PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Voters overwhelmingly supported a police reform measure in Tuesday’s election that will amend the City of Portland’s charter to create a new, independent community police oversight board. Multnomah County reported 82% of voters were in support of Measure 26-217.
The protests that roiled Portland since May are the most visible efforts to reform the way police operate. But Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has been pushing for police reform and accountability for decades. She was the driving force that got Measure 26-217 on the ballot.
With its passage, a new oversight board composed of community members will be created to review complaints against the Portland Police Bureau. The board can also impose discipline.
“Tomorrow we continue the work at City Hall, working with the community to put this victory into action with follow-up legislation, preparing community members to take their leadership roles on the committee, and continuing the conversation with Thursday’s Fall Budget Monitoring (BMP) vote on my amendments to continue to rethink community safety,” said Hardesty in a Tuesday night statement.
Oregon State Legislature House Speaker Tina Kotek also weighed in on the measure’s approval, saying in a statement, “It’s exciting to see the success of police accountability in Portland tonight. I look forward to supporting the implementation work that comes next.”
Police Accountability Campaign Manager Darren Golden described the win as “the first step among many down the long road toward systemic change.”
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The measure changes the city’s charter: it scraps the current police review committee and creates a new oversight group with civilians who would have the ability to discipline and fire police officers—responsibilities currently belonging to Mayor Ted Wheeler, who also serves as police commissioner.
Apart from investigating deadly force, the board would review other police issues like in-custody deaths. Current or former police officers would not be allowed to be on the board.
Opponents who disagreed with the measure said current levels of oversight could be tweaked to serve the purpose.
After passing with overwhelming majority support, the city council will form a commission to work on details to create the board and there will have to be discussions with the police union.
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