Rev. Leroy Haynes Jr. has been fighting for decades for civil rights, justice, and accountable policing. In the wake of city officials declining to hold Portland Police Bureau’s top leadership responsible for shortcomings and excessive force during the 2020 racial justice protests, he’s still fighting.
Haynes Jr. was among those who spoke out Tuesday, August 25 against a lack of transparency around the city’s response to Portland’s Independent Police Review (IPR) of how police handled the 2020 protests. Haynes Jr. is part of Portland’s Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform. The group was an amicus (or friend of the court) in the settlement agreement between the US Department of Justice and the city of Portland, after the DOJ sued the city over its policing practices in 2012. The settlement remains active and still governs several aspects of the city’s police force.
On Tuesday, the Coalition joined members of the Mental Health Alliance–another amicus in the DOJ settlement–and Portland Copwatch, to denounce a lack of action on behalf of Mayor Keith Wilson and Deputy City Administrator Tracy Warren, who both declined to uphold two recommendations from the IPR. The groups are also calling on the city to release all documents related to PPB’s 2020 protest response…