Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler publishes police reform action plan

Mayor Ted Wheeler has published a list of plans to bring large-scale reform to the Portland police.

Nearly every day since the murder of George Floyd on May 25, Portland has seen protests and demonstrations in the streets demanding racial justice.

Mayor Wheeler has begun to adjust the future of law enforcement and city services, and a lot of it pertains to budgets and priority.

“Thousands upon thousands of community members have gathered together to grieve, show solidarity, and demand accountability and justice for police brutality,” writes Mayor Wheeler on the City of Portland website. “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.”

On Thursday, the mayor released a large list of tasks and actions his administration is going to make, and it included some progress reports.

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The redirect of over $7 million from the Portland Police Bureau and $5 million from other City funds to communities of color, support reform of federal qualified immunity doctrine, and the creation of local racial profiling ban with private right of action for intentional discrimination by law enforcement, are all under progress.

Items like the support of the Oregon Legislative People of Color Caucus’ call for special sessions in urgency, their pursuit of legislation mandating state Attorney General’s investigation of officer-involved deaths or injuries of civilians, and the cease of overturned disciplinary action against law enforcement if misconduct is agreed upon, are all part of the completed list.

“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,” he adds.

“The public has given us this historic opportunity to reimagine what policing and public safety look like in Portland and all across America.”

“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.”

Read the Police Reform Action Plan document here.