Frashour Rally Planned at City Hall; Jefferson Smith "Disappointed" in Ruling

Portland Mercury:

Developments are afoot this morning in the wake of yesterday's news that the Oregon Employment Relations Board has ordered Mayor Sam Adams to reinstate the fired Portland police officer who shot and killed a distraught, unarmed man, Aaron Campbell, in 2010. • The Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform is planning a picket line and news conference outside city hall at 11 this morning—it's meant to help show support for Adams, who has vowed to seek a court challenge of the ERB's ruling, provided he can persuade two of his fellow city commissioners to go along with him. The AMA also has a personal stake in the employment board's ruling, having filed a legal brief alongside the city arguing that reinstating Frashour, which the city also was ordered to do this spring by a labor arbitrator, would violate "public policy" standards. • Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith, supported by the Portland Police Association, has issued a statement at the Mercury's request expressing disappointment in the ERB ruling but offering only conditional support for a court challenge. But he echoed comments given to me yesterday by City Commissioner Nick Fish suggesting it's up to the city attorney's office to demonstrate at least something close to a path to victory. (His rival, Charlie Hales, did not respond to a request for comment sent yesterday afternoon.) I am disappointed in this ruling. I don’t think it moves us closer to healing the rift between police and our community. I’ve been on the record for months in support of turning every stone in this case, including any appeal where we have a legal leg to stand on. If the City Attorney and trusted outside counsel determine we lack legal footing, then we should put our energy and resources (we have spent $750,000 on this case so far) into fixing the underlying problems. Read the rest of Smith's statement, which includes many of his reform ideas for the police bureau and is heavily influenced by the feds' recent ruling about the cops' harsh treatment of those perceived to be mentally ill, after the jump. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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