Council accepts Portland Police Bureau 2024 annual report amid stops, use-of-force and reporting questions

The Portland City Council on Aug. 7 voted to accept the Portland Police Bureau’s 2024 annual report after Chief Bob Day and bureau staff summarized hiring, crime statistics, use-of-force data and several operational initiatives.

Chief Day highlighted deployment of body-worn cameras in 2024, data showing decreases in homicide and some categories of violent crime, firearm recoveries and stolen-vehicle operations, and bureau hiring and training figures. He said the bureau recorded six uses of deadly force in 2024 (three fatal, three nonfatal) and that detailed summaries of deadly-force incidents are available on the bureau’s website and open data portal.

Public commenters and councilors pressed the bureau on several items: the benchmarks used to analyze traffic-stop racial disparities (the bureau cited an injury-collision benchmark and noted the state’s veil-of-darkness method), a reported increase in shoplifting, response times and whether online reporting tools and Public Safety Support Specialist (PS3) roles could be expanded. Members of the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing (PSEP) said the annual report lacked sufficient analysis of racial disparities and questioned the choice of benchmarks; PSEP also urged inclusion of internal affairs findings such as the one connected to a recent officer-involved shooting.

Councilors asked for additional information and follow-up briefings on stops data, benchmarking choices, clearance rates and operational details for PS3s and other programs. Chief Day and risk and bureau staff said they would provide additional materials and indicated an interest in returning with more detailed briefings.

The council adopted the report by roll call; acceptance passed with a majority vote, with one recorded no vote.