Jefferson Smith Responds to My Concerns Over Police Union Endorsement

Portland Mercury:

In the expiring issue of the Mercury, my Hall Monitor column on what the Portland Police Association's endorsement of Jefferson Smith might mean for the mayor's race ended with an exhortation that "with ballots dropping in mere days, Smith needs to explain, and fast, why this endorsement won't keep him from remembering his obligation to the rest of the community, too." Smith took me up on the offer, submitting a response to the column—specifically questions about officer discipline, contract talks, and the opening of cop-shooting grand jury transcripts (which are vitally important; they're a record of the typically closed process that the DA's office uses deciding to file criminal charges). I told Smith I'd run that response on Blogtown, and so here it is, edited a bit for length. On the decision to challenge fired officer Ron Frashour's reinstatement: First, on the Aaron Campbell tragedy. Before the endorsement, I stood with the mayor’s decision to turn over every stone given this set of facts. After the endorsement, I continue to stand with the mayor. The Police Association has a different view. I respect their view, and I hope they respect mine. Another candidate in this race and her surrogates [eds: that's Eileen Brady] have suggested that to get a political endorsement, I must have told a different story about my position on the Aaron Campbell tragedy. My position remains consistent, and I want to make that clear. On releasing grand jury testimony: The public deserves a full and fair accounting of cases that involve officer misconduct. Currently, in cases of officer-involved deaths, the police commissioner and the District Attorney are involved in the release of transcripts of testimony. I have discussed the matter with Rod Underhill, the unopposed candidate for District Attorney, and we both shared our hope and intention not to reverse field from the current practice. My position has been and remains that the determination to open testimony must continue to be made on a case-by-case basis. I support the decision to open testimony in the Frashour case, and I believe there should be a heightened expectation of opening testimony in such cases. We both remain open to continuing the ongoing conversation with law enforcement partners and community members to ensure witness safety as well as appropriate transparency and accountability. There too, my position remains unchanged. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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