[pjw] ACTION: Contact City Council: End Cooperation with Joint Terrorism Task Force

[Peace and Justice Works]

PJW supporters

After five people addressed City Council on Wednesday, October 7 asking
them to end cooperation with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, the
overall feeling was that Commissioner Hardesty, Mayor Wheeler and
Commissioner Fritz (the only council members who spoke) were not
interested in taking up this issue again. Part of this may be that they
did not realize the urgency due to the FBI's announced intention to use
JTTFs to investigate protestors, which is why the community call is to
end all cooperation, not leave the individual case option open.

Below is a letter you can forward to Council or rewrite in your own
words. Ideally Council will take action regardless of who the President
is-- the FBI's long history of targeting leftists, immigrants, Muslims
and people of color is well documented.

Council emails:
 	Mayor Ted Wheeler <mayorwheeler at portlandoregon.gov>,
         Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty  <joann at portlandoregon.gov>,
 	Commissioner Amanda Fritz <amanda at portlandoregon.gov>,
 	Commissioner Chloe Eudaly <chloe at portlandoregon.gov>,
 	Commissioner Dan Ryan <commissionerryanoffice at portlandoregon.gov>

If you feel like it, let us know if you've sent something in.

We recognize that there are a lot of issues to ponder right now including 
the election, the city budget, and the pandemic but this is an important 
time to take action to protect civil liberties.

Thanks
dan handelman
peace and justice works/portland copwatch

PS sorry for duplication with the copwatch list

-------------------

Members of City Council:

I am writing to urge you to heed the community call to end all
cooperation with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The community
letter last sent to you on October 6 outlines reasons to stop the
current "case by case" use of Portland Police to assist the JTTF. It's
also important to note that:

* The current resolution allows cooperation for "cases of terrorism
   and/or threats to life including hate crimes," which is too
   broad of a mandate and allows for federal investigations which
   do not meet Oregon standards to take place.

* The resolution calls upon the Chief of Police to decide whether to
  assist the FBI. The current Chief agreed to allow over 50 officers
  to be deputized by the Federal Marshals without informing the
  Police Commissioner or Council.

* Signers of the letter to Council include the Latino Network,
   the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and
   Police Reform and other groups led by people of color.

The PPB has been allowed to cooperate with the JTTF throughout 2020.
Even after Portland ends its relationship the the Task Force, I urge
that the annual report called for in the Resolution move forward as
described in the letter. The PPB should be required to report on what
happened to cases they referred to the FBI, and the public should be
allowed to speak at the Council hearing when the report is presented.

Please review the community letter, which was signed by 32 groups and
three prominent individuals, which is posted at:
http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/EndCooperationWithJTTF2020.pdf .

As noted in that letter, City Council took an appropriate stand against
the federal agencies deployed to police local protests. Continuing
cooperation with some of the same agencies via the JTTF, even on a case
by case basis, contradicts this commitment and opens the door to the
problems the Resolution is intended to prevent.

Thank you

(name)