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PORTLAND POLICE HAVE SENT DRONES TO 22 CALLS: Following the announcement this summer that officers would begin using drones, the Portland Police Bureau has published statistics showing how often they’ve been used. According to the new dashboard, created last month and updated Oct. 9, police have deployed drones to 22 calls, using an average of two of the “unmanned aerial systems” each time. Of those 22 flights, seven were “exigent,” seven were search warrants, five were “traffic” related, and three were for training. All but one were on the east side of the Willamette River, and 10 were east of Interstate 205. The bureau’s release of the data comes six weeks after WW requested all of the bureau’s drone flight reports, which must include a “summary of activities” and all “data gathered” per the bureau’s new drone policy created early this year. The bureau marked the request fulfilled on Monday without providing the reports, instead referring WW to the new dashboard. The bureau has delayed publicly announcing the dashboard, which was published on its website in mid-September, while it susses out any bugs and double-checks the accuracy of the info, bureau spokeswoman Terri Wallo Strauss tells WW.
CITY COUNCIL KICKS DISTRICT OFFICES DOWN THE ROAD: Under the new form of government that will take effect in 2025, members of the Portland City Council will represent distinct geographic districts. Amid the drama between Mayor Ted Wheeler and sitting city commissioners over the government transition, Commissioner Dan Ryan posed a question last week: Will the new city councilors’ offices in their home districts be set up before 2025? The short answer from city staff: probably not. “I don’t know what the district commissioners are going to want,” Wheeler said at a council meeting last week. “It’s up to them to define what their relationship is going to be with their districts. They should help determine that.” Ryan and Commissioner Rene Gonzalez bristled at the notion of waiting. “The fact is,” Ryan said, “that’s what I think should be the priority.” The City Council approved $7.2 million earlier this year for the renovation of City Hall to make room for the 12-member council; that did not include the costs of establishing district offices. In a letter to Wheeler on Tuesday afternoon, all city commissioners agreed with Ryan and requested that the mayor establish district offices before 2025. “Establishing District Offices is crucial in fulfilling the vision that Portland voters approved,” they wrote.
SCHOOL BOARD RETHINKS HOLLANDS’ ROLE IN PROPERTY DEAL: Portland Public Schools Board Chair Gary Hollands made news last week when he proposed leasing a PPS property to a private organization he runs so it could build a state-of-the-art sports complex in a disadvantaged Northeast Portland neighborhood. The idea stirred concern about a conflict of interest because Hollands sits on both sides of the proposed deal (“Mr. Hollands’ Opus,” WW, Oct. 4). On Oct. 6, PPS board member Julia Brim-Edwards sought to inoculate the board from Hollands’ influence with an amendment that would remove him from PPS’s side of the negotiations with the Albina Sports Program, of which Hollands is interim director. Brim-Edwards said she spoke with an outside lawyer about her obligations as a School Board member before drafting her amendment. “Given Director Hollands’ role with the Albina Sports Program, he will not provide input to or engage with PPS staff or the board on the PPS negotiations, internal discussions, strategies, analysis, or other actions relating to a real estate transaction in any capacity other than representing Albina Sports Program,” Brim-Edwards’ amendment reads. Hollands would also be denied access to any confidential information about the deal from PPS. A subcommittee of the School Board voted Sept. 20 to send the proposal to the full board at its meeting Tuesday evening, after press deadline. Look for updates at wweek.com.
LAWYERS INDICATE PLANS TO SUE COUNTY FOR INMATE DEATHS: Two law firms have sent Multnomah County letters indicating they are weighing lawsuits over the deaths of two men in county jails. Both letters, reviewed by WW, indicate the two firms are investigating the deaths and demand that the county retain evidence. The county received the first letter Aug. 17 from J. William Savage on behalf of the estate of 36-year-old Clemente Pineda, who was found unresponsive in the county’s downtown jail on Aug. 1. His death was the most recent in an unprecedented string of six deaths in county custody so far this year (see “The Doctor Is Out,” page 10). The letter references the circumstances of his death, first reported by WW, and threatens a wrongful death lawsuit. Pineda was known to be lying face down on the floor in the hours prior to his death, but received no medical care (“Cell Death,” WW, Aug. 16). The second letter was sent Sept. 12 by Juan C. Chavez, saying the Oregon Justice Resource Center is representing the father of 31-year-old Josiah Pierce, who died July 19 in the county’s eastside Inverness Jail. The letter demands that the county retain records related to Pierce’s death, and adds his father “retains the right to bring any claims as they come to light.”