Washington County’s DA Race
Faced with a progressive challenger in the May election, the DA of Oregon’s suburban Washington County has taken to demonizing the state’s largest city.
Washington County DA Kevin Barton Kevin Barton Campaign, Luís Henrique Boucault / Getty Images This article was produced as a collaboration between Bolts and Portland Mercury. ——— In a new campaign video for Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton, a narrator asks: “Why does safety matter?” Several people then give vague answers about family and […]
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Police Oversight Group Will Continue, Despite City Staffing Shortages
Doug Brown Portland’s federally-mandated police oversight group will not be forced into a hiatus due to city staffing issues, according to Mayor Ted Wheeler. The Portland Commission on Community-Engaged Policing (PCCEP) is a volunteer group tasked with overseeing Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) adherence to a settlement agreement made with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in […]
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Portland’s Court-Ordered Police Oversight Board Hits a Familiar Wall
The first meeting of the PCCEP in 2018. Alex Zielinski Six years ago, Portland’s federally-required police oversight committee was in disarray. Now, it appears its replacement has reached a similar point. Dubbed the Community Oversight Advisory Board (COAB), the 15-person group of volunteers was tasked with overseeing the city’s 2014 settlement agreement with the US […]