Portland,

For almost two weeks, thousands upon thousands of community members have gathered together to grieve, show solidarity, and demand accountability and justice for police brutality. Their collective message is loud and clear: invest more in Black lives. The horrific murder of Black Americans exposes the harsh reality that racism continues to rob our Black communities of life, safety, health and prosperity.

Since the death of George Floyd, my office has received thousands of emails, phone calls, meeting requests, and letters calling for accountability, and for major policy and funding changes in how we approach public safety and how we invest in the health and well-being of Black, Indigenous and people of color in Portland.

The public has given us this historic opportunity to reimagine what policing and public safety look like in Portland and all across America. That’s why I’ve announced that I’m committing $12 million to Black and Brown communities, and why this week I shared a list of significant reforms to local policing that I will be implementing and pursuing. I’m also directing all City bureaus in my portfolio to develop strategies to better serve Black communities.

The list of reforms I’ve introduced include financial, policy, and legislative actions. 

• Redirect $7 million from the Portland Police Bureau and $5 million from other City funds to communities of color
• Call on criminal justice system partners to match the City’s commitment and reinvest in communities of color
• Call for a community-led review and reenvisioning of core police patrol services, convened by the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing (PCCEP)
• Decline the renewal of the City’s Intergovernmental Agreement with TriMet, dissolving the PPB Transit Division and putting transit officers back on patrol
• Dissolve the Gun Violence Reduction team and fundamentally reshape our approach to reducing gun violence in collaboration with the Office of Youth Violence Prevention, the District Attorney-elect, and other partners
• Remove police officers from schools, dissolving the Youth Services Division and School Resource Officer program
• Create local legislation enshrining PCCEP in Portland City Code, making it a permanent community oversight body
• Create a local racial profiling ban allowing for private right of action in response to intentional discrimination by law enforcement

You can read my full Police Reform Action Plan at this link to my website. You can also view the press conference I hosted to announce the reform actions on my YouTube page.

These actions are long overdue, but they are not enough to dismantle institutional racism. I will continue to work with urgency with my colleagues on City Council and across the region to partner with Black leaders in the community. I will continue to reimagine how our government can better serve everyone in our community.

Sincerely,