ACLU Says ‘Damning’ Audit of Portland Police Oversight Practices Confirms First Amendment Violations

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In response to a new audit of the Portland Police Bureau’s oversight practices, the ACLU of Oregon said the “damning report” confirmed the organization’s long-held belief that police violated citizens’ First Amendment rights during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

The audit, which was released on Wednesday, found that Portland police collected personally identifiable information about protesters without suspecting them of any crime and had no firm procedures on what information they could collect, which led to some officers taking and storing images and videos of protesters without legality. reason — and much longer than necessary.

“The auditor’s findings confirm what we and many activists have long suspected – the Portland Police Department is monitoring community members as they exercise their First Amendment right to protest and demand justice for the black lives,” Oregon attorney Rachel Dallal Gale told the ACLU. “These Cointelpro-type tactics have a long abusive history and clearly violate Oregon law.”

In a statement to KOIN 6 News, Gale said based on the listener’s findings, the ACLU of Oregon strongly encourages those who protested in 2020 to inquire with the city of Portland for records. to determine whether they have been subjected to “intrusive practices”. described in the report and also require accountability.

Although the ACLU called the audit “condemning,” Gale said the findings largely confirmed what the agency had suspected for years.

“We have already successfully brought PPB to justice for their unlawful surveillance activities during the 2020 racial justice protests – but the audit reveals the extent of their surveillance goes even deeper than we thought,” said Scabies. “We agree with the City Auditor’s conclusion that ‘officers need clear direction from the Bureau to ensure they are complying with the law’.”

She continued, “Portland deserves comprehensive and transparent policies governing police oversight, as well as increased accountability from PPB leaders.

The City Auditor issued five recommendations to Portland Police to help restore the confidence of Portland residents, including:

• Give advice on how to collect information without violating the 1st amendment.
• Restrict access to political and social information not associated with criminal activity.
• Adopt a directive on how to use surveillance technology.
• Add more tips on how to investigate social media posts.
• Publish how the bureau collects oversight.

In response to these recommendations and the findings of the audit, Mayor Ted Wheeler – who is also the Commissioner of Police – said, “My team and I will work with PPB to implement the 5 audit recommendations, four in whole and one in part.”

The ACLU of Oregon also released its own accountability recommendations for PPB on Thursday and called out the mayor by name for his leadership role as police commissioner.

“Mayor Ted Wheeler is the City Commissioner responsible for managing the Portland Police Bureau,” the agency said. “This damning report compels the Mayor to take swift action to secure accountability from those at PPB who allowed these unlawful actions to occur, to provide an avenue for the vindication of the rights violated by PPB, and to prevent it from happening again. .”

To see the full response to the city audit submitted by the ACLU of Oregon, click here.