Find answers to common questions related to the Monitorship of the Settlement Agreement.
The primary role of the Independent Monitoring Team is to assess the City’s compliance with, and implementation of, the Settlement Agreement. The Monitoring Team operates independently of the City (including PPB) and the Department of Justice, and it will report its findings directly to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. This independence allows the Monitoring Team to be objective and impartial in conducting its required compliance assessments. These assessments will be conducted semi-annually, with the first period of assessment running from July 1 – December 31, 2024. On May 1, 2025, the Monitoring Team will publish a draft of its report to the Court in order to receive public comments and feedback. After considering of the public’s input, the Monitoring Team will finalize its report and file it with the Court by June 30, 2025, which is also when the next period of assessment concludes (and the process continues).
In addition to its compliance assessments, the Monitoring Team must: develop a Monitoring Plan to help ensure that its evaluations are completed reliably; conduct semi-annual qualitative and quantitative outcome assessments to measure whether the implementation of the Settlement Agreement’s provisions is achieving its intended goals; identify barriers to compliance with the Settlement Agreement and provide recommendations on how to overcome them. The Monitoring Team must solicit feedback from community stakeholders throughout Portland regarding matters related to the Settlement Agreement in order to ensure that the assessments it makes are informed by a diversity of voices and perspectives. In furtherance of this, the Monitoring Team is responsible for holding town hall meetings twice a year, and we are committed to maintaining robust community engagement throughout the Monitorship.
The Monitoring Team has only the role, responsibilities, and authority conferred by the Settlement Agreement. It does not, and is not intended to, replace or assume the role or responsibilities of any City or PPB employee or official. It is also not the Monitoring Team’s role to change either the scope or the terms of the Settlement Agreement.
The Monitoring Team will be appointed for a term of two years, which may be extended for additional two-year terms if the City and the Department of Justice jointly request, and the Court approves. The City and the Department of Justice will consult with the Portland Police Association (PPA), Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform (AMAC), Mental Health Alliance (MHA), and Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing (PCCEP) and will consider their input before seeking to extend the Monitoring Team’s appointment for additional two-year terms. In deciding whether to extend the appointment, the Court will give deference to the request of the City and the Department of Justice, and will consider public input, including that of the PPA, AMAC, MHA, and PCCEP, and the Monitoring Team’s performance under the Settlement Agreement, including whether the Monitoring Team is completing their work on time, within budget, and in a manner that facilitates the City’s ability to achieve substantial compliance with the Settlement Agreement.
Arising from a Department of Justice investigation that started in 2011, the United States of America filed a Complaint against the City of Portland in federal court in 2012 alleging that the Portland Police Bureau engaged in a pattern or practice of using unlawful force against individuals with actual or perceived mental illness, in violation of their constitutional rights. In 2014, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon entered as an Order of the Court a Settlement Agreement between the United States and the City of Portland. Among other things, the Settlement Agreement requires sustained reforms to policies, programs, and procedures in, and oversight of, the Portland Police Bureau to ensure that PPB delivers police services to the people of Portland in a manner that effectively supports officer and public safety, and complies with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
The Settlement Agreement contains a number of provisions with which the City must demonstrate substantial compliance, as assessed by the Independent Monitoring Team. Major areas of focus amongst these provisions include Use of Force, Training, Community-Based Mental Health Services, Crisis Intervention, PPB’s Employee Information System, Officer Accountability, and Community Engagement. Once the City has successfully demonstrated compliance, provisions will move from being assessed by the Monitor to being assessed by the City itself, in accordance with a self-monitoring plan created by the City in consultation with the Monitor. The City will then report on its own compliance with these provisions, and the Monitor will evaluate those reports. Once the Monitor finds that the City has demonstrated maintained substantial compliance with these provisions of the Settlement Agreement, they will be subject to termination. This process will continue until all remaining provisions of the Settlement Agreement have reached termination.
The Monitoring Team welcomes input from the public to help ensure that the Monitorship is informed by diverse voices and perspectives from across the Portland community. The best way to reach us is by sending an email here. Please feel free to get in touch!
The Monitoring Team is not authorized to receive or investigate complaints of misconduct against member of PPB. If you wish to submit such a complaint, please refer to the resources found on the City of Portland’s website, here.
