The Portland Police Bureau plans to add anti-racism training for officers this winter and new “active bystander” training that will encourage officers to speak up and intervene if they see another officer acting inappropriately, violating policy or using excessive force.
Portland Chief Chuck Lovell briefly spoke about the training during a media availability held by video Wednesday afternoon.
The so-called ABLE training, which stands for Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement Training, will teach officers how to intervene if they spot another officer doing something that’s unlawful or violates bureau policy.
In the wake of the videotaped May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes, the lack of intervention by other officers who were present was stark and disturbing, Lovell said.
“The duty to intervene is something we have in our policy, but we don’t really teach people how to do that,” Lovell said.
Portland police training instructors will first receive the training from an outside agency and then present it to Portland officers. The training will last eight hours, with two hours of follow-up instruction, according to the bureau.
Georgetown Law Professor Christy Lopez, who co-directs Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program, launched a national project to train law enforcement on how to intervene to prevent police misconduct.
“What we know is that people do not always intervene when they should, and they may spend the rest of their lives regretting it,” Lopez said. “If you want police to intervene, you have to teach them how and you have to create a culture that supports intervention.”
New Orleans Police have developed similar training called EPIC, for Ethical Policing is Courageous. The training, according to its website, focuses on recognizing what keeps people from intervening and remaining passive bystanders, such as fear of retaliation.
The Portland Police Bureau’s equity manager also plans to roll out new anti-racism training to officers this winter, the chief said. Special training also will be provided to lieutenants and commanding officers to help them manage projects through “an equity lens,” Lovell said.
The chief’s remarks come a day after his deputy chief issued a statement about the staffing challenges the Portland Police Bureau is facing as the city marks the 105th consecutive night of demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism.
The Police Bureau has about 310 officers on patrol, divided between the three precincts. They have been depleted by protest coverage – having to pull patrol officers to staff demonstrations that started in May after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to Deputy Chief Chris Davis. The Police Bureau also has logged 49 retirements and nine other resignations since July 1, Davis said in a video released on Tuesday. Another 102 new officers aren’t able to work the streets alone as they don’t have full training. The bureau hasn’t been able to send as many recruits to the state’s basic police academy as usual due to the coronavirus pandemic.
-- Maxine Bernstein
Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212
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Portland police to receive new training on how to intervene when a colleague acts unlawfully or against policy - OregonLive
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