PEOPLE'S POLICE REPORT UPDATES September 2003

Drug Enforcement Task Force: More Portland Police without Oversight

In a letter to Portland Copwatch explaining the changes, Mayor Katz wrote that Portland Police need to be able to cooperate with the DEA to serve federal search warrants. The officers allegedly have a "limited range of policing activities...assisting the federal government in the enforcement of drug laws."

However, Katz's letter also mentions that the Portland officers will "assist in investigations" now that the agreement has been modified. Since Oregon's 181 laws (article, right) prohibit gathering information on people who are not suspected of crimes, we hope that the City will be explicit in preventing their officers from engaging in such behavior whether under the guise of the "war on drugs" (or the "war on terrorism").

At press time, Portland Copwatch and the ACLU have made a request to specifically prohibit such behavior, cautioning that we do not necessarily endorse the federal search warrants being served by the DEAPTF.

As for the extended deadline, City Attorney David Woboril told us that this agreement is longstanding and is usually renewed every three years. The paragraphs on the deadline and restricting PPB activity were cut and pasted from the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force (PJTTF) agreement into the DEA agreement, according to Woboril (verified in part by Katz). This means the community should be extraordinarily careful in scrutinizing the PJTTF agreement when it comes up for renewal in September.

Local "War on Terror" Updates

The PJTTF was given another publicity boost in August when former computer engineer Mike Hawash pleaded guilty to attempting to wage war against the U.S. Hawash was investigated by the hybrid FBI/Portland Police task force and his highly publicized arrest as a "material witness" led to great public outcry (see PPR #29). Hawash was later charged with conspiring with other Muslim Americans accused of the same crime, turning the "Portland Six" into the "Portland Seven."

Since these folks seemed relatively incompetent‹they never even managed to get into Afghanistan during the shooting war‹and since Hawash's friends seem to think the charges are unlikely, many activists speculate that his plea bargain was the result of government pressure.

In exchange for testifying against the other suspects, Hawash will be able to get out in seven to ten years rather than 20 to life.

Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose efforts to interview Arab and Muslim immigrants after 9-11 were rebuffed by the City of Portland (see PPR #26), made a quick pit stop to the City of Roses in July. While the heavily armored "Rapid Response Team" of the Portland Police intimidated the crowd outside, Ashcroft met with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and others, swearing that the USA PATRIOT act is not being used to circumvent the Constitution. (We feel so much better now.)

"181" Laws Preserved

Oregon's "181 laws," which protect Oregon residents from spying by the police and prevent the police from acting as local INS agents, but which were under attack by several bills before the Senate and the House during the current legislative session, have been preserved through the efforts of the "181 Coalition," led by the ACLU. The several bills attacking the "181 laws" have been replaced by one bill which makes a technical change to existing law; a change which the "181 Coalition" supports.

Oregon's 181 laws (ORS 181.575 and .850) prevent the police from 1) collecting or maintaining information about the religious, political, or social views or the activities of any individual or group unrelated to any specific criminal activity, and 2) targeting or arresting persons based solely on violations of federal immigration laws. These laws were under attack by several bills which would have effectively repealed them (see PPR #29).

The four bills attacking the 181 laws have all been dropped, thanks to the efforts of the "181 Coalition" and have been replaced by House Bill 2089, which makes only a technical change to ORS 181.850. HB 2089 clarifies that local police officers may detain an individual if there is an arrest warrant on an individual for a criminal immigration charge, a change in line with current law, which allows an arrest to be made if there is a criminal warrant on an individual. The new bill has passed both the Senate and the House, and Governor Kulongoski has indicated he will sign it.

For information contact the ACLU at 503-227-3186.