Draft rules released to govern police conduct in Oregon
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A proposed set of conduct and discipline standards applicable to all law enforcement agencies in Oregon were published Monday.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports in several instances, the commission charged with establishing the new rules left room for officers found to have committed serious, often illegal offenses to keep their jobs. For example, officers who commit sexual assault or intentional physical assault may not be fired if there are mitigating factors.
“The butt is considered a sexual part of the body,” said Mark Makler, a former prosecutor who represents police unions and officers, at a meeting on June 30. “So grabbing somebody’s butt in gest or horseplay could be considered a sexual assault.”
Makler and seven other commissioners who were present at that meeting voted against making sexual assault an automatically fireable offense.
“There are things like state of mind or absence of intent that could come into play. Or degree of harm,” Portland Police Association attorney Anil Karia said. “There are nuances in this.”
The commission was formed with the passage of HB 2930 in 2021, one of several pieces of legislation passed last year tackling police accountability and reform.
“The goal…was to have clarity,” bill sponsor Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clackamas said in an interview with OPB. “Officers like to have clarity, some level of certainty about what the standards are.”
By having one statewide set of guidelines, Bynum explained, officers who have discipline problems in one local department can’t transfer to a different agency that has lower standards.
Over the course of 13 meetings since early March, the group hammered out standards on a range of issues from unjustified use of force to assault to targeting someone based solely on their race, gender or other protected status.
The commission will hold a series of public hearings throughout August and ending Sept. 16. They will then consider the public’s comment and make any changes before the rules take effect on Oct. 1.
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum news release:
New Rules Proposed by Statewide Law Enforcement Standards of Conduct and Discipline
SALEM, OREGON—The Oregon Commission on Statewide Law Enforcement Standards of Conduct and Discipline today announced proposed rules relating to statewide standards for police officer discipline. Public feedback is invited and will help inform the final rules, which must be adopted by October 1.
You can find the proposed rules and background here: https://justice.oregon.gov/lesc/
The Oregon Legislature last year passed HB 2930 (2021), which established the 15-member Commission and authorized it to develop and implement uniform standards of conduct and discipline for all law enforcement officers in Oregon. The Commission was directed to adopt standards relating to at least seven specific categories of misconduct.
The Commission is co-chaired by Michael Slauson, the Oregon Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Division (DOJ—CJ) Chief Counsel, and by Brian Henson, the acting director of the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST). The Commission also must submit a report to the Oregon legislature by September 1st describing the development of the proposed rules, and how law enforcement agencies will be notified of the rules.
Given the timeline set by the legislature, the Commission met frequently over the past six months. Although the members were divided on several issues, publishing the draft rules today keeps the Commission on track to seek public comment and meet the statutory deadlines.
Former DOJ Deputy Attorney General Fred Boss has been serving as Executive Director of the Commission. He and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum jointly stated:
“Publishing these proposed rules mark an important step toward adopting statewide law enforcement discipline standards—for the first time. We want to thank the co-chairs and members of the Commission for their diligence in meeting the legislature’s deadlines, including 26 hours of meetings over six months. The Commission’s work continues, and we look forward to robust feedback from the public in the coming weeks.”
