PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After years of delays, Portland Police will finally get body cameras after the city and the police union reached an agreement approved by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The decision comes after the city and police union came to an agreement on a challenging issue: whether officers could review the footage before writing up their statements on what happened.
In situations where there’s an officer involved in a deadly shooting or in-custody death, officers must first provide a recorded statement before they can review the video. Their statement must include details such as what they saw and what they did – from de-escalation to use of force.
When they are interviewed by Internal Affairs, after an initial statement, there can be a break where the investigator and the involved officer view the video in separate rooms, then continue with the interview.
Both the police union and Mayor Ted Wheeler say they are grateful to come to an agreement without having an outside arbitrator make a decision for them.
“This is a really important program because it provides accountability,” Wheeler said. “It will allow the public to see what happens in significant policing incidents, but it also protects the men and women of Portland Police Bureau.”
PPB President Aaron Schmautz said nobody “won an argument,” but rather agreed to “land in a place where we think everyone is getting a system that will work for them.”
“I think we all won,” Schmautz said.
The first two divisions that will get training and cameras are 100 Central Precinct, with more than 100 officers, and the Focused Intervention Team, which are officers working to stop gun violence.
The next step is for the City Council to approve the policy agreement, which will likely be next week.
Police tell KOIN 6 they expect all officers will likely have body cameras by the end of the year, if the city and the police union decide the two-month pilot project went well.