Good afternoon everyone. Thanks. One of the things that I have struggled with over the last several years is the fact that two things can be true at the same time. And that's not a concept that's easily digestible, particularly by cops and career law enforcement officers like myself, because we are constantly in pursuit of the facts and of the truth. In this particular case, we have two things that are true at the same time. We have a understaffed, under-resourced Portland Police Bureau, and we have a $170 million deficit in the city. And the problem when we have competing truths is that they collide with a level of dissidence that is very unsettling and makes going forward even harder because it's human nature to avoid that dissidence. I've always held that as leaders, it is our responsibility to actually step into that dissidence. And as a public servant, I feel that very strongly that we have a role and a responsibility to be in that space. And the men and women of the Police Bureau do that better than any bureau in the in the city, in my opinion. But the reality is this is what we're facing. We're facing these two truths. I want to recognize the hard work that the mayor and the city administrator have done to try and land this plane. It is a monumental task, and in my three decades plus of service, I'm not aware of an administration that has been forced to tackle such a significant issue. With that being said, the proposal that is on the table currently will have a detrimental impact both on the Police Bureau and the level of service that we're able to provide. Um some of those examples will likely lead to the need to reestablish our resources. We've talked about the reduction of our PS3s, which is our unarmed response alternative response. We've talked about looking at fleet and technology. One of the things that makes these exercises challenging because of the city structure is um Police Bureau is utilizers of city services. Therefore, we're charged for the use of city services, much of which we don't have control over. So, um if I'm looking to reduce fleet, for example, and rising gas prices, we may have to double up officers in cars. We double up officers in cars, we lose the ability to respond um as effectively to um lower-level calls. And we may have to disregard those calls for an extended period of time so that we have the resources to get to the higher-level calls. That's just an example. It does not mean that that is the methodology going forward. This is all very much very fluid. Um technology, we pay a service fee to the Bureau of Technology. So, we'll be looking at ways to reduce our technology footprint. But that has direct impact on the efficiencies around investigations, but do we need as many iPads? Do we need as many phones? Do we need as many other technological resources that we use? But that will have an impact on uh the the users of those, which of course translates to community. We really, though, want to focus for a minute for myself on the humanity of this. And as the Police Bureau looks and considers the loss of these professional staff positions. And I appreciate the mayor and I have agreed to protect the sworn staff of the organization. We have made it a priority the last 2 and 1/2 years to grow the Portland Police Bureau. I'm proud to say that applications are up. Our net gain of officers is up. We have the highest number of officers right now that we've had in a number of years. Um by any measure, whether you use uh per capita or calls for service, the Portland Police Bureau does not have enough police officers, and we've recognized that. Um the mayor has inherited a problem that goes back decades. The police bureau has been cut numerous times. I remember when we had five precincts and now we only have three. I remember when we had a mounted patrol unit. And certainly we remember the cuts in 2020 where they vacated 88 sworn law enforcement positions and 18.8 million dollars from the ongoing fund. This is This is a situation that has been building for decades and is now unfortunately landed um on our desk and there will be impact. So, the impact really though, I want to remind us is in the human nature of the people that could possibly be laid off through this process. And although we are protecting our sworn staff, it is really a system. It is a network. And not just in a sense of a family, but really in the sense of how the work gets done. And certainly this uniform is the visible representation of the police bureau and we will always be committed to life safety and we will always be committed to running towards the gunfire, but we do that work with the confidence in knowing the support that we have from our professional staff. And the role that they play to preserve the contract that really allows the organization to move forward. So, as we go through this process with council and the mayor and the city administrator, I'm resolute in continuing to look for efficiencies that will offset the impact this may have on our professional staff knowing that it also will have an impact on the ability of our sworn staff to function. So, I just want to highlight that connectivity. At the end of the day, this is still a long process. There's a long uh ramp to go. We are in communication with uh the council offices, with the mayor, with the city administrator. I'm confident and hopeful that we can continue to move forward to find a balanced budget for Portlanders that serves them um as they deserve. So, those are my comments. I'll take questions. >> Um, the dozens of public safety support specialist positions that are being cut, how will that affect the day-to-day without um those specialists on these low-level calls? >> Yeah. Uh unfortunately, when we began the PS3 program several years ago, the police bureau really failed um in its management of that program. We did not clearly identify goals and objectives, policies and procedures, trainings, um institute cultural buy-in. Um the good work we're seeing from our PS3s today is, you know, based upon their commitment to excellence and their desire to serve at a high level, which I'm grateful for. Um last year's budget process reminded me that we did not have the proper structure in place. I believe it was Council Porrovecchio who really asked me some pointed questions, and over the last year we have really come around that group, and they have risen the occasion, and we have put mechanisms in place where we're seeing a return on that investment now. This year we anticipate them potentially taking 25,000 calls for service. Um uh but that hasn't always been the case. We've also uh developed some ongoing training for them for the first time. We've developed a program that will allow them to um assume a leadership role within the PS3 program for those that want to do that. This scale back is obviously going to translate to them taking less calls for service, um which means those lower priority calls will likely go unanswered for an extended period of time. When we we you know, I don't want to project what that would be, but because we are prioritizing life safety with the limited amount of overtime we have and the limited amount of officers, I anticipate there to be longer wait times. I can say for the PS3s that remain, um their work product has continued to grow overall, and I'm expecting that it will just because of the development and the investment we're making in them. So, if it's an 80% cut to the program, I don't know if that's an immediate 80% cut in service. We might see more of a 65 or 70% cut in the service. But, that should not be interpreted as that we are going to do more with less. The more with less, I uh the police bureau has done more with less at a admirable level for many, many years, and we're beyond that now. We have to find ways to to work within uh the means that are provided. >> Um can you just briefly explain what some of these low low um emergencies would be just for our viewers? Like, is this >> Well, I want to distinct like we will continue to respond to life safety calls, you know, crimes in progress, things like that. Um where our PSCs uh PS3s have been pivotal in a variety of ways. I mean, um they uh have, you know, they're available for recovering stolen vehicles, for example, if there's unoccupied. They um you know, have helped us out with traffic control, minimize the need for another officer, so they, you know, have the ability to help us out there. Other um lower-level calls for service, they can take information on um some crimes that have been committed, etc. So, these are all um what we would categorize as cold calls or level low acuity calls. Um and we're not going to replace that with police officers because that wouldn't make much sense to pay, you know, more to do this type of work. So, um people experiencing that uh outcome will need to have will have to find alternatives, which I anticipate right now to be, you know, much, much longer wait times, maybe references to on-call or online reporting or something, but we haven't worked that out. >> Um Chief, the proposal says that um it says that they would reduce the victim services the victim services unit by 35%. Can you explain what that entails? >> Yeah, so the victim services unit actually started I was in the detective division. I think it was around 2008, and we recognized a gap that despite the outstanding work that our investigators do, um many of our cases, because of the sensitivity and the complexity of them, really could use a subject matter expert outside of the role of a sworn law enforcement officer. And so, we brought on um two victim advocates back then in the area of sexual assault. And that really demonstrated a profound improvement in our investigations because created a liaison and a face and a familiarity as well as an expertise to be able to bridge that divide that sometimes occurs in these really intimate, difficult conversations. And so, over the years, that program has grown, um and currently has uh six members in it. Authorized for eight, currently has six. Um but as we have looked at the at the exercise that we've been asked to do in looking for, you know, core services, what are core services? Once again, core services center around life safety. So, um the reduction of these victim services will mean uh reduction in resource for some of these more sensitive, complex investigations. >> Is there anything in this proposal that you're going to go back to the mayor and say, "I really don't think our department can go without this"? >> No, at this point, uh I've been very clear with the mayor. He's been very receptive to my feedback. Um this is the proposal that that we put forward. We did this in conjunction. Um I'm not happy about it. I don't like it. I've been through the five stages of grief about 48 times in the last week. Um I'm saddened by it. I'm disappointed that we're at this place as a city. Certainly not uh solely based upon public safety, but some of the um things that we are reaping at this stage of the game, years later, is because of our lack of investment in public safety years ago. And I do share concern um about these reductions and how it will impact service. But as I said earlier, I'm first and foremost a public servant. The Portland Police Bureau will continue to show up. We will continue to engage. Um and we will continue to provide the best possible service that we can. But it will be limited. It will look different if these cuts go forward and that is still a work in progress. >> Were there any Sorry. >> No, go ahead. >> Were there any other alternatives to these cuts that you proposed that you would hope that would be more taken into consideration? >> No, um we're past uh we're past, you know, cuts in the police bureau. Like this organization is incredibly thin to begin with. Um every cut we make is a cut to the bone. There is no fat left on it. Um I've been criticized for putting forth Washington monuments. I would say everything's a Washington monument. Everything we have is critical and any changes we make will reduce services. This is This is a chance for us to um you know, recognize where the where the weaknesses are and um I'm always about trying to gain efficiencies and be responsible with our fiscal dollars, but at the end of the day, um there are no other alternatives other than to start to lean into sworn positions, um reducing officer positions, and or a further reduction in overtime. And that We've already brought overtime down. The last 2 years, I'm proud to say, overtime is down 22% if you consider if you take out unplanned events, it's down about 11% if you take if you add the unplanned events. But this organization cannot operate without overtime. I mean, you have to have overtime. This morning, I was coming into the office and there was a couple of young night shift officers getting off work, obviously very tired. Looked at him and said, "What do you got planned? A good night's sleep today?" And he He "Well, I got to be in court in 2 hours." Right? And that's, you know, out of his control. We need cops that work all night. We need cops that can go to court in the daytime. So, um there is always a level of overtime needed by the police bureau, and we have responded to both the public and council's request to reduce overtime, but at some point you've got to have overtime to do the work. And so, a reduction in overtime or reduction in sworn staff are really the only things left on the table, both of which I believe could have uh greater impact on life safety than these cuts will. >> What can the general public do to help offset this as far as public safety and officer safety? >> Yeah, well, if there's one thing Portland's known for is process, and there's going to be a lot of opportunity over the next 45-60 days to um advocate for things that are important. And I want to be clear on this note. This is not an appeal to advocate for the Portland Police Bureau. This is an uh an encouragement for Portlanders to engage with their system, with their you know, with their electeds to talk about their values, to share what's important to them. I mean, I think this new form of government is a great forum to do that. This is not a police against fire, police against parks conversation. I am 100% committed to helping um the mayor and the city administrator achieve a successful budget for the city of Portland, and we have to see our role and act responsibly in that. At the same time, I think it is important that um because of the visibility, because of the role the Police Bureau plays in our community, because of the amazing work that we have done over the last year in standing in the gap and has been celebrated and recognized for that work, that we understand that uh some of the implications of this cut cuts, potential cuts will change um the service level. >> Um and my last question, are you able to detail what changes people will see if these cuts do go through? >> Not at the moment. We're working on that. Um I hope to have more of that information in the coming weeks. Some of it's still very speculative because it's fluid and I don't want to get too far out in front. Um I don't want to create a sense of, you know, hyperbole about what this may or may not look like. The challenge in policing when you make cuts is often times you don't see the results of that on July 1st or July 2nd. Some of these cuts related to, for example, our external materials and services. That is the money that we use to buy equipment and provide training. And so, if we have to reduce our training, which Portland is known as one of the most well-trained and professional organizations in the country, Portland Police is, if we have to reduce our training, that doesn't mean that on, you know, August 1st we're going to see a result to that. That's going to be a gradual decline over time, and the impact of that may manifest itself in a poor decision or a poor outcome a year, 18 months, 2 years from now. So, it's really challenging in public safety, particularly in policing, to identify things that have an immediate impact. It's really an erosion over time, and I think that's what's led us to this place overall as a city. As I said, if you go back and look, in 2001 we had 1,034 police officers. In 1995 we were 2.0 plus per thousand. And we stopped investing in our public safety in the early 2000s as the city began to grow exponentially. And actually, it was a blessing because the city was relatively safe and thriving, and so we didn't recognize the need for a robust police department to grow at the same rate. And now we're in a position where we actually have that need, and we're not positioned to meet that need. So, the the concern is that some of these cuts, although they won't materialize immediately, could have multi-year impacts if we don't find ways to rectify that in the coming months. >> She's got time for one more if uh it's available. >> Can you talk about what kind of training might be cut? >> Well, there's a variety of things that, you know, we can consider. Um, we have spoken before about our advanced academy, which is an academy that we do in addition to the basic academy. Um, we've already made some reductions in that in the past year. Um, but, you know, that's certainly something to consider. That would make us an outlier. Most major cities and certainly even major agencies in Oregon do some kind of additional training. So, I'd be reluctant to, but it's certainly something we could look at. Um, well, we do above and beyond the required training throughout the year for our members. We may dial back on some of that and really focus on what are the minimum state requirements for ongoing training. Um, we have adopted the gold standard of training for our rapid response team. They train once a month, which is certainly, um, necessary. It helps me sleep at night when I know that they're out doing their work based upon the hard work they've put in to learn best practices around dialogue policing and science, crowd science, and so forth. So, um, we're going to have to look across the board. And then, the other limitation of these financial cuts will be in, you know, the ability to travel, the ability to seek outside perspective, um, which is so critical that we don't get into an echo chamber in Portland, Oregon and think we've got it all figured out. So, I am constantly pushing us to think outside the box, to get to other agencies, other conferences, and so forth. And that's going to have to be limited back as well. >> I see. >> Thank you. >> Hey, thank you very much. All right, good luck. >> Thank you. >> Thanks.