Hannah Saiger, originally from New York City, is spending this year in Portland on Tivnu: Building Justice, a Jewish social justice gap year program. She works for Cascadia Clusters, which conducts construction projects for houseless Portlanders, and Kindness Farm, which grows fresh produce for houseless and low-income neighbors and teaches regenerative agriculture practices.
With the murder of George Floyd and others this past summer, and the subsequent movement against police brutality, demands have ranged from complete abolishment of police systems to police accountability for violence. Sadly, this basic level of accountability for officers is missing in most parts of the United States. Portland Police Bureau is no different. Its officers killed nine people and shot at several more between April 2018 and June 2020. With protests occurring in Portland frequently since last May, police continue to harm unarmed people almost every day. Instead of outlining specific disciplinary measures to hold police accountable for harmful actions, the Portland police union’s current contract with the city makes it almost impossible for officers to face appropriate consequences.
I am 18 years old and a participant in Tivnu: Building Justice, a Jewish social justice gap year program in Portland. I live with 21 other students, as we work for Portland nonprofits and learn together about a range of social justice issues. Many injustices we learn about are disheartening; solutions to large problems often require more resources than are available. I’ve spent many hours working for Cascadia Clusters, an organization doing construction for houseless Portlanders, but we don’t have enough wood, labor or land to build shelters for everyone who needs them. I’ve also worked for Outgrowing Hunger and Kindness Farm, nonprofits that work to provide low-income families access to fresh produce, but we don’t have enough time, workforce or funds to help all hungry Portlanders. Lack of resources is a barrier toward solutions.
In contrast, we as people living in Portland have the resources to take steps toward police accountability. When I first heard about the Portland Police Association’s labor contract, I was upset not because the solution to accountability seems distant due to lack of resources, but because the current measures are so obviously wrong. One such ridiculous provision is the “embarrassment clause,” which mandates that officers be disciplined “in a manner that is least likely to embarrass the officer before other officers or the public.” Weak disciplinary procedures like this create dangerous opportunities for the Police Bureau to cover up violent actions and allow officers to evade responsibility for harming community members.
Negotiations for the new contract began in January and will continue through June. Advocates seek a clear and public negotiation process to allow transparency in this matter that affects the entire city. Among demands is the ability of a civilian oversight body to investigate use of deadly force, so Portlanders can create new investigation processes that allow for discipline up to and including termination of officers who commit violent acts. At the end of negotiations, if there is no agreement between the city of Portland and the police union, the decision will go to an “impasse,” where an outside arbitrator will choose the entire proposed contract of either the city or the Portland Police Association. If this happens (which seems likely), it is imperative that the people of Portland back a contract with more police accountability; the arbitrator will consider demonstrated public support in their decision. The letters, emails and public observer comments will all be taken into account as part of the arbitrator’s judgment about which contract is more in the public interest.
The contract of this union should protect working conditions of officers; it should not absolve them of all responsibility. Police accountability is a question of safety, an urgent need for all Portlanders. This is not an insurmountable issue of resources nor time. Changes in this contract are a clear step toward a police system with more accountability, a clear step toward a safer Portland.
You can help by:
- Signing this online petition.
- Asking organizations you are involved with to sign onto Unite Oregon’s letter on police accountability.
- Registering to observe the next virtual contract negotiations session.
- Writing letters to the editor and op-eds about the negotiations and why they’re important.
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This article appears in May 12, 2021.