Portland Police to Reinstate Mental Health Team

As the city continues its negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, Police Chief Mike Reese announced today the city will reinstate a Crisis Intervention Team to deal with Portland's mentally ill.

The changes follow last month's damning report finding that the Portland Police Bureau has a "pattern and practice" of using excessive force against those in mental health crisis. Portland must give a response to a number of the DOJ's recommendations; those are due to be released on Monday.

In a release, Reese says that all officers will continue to be trained in crisis intervention, but a specialized team of patrol officers will be created and available to go out on mental health related calls.

The move is a partial return to Portland's old style of dealing with the mentally ill. In 2007, under former Chief Rosie Sizer, the department dropped its volunteer-based Crisis Intervention Team in favor of giving all officers 40 hours of training on the subject.

Three policies were also altered in response to the DOJ report: application of force, Tasers, and deadly physical force. The department posted those changes online, and is hoping for public feedback by Nov. 2.