Portlanders have until April 14 to apply to serve on the city’s new Community Board for Police Accountability.

The new board was established by a ballot measure Portland voters approved in November 2020 that creates a civilian-led oversight body with authority to investigate police conduct and community complaints against Portland Police Bureau (PPB) personnel. The aim with the new board is to have complaints and serious incidents investigated and reviewed by an independent governing body, free of law enforcement influence, with the authority to impose discipline. That kind of system didn't exist, until now.

While Portland has several police oversight bodies with different, but sometimes overlapping functions, the new Community Board for Police Accountability (CBPA) will function much like the Independent Police Review.

The Independent Police Review (IPR) is an impartial group of non-sworn city employees that tracks and monitors misconduct complaints against personnel, when necessary. The group can also initiate investigations. After reviewing each case, IPR can make recommendations about discipline, but its authority stops there.

Once the 21-member CBPA is in place, it will replace the IPR. The new board will be tasked with reviewing a wider range of cases than the IPR, including allegations of police misconduct, complaints over uses of force that result in injury, in-custody deaths, and uses of deadly force. It will also make recommendations about Portland Police Bureau practices, policies and directives. Most importantly, the civilian-led board will have authority to decide disciplinary outcomes for officers, when appropriate, rather than just making recommendations, as the IPR does. 

Under the new system, a separate team, including paid investigators, will investigate each case, then send findings to a panel of five to seven CBPA board members, who will determine whether a PPB personnel member violated policy, and what disciplinary action, if any, is appropriate. The board will review cases, listen to testimony, and make decisions based on evidence.

“This newly formed board will ensure transparency and fairness in policing and provide a voice to those who have not historically been included in the decision-making process,” a recruitment notice from the city states.

What to know:

Service on the board is voluntary, but members will receive a $500 annual stipend. CBPA members will become public officials during their time of service. While a typical board term is three years, the first round of terms will be staggered, so members will serve terms of one, two, or three years, depending on their availability and preferences. 

Meetings will be held evenings on a weekday to be determined, but members should be prepared for additional time commitments based on caseloads, investigations and other responsibilities. 

CBPA members must complete training, sign confidentiality agreements, and pass a background check. They will also be required to attend a police ride-along before serving on the board.

To be eligible, nominees should "live, work, worship, or play" in Portland, and not show any bias for or against police. 

Applicants will be reviewed by a 10-person nominating committee. Afterward, the Portland City Council will appoint 21 members and six alternates. Current and former law enforcement personnel are prohibited from serving, and nominees with immediate family members in law enforcement cannot serve, either.

The nominating committee includes two members of the Citizens Review Committee (Yume Delegato and Nate Holton); an employee of the city's Office of Equity and Human Rights (Judith Mowry); one nominee from each of the four City Council districts (Timur Ender, former Senator Margaret Carter, Angie Tomlinson, and Kari Chisholm); one representative from the Portland police chief's office (Capt. Derrick Foxworth, Jr); and one rep each from both unions representing PPB employees (Sgt. Aaron Schmautz of Portland Police Association and Lt. Casey Hettman of the Commanding Officers Association). 

Applications are due by 5pm Monday, April 14. To learn more, and apply, click here.

This story has been updated to clarify the Community Board for Police Accountability's scope of work and the makeup of the Independent Police Review.