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PPB Tells Training Advisory Council:
More Violence Against Black People
Because They Commit More Crimes

At the Training Advisory Council (TAC) meeting on November 16, Portland Police Lieutenant Peter Helzer, appearing in his role as the Force Inspector, shared data on force used by the Bureau in the second quarter of 2022. While the percentage of Black people subjected to force was the lowest ever at 19%, TAC member Avi Klepper questioned why that was so disproportionate to the population, where 6% of Portland is Black. Helzer's answer essentially boiled down to, it's because Black people commit more crimes. The TAC has made an issue of the disparity in the past (PPR #77) but this was the most blatant racially charged answer that was ever given. The TAC also held meetings in September, where they heard about how annual plans to train officers are put together, and October, where they discussed how frequently to meet.

Helzer thanked PCW member Dan Handelman, who put into the chat that the ratio of Black people in Portland subjected to force used to be 25-30% until sometime in 2021, when it was reduced to 20-22%. There did not seem to be any encouragement from TAC members to examine why that decrease is happening, though it could be due to the PPB's policies limiting when officers pull people over for traffic stops which went into effect around the same time. Some members did encourage that more research should be done into why the disparities exist, noting 20% of police custodies are of Black people. During public comment, Handelman pointed out that when looking at who commits more crimes, there may be a lot of white people, for example, snorting cocaine in their condos who are not arrested by police. Sadly, the Q3 figures show 28% of those subjected to force were Black, 9% higher than Q2.

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Helzer also mentioned there had been one officer involved shooting in Q2 but had no more information for the TAC; that was the wounding of Matthew Leahey by the Focused Intervention Team (PPR #87). As it's said in the streets, "Say their names!"

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The presentation at the September meeting about the training plan included information that some training, such as on firearms, is required by the state, and some are not specifically taught, such as communication. One piece of information feeding the plan is about injuries-- but it wasn't clear if that meant officer injuries, community member injuries or both.

Two internal issues the Council wrestled with began at the September meeting. The first was the question of whether to post recordings of their meetings online. When Handelman noted that he has been recording the meetings, which are open to the public, for years, and even produced a show for Flying Focus Video Collective about the TAC, member Barry Newman objected, implying that recording the meeting without permission was not legal. However, other media outlets have recorded video, including when the Oregonian posted Danielle Droppers' resignation in 2018 (PPR #79). The TAC, which only meets every other month, also wondered if they might sometimes need to meet more than six times a year in order to get all their work done.

This led to a special meeting on October 26, where the only agenda item was a proposal to hold occasional meetings on off-months. Because of confusion around whether members would be required to attend (they only have to attend 60% of all regular meetings), leading to lack of quorum, the discussion lasted a full hour, but the proposal was ultimately adopted.

At the November meeting, the Council was introduced to Captain Franz Schoening, who took over the Training Division from Chris Gjovik. Schoening became the sixth Training Captain in six years. He is known in the activist community for smacking a cell phone out of a protestor's hand in July 2020, then using the fact that the phone hit the Portland Police Association headquarters window as a reason to declare a riot.

January, 2023
Also in PPR #88

Portland Copwatch
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Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.

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