Portland Police Monitoring Team

Mark P. Smith is the Lead Monitor of the Settlement Agreement on Policing in Portland. Mr. Smith has spent his entire professional career overseeing law enforcement agencies of different sizes and geographies, ensuring their accountability to the public whom they serve. Beginning with his first position out of law school, as a Special Investigator with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Mr. Smith has progressed to increasingly advanced leadership roles within the various entities he has served. In his most recent work, before resigning to lead this Monitorship, Mr. Smith was honored to be appointed as the Inspector General of the LAPD—placing him in charge of the same office where his career in civilian oversight of law enforcement got started. As Inspector General, Mr. Smith was responsible for ensuring that the OIG conducted robust....

Brian Buchner is an Assistant Inspector General with the Los Angeles Police Commission’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) where he leads the office’s Audit Section. Brian has held several roles within the OIG, including as a Police Special Investigator in the Use of Force, Complaints, and the former Special Investigations and Compliance sections. Prior to rejoining the OIG as an Assistant Inspector General, Brian served as the City Homelessness Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles where he oversaw more than $1 billion in funding and led the implementation of the city’s major homelessness initiatives. He has directed city-wide policing and homelessness policy for the Mayor of Los Angeles. Brian is also an expert in police oversight and policy, having worked for several oversight agencies, including the OIG, and advised local, state, national, and international government entities regarding police....

Susruta Sudula is a Senior Forensic Auditor in the Police Integrity Division at the Office of Inspector General for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) where she performs a variety of investigative, data and policy support functions. Susruta is also an Advisory Board Member at Essential Personnel, where she provides academic guidance in the development of a safety/wellness software designed for the public safety professionals. Prior to her role at PANYNJ, Susruta worked as a Police Special Investigator with the Los Angeles Police Commission where she collected data and conducted analyses on LAPD policies and practices. She also identified areas for improvement and provided recommendations to the Department. Susruta also worked as a Senior Performance Analyst for the Chicago Police Department where she conducted performance audits to assess reform compliance related to the consent decree and....

Robert holds a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice and is an independent researcher, statistician, business executive, teacher, and programmer. He has spent over 26 years designing and executing data-driven analyses, evaluating programs and policies, and developing analytic tools to improve efficiency. His work has spanned industries across a wide range of disciplines such as criminology and criminal justice, healthcare quality improvement, marketing research, and software development. Dr. Fornango's expertise relevant to the Independent Monitor is in research methodology and design, quantitative statistical analysis, qualitative interview/content analysis, and human-centered design for reporting.....

Cori Lowe is a retired Deputy Chief of Police for the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). She started her law enforcement career in 2005 after serving in the United States Air Force and continued her education, earning her master’s degree in public administration in 2011. During her law enforcement career, Cori worked various assignments, including uniformed patrol, field training officer, crisis intervention officer, violent crimes, special investigations, internal affairs force investigations, and ultimately compliance and accountability for the settlement agreement with the United States Department of Justice. Cori created, implemented, and managed the APD Accountability/Compliance Bureau from 2017 – 2023, with the addition of the APD Training Academy Division in 2022. The bureau focused on policy, auditing, data, process improvement, early intervention system, training curriculum development, and training implementation.....

Val Thomas is a retired Police Captain III from the Los Angeles Police Department, with over 27 years of distinguished service. Throughout her career, she developed strong, collaborative relationships with diverse communities, businesses, and faith-based organizations, fostering trust and mutual respect. She provided critical oversight for investigations, including use of force cases, as well as workplace, community, and criminal personnel complaints, to ensure constitutional policing, organizational accountability, and effective training. Val's career included several key leadership positions. As the Aide to the Inspector General, she addressed vital issues such as risk management, consent decree compliance, and training. As a Lieutenant II, she led the Community Relations Section, enhancing citywide community engagement on behalf of the Office of the Chief of Police. In her various command roles, Val oversaw a wide range of operations, including patrol, training, crime analysis, detectives, narcotics,....