Police accountability and reform 1

Amantha Hood
May 10, 2017
amhood@linfield.edu

PROPOSED QUESTION: Should the U.S. government require frequent diversity training for

law enforcement staff?

NEW QUESTION: Should law enforcement have new regulations to hold them

accountable for their actions?

NEW QUESTION: Should all Portland Police Bureaus reports be regulated by body cameras

and outside agencies such as Citizen Review Committee and the Independent Police Review?
NEW QUESTION: Should all PPB complaints and investigations on them be regulated by body

cameras and outside agencies?

NEW QUESTION: Should all PPB complaints and investigations on them be regulated by body

cameras and externally funded agencies?

Police accountability and reform 2

Table of Contents
Preface..3
Abstract....8
Argumentative Essay...9
References..... 21
Police accountability and reform 3

Preface
I chose this subject matter because talking about race relations is often disliked by

people. Although, I think that if we would allow ourselves to be vulnerable we might find

solutions to dismantling systemic oppressions minorities experience. I think the first step to

breaking down racism is understanding that white supremacy is the parent of white privilege.

White suprema ideals are embedded in every aspect of America. White supremacy is

incorporated in the founding-and-taken American land and the making of our constitution. Our

health, education, judicial, law enforcement and prison systems were organized by white

privileged, heterosexual males, this alone implies that white supremacy is embedded in those

systems. I researched how white supremacy is involved in law enforcement and the lack of

police accountability. I believe in order to deconstruct these policies that are violating minority

people we must first understand the history and making of every foundation. Than change agents

must break down all signs of white privilege and create equity in every system. White supremacy

is embedded in almost every system in America, that it has caused fixed judgement, assumptions

and even parenting.

I realized that I was impacted by racism when I was in first grade, and I had my first

encounter of being called the n-word for mischievously cutting a kid in the kickball line during

recess. After I learned what the n-word meant, I realized I did not look white. As a young kid, I

did see the difference in the color of peoples skin, but I did not understand how it would cause a

life-long battle for respect, justice and equity.

After that situation, I started recognizing circumstances that made me feel different due to

the color of my skin mattering to my peers, my educators and my city. I saw these issues again

while playing basketball in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). Many opponents were

scared to play my mostly brown team because many had not witnessed a team full of diverse

variations of brown. There were times when our parents would get into arguments concerning
Police accountability and reform 4

comments from the other parents. And I noticed people used words like ghetto and thugs to

describe little girls from North Portland who were simply playing basketball.
Conflict continued to occur and my race and residence seemed to be enough to justify

peoples stereotypes of me, my family and my teammates moral and integrity. Some of those

girls became my best friends by middle school and admitted that I looked scary to them until

they got to know me. My ideals of beauty started to change the more I was around my white

friends. I started developing the ideas that lighter skin and straight hair were what I needed to be

pretty. At the time I did not understand how racism impacted recess play time, encounters with

my peers, basketball games and my visions of beauty. It took me until high school to realize that

I do have unfair advantages, and will face systemic oppressions but I can either be a change

agent or a follower of these policies, laws and hegemonic ideals. That is where my interest came

in researching police accountability.

Having family in law enforcement gave me a different insight and respect for police and

law enforcement. It was not until I turned 16 and became a licensed driver that I found out not all

police officers care about me like my mother did who is also a sergeant in the county jail. It was

my sophomore year and my friends boyfriend was speeding in a red mustang on Sandy

Boulevard when the car was pulled over by a PPB officer. The three of us were demanded to get

out of the vehicle, while our hands remained in the air. The officer called for backup, and put

handcuffs on my friend, her boyfriend and I. When I asked why I was handcuffed the officer told

me to keep my mouth shut and pulled the back of the handcuffs to the curb where my bottom

forcefully went down. When the backup officers arrived, they were much nicer, mostly to distract

my friend and I from the other officer who was searching her mustang. The officer that arrived

asked what happened, and I told him that my friends boyfriend was speeding and did not have a

license. The boyfriend was taken away in a police car, and arrested for driving without a license.
Police accountability and reform 5

My friend and I were taken out of handcuffs once the officer recognized my middle name

McDade which was his former supervisors last name. My grandfather was once the officers

supervisor, and my grandpa being a retired cop was one of the first things I had told him. After

the officers realized the two black girls who were handcuffed were also wearing Central Catholic

High School cheer jackets and one was the granddaughter of a retired cop- the tones of voices

started changing and the officers were more respectful. I figured this was an issue that needs to

be addressed. It was not my last time encounter that my race played a role in how police officers

talked to me or questioned me. Later I understood why many black community members had

such a negative view on law enforcement. Traditionally officers get away with treating minorities

disrespectfully, and minority do not report it because it happens so often that they assume there is

no fixing the issue.

While doing research on police reform, I realized there was not a lot of data and

information about what police agencies are doing to dismantle racial profiling. In fact, I found

that police agencies such as New York Police Department use racial profiling as a tactic to

investigate groups of people. Leaders such as President Donald J. Trump have vocalized that

racial profiling is acceptable and helpful in policing citizens in minority communities. Black

lives have been taken by police officers without indictment or being found guilty of charges that

would send a black person in prison for life if the roles were reversed. Not once, has a PPB

officer been held accountable for murdering one of the more- than-100 black persons killed by

police in the last four-decades. Then I realized racial profiling is also embedded in local policing

more than I assumed. Research and stories started to even make me feel guilty for working in the

countys jails records unit as a receptionist. I started to feel like my familys career choice was

part of the issue. The hardest part of this project was writing from an unbiased voice. If I could

do this semester over I would not take any classes with Information Gathering. I also would not
Police accountability and reform 6

have taken the class my senior year, nor while being the editor-in-chief of The Linfield Review. I

believe I would have gotten more out of the class if I was not so rushed with finishing my many

assignments. Although, this was part of my process. Barely making it by is my breakthrough in

the last semester of my four years process of finding independence, friendships, knowledge,

focus and self-love here at Linfield College.

My advice to future students taking this course is to choose a topic that makes you

passionate. Choose a topic that you see yourself getting involved in later in your life. If you go

over examples of each assignment before the first class you will have a better understanding of

what you have registered for. By preparing your topic, question and potential sources you

might decrease your anxiety about the course. Do not become discouraged with all of the errors,

just focus on fixing them. Allow this class to be your primary focus for the semester, and work

hard!
I want to thank my professors for working with me to follow through with this heavy

course load. I want to thank Professor Susan Barnes Whyte for being supportive and encouraging

even when I had doubt in myself. I want to thank Dr. Thompson for pushing me out of my

comfort zone and helping me to recognize that writing is something I need to work on. I want to

thank my dad and mom for pushing me to graduate college, something they never had the

opportunity to accomplish. I want to thank my family and friends for putting up with my mood

swings and complaining. I want to thank God for guiding me through this process and always

being my light. And I want to thank everyone who was willing to be involved in my research on

police accountability and reform. I also want to thank local student activists who are working to

dismantle racism, systemic oppressions and white supremacy.

Police accountability and reform 7

Abstract
Portland Police is one of the many systems in Oregon that perpetuates and thrives from

white privilege which originated from white supremacy. In order to dismantle racial profiling and

the excessive use-of-force inflicted on African-Americans and other minorities in Portland, there

should be a strategic method in addressing these issues. The same way training and practices

changed when the DOJ found officers using excessive force on mentally ill people. Portland

Police Bureau officers should recognize how white supremacy and white privilege have damaged

the publics perception of the police bureau. PPB must also understand that policies and practices

in the past have been at fault and were dismantled when recognized as problematic forms of

policing. An example is the choke hold also known as the sleeper hold that PPB officers were

trained to use to gain control of non-compliant citizens. After 31-year-old security guard Lloyd

D. Tony Stevenson was choked to death in 1985 by an officer practicing his sleeper hold the

policy was dismantled from PPB training, handbooks and practices. The officer was not indicted

and Portlands black community was outraged that black lives were not taken seriously. In order

to gain the confidence and trust of Portlands African-American community, PPB officer should

study the history of its wrongful doing and the lives the institutions officers have taken. PPB

should also enhance the community and outside agency engagement in restructuring better

policies and practices. And lastly PPB should implement body-worn-cameras to increase police

transparency.
Police accountability and reform 8

Argumentative Essay
In order to dismantle the issues of racial profiling and excessive use-of-force on

minorities it is important to understand the origin of police practices and its use of white

supremacy to control the people. The foundation of Southern U.S. law enforcement practices

derives from the slave patrols which were the original police force in America, said Larry Spruill

2017. This historical context is important to recognize for understanding the origins of policing

and its driving force expand white supremacy. Some of the slave patrol practices are still used by

current police departments and are now preserved by white privilege said Spruill 2017.
He said that the case of Michael Browns murder in Ferguson, Missouri, is an example of the

polices over- supervision of black people, which originated from slave patrol practices. Slave

patrol K-9s were used to hunt runaway slaves. A Portland Police Bureau K-9 was also used to

find Quanice Hayes before he was shot dead by PPB officer Andrew Hearst, said Bernstein 2017.

Spruill 2017 said Ferguson officers often violate blacks constitutional rights according to a 2014

study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Similarly, slave patrols were also

implemented into society to limit blacks from freedom and civil rights.
The state of Oregon also has historical racial issues that contribute to racist policing and

overall racist systems that impact minority populations more negatively than whites. Alana

Semuels (2016) said Ku Klux Klansmen had involvement in law making, particularly in

Oregons constitutional exclusion law that prohibited African-American home owning, renting

and residence. Semuels 2016 said PPB and city officials have partaken affiliation with KKK

members since before the 1920s. It was not until 1922 Governor Walter M. Pierce vocalized his

affiliations with KKK members.

After World War II a black city called Vanport formed, where blacks owned prospering

businesses, schools and churches. After the flood, housing authorities dismantled this city and

blacks were to find new locations to live. Semuels said a 2011 audit found that 64 percent of
Police accountability and reform 9

Portlands leasing and landlord agents discriminate blacks and Latinos with higher fees and

deposits then whites. These racial influences are implemented in Oregon education and housing

systems, as well as laws. Why would racial bias and discrimination not be implemented in the

infrastructure of the Portland Police Bureau?

In 2011 the U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division initiated an investigation on PPBs

interactions with presumably mentally ill individuals in the city, said Thomas Perez and Amanda

Marshall (2012). The DOJ found PPB uses unreasonable use-of-force on mentally ill individuals.

The DOJ said that PPB does not internally investigate its officers use-of-force findings in a

timely fashion. The DOJ also found that PPB racially profile African-Americans and use

individuals unwilling to have a conversation as reasonable suspicion to carry out investigations

and search and seizure. This practice easily turns into incidents of stop-and-frisk. The DOJ

concluded that these wrongful practices are due to PPBs training, policy and lack of supervision.
Although, the DOJ did not do thorough investigations on PPBs historical and present

issues of racial profiling and minority community complaints. The DOJ personnel that audited

PPB were mostly white, whom typically have a harder time defining, understanding and

dismantling racial profiling. The reason white auditors might have a difficult time investigating

racial profiling, is because white people are less likely to be victims of racial profiling in the city

of Portland, according to a document by PPBs former Chief of Police Rosanna Sizer and

Commissioner Dan Saltzman (2009) addressing racial profiling. Research outside of the DOJ

indicates that racial profiling and excessive use-of-force on minority are local and national

issues. Due to these practices being justified by internal police reviews, city officials and the

judicial system- law enforcement are not being held accountable for killing or injuring minority

individuals. According to the city of Portlands history and current practices, someone unwilling

to cooperate with police force is subject to experience police use-of-force, especially if the
Police accountability and reform 10

person is black. Rev. Leroy Haynes (2017) representing the Albina Ministerial Alliance said that

there has never been a PPB officer convicted of murdering an African-American individual

despite the many numerous lost lives to use-of-force. Data from Portland Cop Watch (2017) said

more than 143 citizens have been killed by PPB since 1992.
Maxine Bernstein (2017) said on February 9, 16-year-old Quanice Hayes was shot by an

AR-15 for allegedly reaching to his waistband, when officers believed he had a gun on him. That

same Thursday a 56-year-old homeless man named Don Perkins was also shot by a PPB officer.

Both males were considered mentally unstable or battling drug addictions which tend to co-

occur. Hayes and Perkins each had a gun replica that was found near or on them after they were

shot. Hayes the black male was shot in the head and Perkins the white male was shot in a non-

life-threatening body part. The three officers involved in the 2 shootings had the same trainings

in regards to shooting to injure and not kill people, but Hayes was shot in the head unlike

Perkins.
With the historical context of the numerous unjustified police shootings and this most

recent situation, it is only natural for community members to continue questioning the motives,

training and accountability of police officers. Brown 2013 said Officer Andrew Hearst who shot

Hayes, also shot and killed Merle Hatch in 2013. It is clear that police use-of-force lacks

consequences and is prominent on mentally ill individuals. Furthermore, the DOJ needs to

prioritize auditing PPBs excessive use-of-force on minorities and what the bureau is doing to

check the balances of the institutions power

Director of the Independent Police Review, Constantine Severe (2017) said one issue is

that many people in Portland including officers, do not understand the history of the

marginalized communities being targeted by PPB. Severe says contributing factors to this

systemic issue includes the lack of historical information about police and community relations

offered to PPB officers and leaders, the racial division that gentrification perpetuates and the lack
Police accountability and reform 11

of diversity in people maintaining Portlands leadership positions. Severe said the African-

American population in Portland feel their voices and complaints are disregarded by the mayor

and other city officials. He says city officials have a lack of urgency in finding solutions to

dismantle racism in different systemic structures.

Police officers accountability should be questioned as much as the people that are

labeled as criminals. Police officers are often trusted and given a benefit of doubt that regular

citizens do not typically get in the court room. Officer Betsy Hornstein was found guilty of lying

under oath about her accounts of stopping a teenager, said Bernstein 2015. Hornstein said the

North Portland teenager punched and provoked her, but when videos surfaced Judge Diana

Stuart ruled that Officer Hornstein lied, said Aimee Green (2015). In an interview Hornstein

(2017) said that judges ruling impacted her accountability in every court hearing, she to have

extra evidence in order to be sided with in the court room. This judge practiced checks and

balances of police power, although historically this has not been the account in Portland.
Portland NAACP President, JoAnn Hardesty (2017) said she got involved in questioning

police accountability 20-years-ago when she realized the city had an issue of inflicting violence

on black community members, Hardesty power was not being questioned, suspended nor fired

even with evidence of unlawful practices. Hardesty said it is more consequential to be black in

Portland than any other race. She said last year blacks paid $20.5 million more in fines to the

city, then whites did; keeping in mind that blacks make up less than 6 percent of Portlands

population. She said she read in an Oregon Tribune article that blacks are 28 times more likely to

be charged with spitting on the sidewalk, due to the fact that officers need a reason for their

unnecessary stop and seizure. Hardesty said a black cop from PPB has been speaking for years at

her Youth In Law meetings, and his own perception of policing has changed since he has joined

the force. Originally, he had told youth to always cooperate with police. The last time he spoke
Police accountability and reform 12

he did not have tips on how black youth can maintain safety during police encounters. He said

even if an individual does cooperate blacks are still being frisked, violated, injured and killed by

law enforcement.
Subject Eddie Lee Strickland (2017) said whenever he sees police while he is driving he

takes his hat off and sits up straight in order to make sure officers do not consider him a

suspicious black man to investigate. He said he has been stopped many times because of his

name. Officers assumed he was affiliated with drugs and narcotics even though he is not

affiliated with thee. There are two Strickland families in Portland, one that has been residing in

Portland for decades and have a conflicting interest of PPB. The other Strickland family came to

Portland later. Despite the point that the two bloodlines do not communicate and have different

family values, the police categorize them all as criminals worthy of being stopped and frisked.

Having the same last name is enough their reason for police to question his family, said

Strickland. He remembers when he was young he witnessed police raiding his grandmothers

house looking for his uncles on a weekly basis. He said those were his first encounters with

police, and he knew that was not the end of the story. Strickland remembers the murders of many

black men and women in Portland that the city dismissed which also impacted his perception of

police power. He said he remembers the case where police put dead possums on the front lawn of

a black-owned burger joint on Union Avenue. That family was also known for being bothered by

the police, said Strickland (2017). Another incident he remembered was the killing of Kendra

James, who was handcuffed when shot to death after trying to escape from police. He said

another incident was the killing of a black security guard who tried stopping a burglary in a

convenience store. The police choked him to death, and afterward officers distributed and wore

shirts that said dont choke em, smoke em. After eighth-grade his mother moved him and his

siblings to Vancouver, Washington to stay away from gangs and police encounters. Strickland
Police accountability and reform 13

said parents teach their black children the history of PPB in order to prepare them for future

police infractions.
Defining racial profiling is important to dismantling the systemic policy which has been

implemented in police strategy by many police agencies throughout the U.S. If it were not

implemented and identified as an issue, it would not have to be dismantled through new laws and

policies such as H.R. Con. Res. 2851, 113 Cong. (2013) which was implemented into the

constitution to enforce racial profiling as an illegal action for law enforcement practice. This bill

addresses racial profiling by law enforcement on city, township, county, state and federal levels

and focuses on defining the complex elements of racial profiling. The bill focuses on defining

racial profiling which has complex elements as a potential strategy of racial profiling. Racial

profiling is selecting a subject for either routine or spontaneous investigation, unless the law

enforcement agent has enough supplementary information on the subject and race is one of the

descriptors. Racial profiling can be by interview, pedestrian stop, traffic stop and other frisking

searches. The bill said that racial profiling can be in form of data collections enticing law

enforcement officials to foresee investigating an incident that has not yet occurred. In order to

enforce this bill, any person who is injured by officers racially profiling can file a civil lawsuit

against the entire institution for hiring the individual who racially profiles. There must be proof

of the incident in order for the law enforcement agent to be held accountable for his or her

actions.
When this bill was incorporated all police departments were expected to review its

policies to make sure racial profiling is not occurring in its institution. Even though this bill says

data entre can cause racial profiling, Louis Quijas (2017) said that police use crime analytics to

strategize against drug and human trafficking and terrorism. Quijas (2017) said law enforcement

are in need of new strategies for the safety of the police for the safety of police officers who have
Police accountability and reform 14

been targeted by citizens According to Flash Alert (2017) this is less of a local issue, since the

year 1870 a total of 29 PPB officers have been killed while on duty. He says gangs are aligning

to fight against police and strategically break the law for its gangs benefits in drug smuggling

and other criminal acts. Although crime analytics may be useful in crime prevention, it can also

factor into stereotyping and racial profiling of groups. A local hoover gang member wrote a letter

to PPB explaining that the data PPB is collecting on supposed gang members is unconstitutional

because it helps police racially profile people by over surveilling particular groups and assuming

people are gang affiliated. Carli Brosseau (2016) said police use data bases to make a suspect list

of gang affiliates. Portlands list is not limited to gang members but anyone affiliated with the

gangs. By August 2016, 81 percent of the names on the list were minorities and 64 percent were

black. According to the PPB Directives Manual Policy number (640.05) a person can be put into

the data entry if the person is associated with three gang members. Another affiliation is by

clothing or jewelry that align with PPBs description of gang attire. These are different details

that can cause racial profiling, based on minor observations that PPB considers affiliation with a

gang member. The government documents said that data entre can cause officers to over

analyze information and attempt to predict crimes. Instead of dismantling racial profiling and

stop-and-frisk, PPB are perpetuating the issue by collecting data that stereotypes and targets

families and groups of people.

Fryer (2016) researched police use-of-force through voluntary data from police

departments in the U.S. He found that blacks and Hispanics experience more encounters of use-

of-force than whites do. Although, whites get shot at a higher rate than blacks and Hispanics do.

Fryer breaks excessive force into two categories: non-extreme and extreme use of force. Some

classifications of non-extreme use-of-force include use of hands, drawing a weapon, pepper

spray, using a baton, and putting someone in handcuffs, and forcing individuals to a wall. Blacks
Police accountability and reform 15

and Hispanics are 50 percent more likely to experience these encounters with police than whites.

Extreme use-of-force includes the use of stun guns and guns. Fryer said blacks are 23.8 percent

and Hispanics 8.5 percent less likely to be shot by police than whites are to be shot. Although,

Fryer also said blacks are 21.3 percent more likely to have a gun drawn on them, without being

shot. His research explains that racial profiling is in fact an issue that minorities tend to face.

Julie Sabatier (2009) said that former Chief of Police Rosie Sizer addressed some issues in a plan

to address racial profiling in PPBs practices. Sabatier said the chief and council implemented a

policy that says officers must give out business cards to citizens during interaction, and

document reason for stopping or contacting citizens. Sabatier is referring to Sizer and Saltzman

(2009) document that said that African- Americans and Hispanics believe racial profiling is a

local and national issue at a much higher proportion than white Portlanders acknowledged. Sizer

& Saltzman (2009) admit racially biased policing is an issue and the collection of data conducted

by the bureau also agrees with statements made by community members Hardesty, Severe,

Strickland and Rev. Haynes. Each of the individuals said they have witnessed or worked with

victims of racial profiling in Portland. Severe, Hardesty and Rev. Haynes have also been

involved in demolishing it, all working through different organizations. Hudson (2015) says that

racist policing enforces gentrification in San Francisco neighborhoods. Hudson (2015) says that

white Americans tend theorize that crime is typically committed by black people. The San

Francisco citizens use an app to report crimes which has increased the number of calls and the

search for black people committing crimes. When an officer shows up the search can turn into

situations of racial profiling and stop-and-frisk. Fort (2017), who is head of PPBs accountability

division said these are difficult matters to address because police conflict between keeping the

public happy and truly protecting everyone in ways that it makes the citizens feel safe. The issue
Police accountability and reform 16

is that police are only making particular groups feel safe. Gamal (2016) said military tactics in

police force can be considered a form strategy of racial division and hierarchy. The author

divides the citizens into two groups, those protected by police and those overly watched and

controlled by police, such as the Ferguson citizens. She says that officers are being trained to use

military tactics to handle people of color that are less often of use when handling white people in

cities such as Ferguson and Baltimore. She says that race and police-militarization have a

connection and are put in place by county, city and government officials in order to keep

particular groups from prospering. A local example is how PPB attends black justice protests in

SWAT gear and have more often attended white protests less equipped.
Mac Donald, author of The War on Cops said racial discrimination is not an issue, police

are monitoring areas of high crime rates. Mac Donald said during the Ferguson case, media

pointed out how blacks are targeted by Ferguson police, and give citations to people living in

poverty who cannot afford to pay these fines. She said eventually these citations turn into

warrants and Ferguson police experienced national dismay. Mac Donald said the media never

covered her theory that minority drive without insurance at higher rates than white people in

Ferguson do, therefore the police have the right to pull over more black people. The issue with

her theory is that if there are no other citations being given to those people outside of not having

insurance, what exactly is the probable cause for stopping those individuals? If Ferguson officers

are that more black and brown people drive without insurance, without quantitative data, officers

are perpetuating racial profiling.

Outside agencies have recently been implemented to check the balance of police power.

If PPB involved leaders from the outside agencies and community member opinions and

suggestions, there would be a decrease in community complaints and racial profiling. Local

outside agencies that investigate and interview PPB are the Citizen Review Committee and the
Police accountability and reform 17

Independent Police Review. The CRC works closely, but still separately from the IPR. The

mission of CRC is to holds police accountable for actions, review community citizen concern,

and work with and inform IPR of community complaints. CRC holds police accountable by

keeping the city publically aware of situations of concern, and being the middleman of citizens

and the investigators The IPR also maintains the official reports and recommendations of and to

PPB. The IPR follows and investigates all police shootings and deaths of occurrence in police

custody. IPR also investigates all internal affair (IA) findings, by city code. Severe (2017) said

PPB must address the systemic and fundamental training issues and implement policies in order

to reduce community complaints. He said the IPR equity training elaborated on how structural

racism occurs even if it is not intentional. The Independent Police Review Info Session (2015)

says the most common community member complaints involve: insufficient assistance or

investigation of police; disrespectful behavior or language; failure to deliver officer information

such as name, badge, or business card; and not writing a report when a citizen requests. Another

organization that investigates police are the Portland Cop Watch, that also attends all of the

monthly CRC meetings.

Prior to these groups there were local black activists who have also demanded police

reform. Portlands Black Panther Party participated in police accountability investigations. Burke

(2016) said that Portlands BPP worked toward black leadership and involvement in local

politics. The BPP also played a role in holding police accountable by examining cases of

injustices by police, Burke said (2016). The BPP examined the complaints by hearing the

citizens point, attending court cases and informing the public of the findings. The party

evaluated judges, attorneys and lawyers, and made a list of those in affiliation with white

supremacy and should be avoided by blacks in the city of Portland. By the 1980s the BPP was

dismantled by city politics. The Albina Ministerial Alliance proposed a response to the 2003
Police accountability and reform 18

killing of Kendra James who was shot in North Portland while handcuffed and trying to escape.

The AMA proposed a 10-point press release demanding that PPB implement body-cameras in

order to be held accountable in cases when officers actions or judgements contradict police

policies. The AMA also suggested that an outside agency stores the videos and limits when PPB

can view the footage. AMAs goals and principles intertwine with the proposal for police reform,

all themed around police accountability. The body cameras have not
Outside of agencies holding police investigations and accountability there should be a

prioritization of body-worn-cameras implemented in order to because they offer unbiased

evidence. PPB should prioritize funding cameras because they can build community trust and

outreach. PPB should work with community and outside agency members to create a strategic

plan on where the footage should be stored, and who has the right to view the footage and when.

Haynes (2017) said there were allegations that PPB officers were overheard framing their story

at the Lloyd Center Apple Bees after the shooting of Kendra James. The AMA does not want

PPB to use the video footage similarly to frame a better story before being interviewed by

internal affairs and outside agencies such as IPR. Steve Miletich 2017 said Seattle Police

Department paused its implementation of cameras because the judge administering the citys

police reform did not find it fair that officers could use the footage before interviews to write

reports. Dr. Barak Ariel and William Farrar 2015 said that the public typically believe body-

worn-cameras increase police transparency, enable police prosecution for excessive use-of-force.

Ariel & Farrar 2015 said cameras should also decrease the community complaints and

encounters of excessive force. These are all goals that should exist in order to build a new

relationship between police and Portland community members. Ariel & Farrars (2015) did a 12-

month experiment on Rialto Police Department in California. The experiment included randomly

selecting officers to wear body-worn-cameras provided by Tasers Inc. The researchers used
Police accountability and reform 19

50,000 hours of video footage to define each officers encounters with citizens as reasonable,

unnecessary or excessive. The two found that with the implementation of body-worn-cameras on

police officers the Rialto community complaints decreased by 87 percent from the previous

years number. By implementing police body-worn-cameras and increasing outside agencies

checking the power of police PPBs transparency becomes more apparent to community

members. If PPB leaders would also implement suggestions from community members and

research there would be improvements in Portlands community and police relations.

Police accountability and reform 20

References:

Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA). (2017, September 9). Proposed policies for Portland Police

around body cameras from the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and

Police Reform. [Press Release]. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/lb7q5er

Ariel, B., Farrar, W., & Sutherland A. (2015) The effect of police body-worn cameras on use of

force and citizens complaints against police: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of

Quantitative Criminology. 31(3), 509-535. Retrieved

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10940-014-9236-3.
Bernstein, M. (2017, March 27). Portland officer said he fired AR-15 rifle at Quanice Hayes to

defend himself, other officers. The Oregonian. Retrieved from

https://tinyurl.com/kxrm2sc.
Brosseau, C. (2016, November 4). Whos on Portlands gang list? The Oregonian. Retrieved

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