An External Review Says Portland Should Reform Its Investigations of Police Shootings

The OIR Group authored a 94-page report that makes 26 recommendations for improving how Portland police respond to officer-involved shootings.

Protesters of police brutality at A Portland City Council meeting in March. (Thomas Teal)
By Katie Shepherd

An external review of officer-involved shootings in 2014 and 2015 found that the city should make changes in its investigations of police shootings.

The 94-page review published by the OIR Group makes 26 recommendations to the Portland Police Bureau in regards to how the law enforcement agency trains officers and reviews incidents where an officer chooses to fire a gun at a suspect.

The recommendations include adjusting bureau training protocol to make it more clear what constitutes an "imminent threat" and prohibiting officers from reviewing video footage of incidents before making an initial statement.

Related: The Portland Police officer who shot Quanice Hayes recounts the killing: "I believed it was my responsibility."

The OIR Group also suggested that the Police Review Board consider the analysis done by the training division, which reviews whether an officers actions were in line with his or her training, before making a determination.

The report emerges days after the family of Quanice Hayes, a black teenager shot in the head by a Portland police officer, sued the city over his death. A grand jury ruled that shooting justified.

The full report will be presented in front of the City Council next Thursday.

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