Portland commissioners reject bid to cut $18M more from police

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — City commissioners in Portland on Thursday rejected a budget amendment that would have slashed another $18 million from the Portland Police Bureau and shifted the money to the city's pandemic response.

The commission voted in June to cut nearly $16 million from the police — eliminating school resource officers, transit police and a gun violence reduction unit — and the force has also suffered pandemic-related budget cuts.

Mayor Ted Wheeler, who won a second term on Tuesday, said he was committed to holding police accountable and to racial justice but couldn't support an amendment that would require layoffs.