PORTLAND, Ore. — The president of the Portland Police Bureau’s union said Mayor Ted Wheeler’s decision to disband the Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT) will “send shock waves to the community” and reverse years of hard work.
“The knee-jerk reaction to what’s happening in the protests is not the answer,” said Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association.
Earlier on Tuesday, Wheeler released a list of police reforms, many of which were demands from demonstrators who have been protesting for two weeks since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day. In addition to disbanding the GVRT, Wheeler said transit specialty units will also be disbanded. Additional reforms include a ban on chokeholds except in life-or-death situations, reforming the use of consent searches in traffic stops, the redirection of over $7 million from the Portland Police Bureau and $5 million from other city funds to invest in communities of color.
Turner said he’s open to conversations about how policing should evolve but doesn’t support the change Wheeler laid out on Tuesday.