May 06, 2004
(Updated) Chief Foxworth, Mayor Katz Respond To Letter From Inquest Jurors
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
Yesterday, the six inquest jurors released a letter criticizing procedures of the Portland Police Bureau. This afternoon, both Chief Derrick Foxworth and Mayor Vera Katz released their responses.
First, here is the response from Chief Foxworth:
I want to thank the inquest jurors for issuing this letter and for their commitment to the inquest process. They are community members who served on the first inquest in 20 years, and I�m sure it was a very stressful and somewhat overwhelming experience for them. This letter contained some observations that also represent some common community concerns.
In regards to training, the Portland Police Bureau has always -- and will continue to -- constantly develop and review its training, because we want to offer the best training to Portland Police Officers possible. As I said in the inquest, the Police Bureau has had considerable community input into our current policies and training, and now we will look at best practices on a national level to ensure we are aligned or above national standards.
There is a common tendency to intertwine racial profiling and pre-text stops. These are two separate subject matters. Pre-text stops are when an officer makes a lawful stop of a person in order to investigate a potential crime unrelated to the stop. This is a valuable tool for officers, which is used to respond to criminal activity or behavior in order to reduce crime and improve neighborhood livability.
In regards to racial profiling, I want to emphasize the definition: It is the use of race as the sole basis for justifying traffic stops or other police action. The Portland Police Bureau does not train, teach, endorse, support or condone any type of racial profiling. This is a practice that contradicts our organizational values and community policing philosophy. We acknowledge that there have been reported cases of racial profiling that have occurred in some police agencies in this country.
I cannot say that out of the hundreds of thousands of contacts Portland Police Officers make every year, that racial profiling has never occurred in Portland. However, racial profiling is not, and will not, be tolerated in the Portland Police Bureau. If anyone feels they have been the subject of racial profiling, then I urge them to come forward to the Independent Police Review Division with their complaints.
The Police Bureau will continue to look for ways to better communicate and educate the public in why we do what we do. In doing so, this will create and enhance the public's understanding and trust in their police.
And here is the response from Mayor Katz:
Thank you for your thoughtful letter of May 5, 2004, regarding your impressions and recommendations developed as a result of your service in the public inquest regarding the death of James Jahar Perez. You certainly did not have to take this additional step after your jury duties were discharged. Your desire to be part of a constructive dialogue around the issues raised exhibits a high degree of civic responsibility.
As you note in your letter, some of your suggestions are, of course, already being considered. We review on an ongoing basis how our already stringent police training can be improved. The City is committed to recruiting officers from all segments of our community, and we have reviewed our commitment to a community policing approach that emphasizes the importance of personal relationships between officers and the community they patrol.
Clearly, the shooting deaths of Kendra James and James Jahar Perez have raised questions that need to be addressed. Chief Foxworth and I welcome those questions, and we welcome the type of thoughtful recommendations you have developed.
Your comments regarding the scars left by this tragic incident reflect how seriously you undertook your duties. Thank you for your valuable service. The inquest, for all its limitations, greatly informed our community, not only about the case at hand, but also regarding such issues as police training and policy. It was very helpful and has established a useful precedent.
Neither of them goes quite as far as we would have liked in responding more directly to the jurors' concerns, but Foxworth's at least gets close. Katz's statement doesn't really do much of anything at all.
Update
Of course, we forgot to also mention today's Oregonian coverage of the jurors' letter, which includes some other reaction out of the Mayor's office:
The jury urged the city to consider having an independently elected police commissioner -- someone whose sole job is to oversee the Police Bureau -- yet did not explain why. The mayor now is police commissioner.
"It caught our eye," said Scott Farris, Mayor Vera Katz's spokesman. "The mayor is an independently elected official accountable to the voters. I'm not sure what that means."
Well, we suspect because much of the community essentially detests the way Katz has handled the Police Bureau during the many years she's been in office. And rather than suggest that some other member of City Council take over, they appear to believe it's worth at least considering making an entirely separate political/elected post of Police Commissioner.
Then again, we suspect that both Farris and his boss knew exactly what the jurors meant by this suggestion, and are just feigning ignorance of the criticisms their office has received over its management of the Police Bureau. Par for the course.
Comments (2)
pdxkona on 06 May 2004
Now here's a question-
Are people against the Mayor being Police Commissioner or against Vera Katz being Commissioner? I agree that Vera has totally been horrific in that capacity of her job. But it begs the question- What happens if there was a Mayor that could capably handle the position? For example- what if Tom Potter wins the runoff election (I am making an educated guess) ? Potter, as former Police Chief, is wholey qualified and capable of handling the position of Police Commissioner. Would y'all still disagree that the Mayor should be Commissioner? Or is it just because Katz screwed up so royally, that she should have been "fired" (read voted out) for not fulfilling that part of her duties. Just curious.
Let it be stated for the record that, although many time I have disagreed with Katz's actions and decisions in Portland, I quite admire and respect her nonetheless for the many things I think she has done well (and for her time in the state legislature.)
Also let it be stated that if we do end up splitting the job off into its own seperate position, then I want a cute bad tempered bald guy like Michael Chiklis to be voted in. Portland gets its own "Commish".
The One True b!X on 07 May 2004
Well, presumably the intent was to examine the possibility of having an elected official whose only responsibility was the Police Bureau, so that there could be more focus and follow-through.
I do have mixed feelings about that, since it's always possible that someone could be elected to the post who is simply beholden to Robert King and the union, but I think it's at least worth exploring.