For those enamored with local citizen's Police Review Boards: The Devil's always in the details
Oregon has had some kind of police review board for over a decade, yet it was still cited and successfully sued by the US Dept. of Justice to force changes and "improvements" over time to curb excessive force against unarmed civilians. Stir up shit with the cops? Expect resistance, non-compliance, lame excuses ... anything and everything BUT mending their corrupt ways. 
Still, police review boards are definitely a step in the right direction. My point is they are definitely NOT a panacea.
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Former state Sen. Avel Gordly criticizes Portland leaders for not educating community panel on police settlement
By Maxine Bernstein * 4/9/15 * The Oregonian
Three months after Portland set up a new community board to help monitor federally mandated police reforms, members on Thursday night heard a city attorney offer training on the settlement the city reached with U.S. Department of Justice officials.
Former state Sen. Avel Gordly, a member of the new Community Oversight Advisory Board, politely interjected and then bluntly criticized the city, saying such training should have occurred at the board's first session.
She called it a "huge oversight'' by the city. The settlement stemmed from a 2012 federal investigation that found Portland police used excessive force against people with mental illness.
"It's just mind-boggling, really, to be at this point to hear you offer Settlement Agreement 101,'' Gordly said.
Deputy City Attorney Ellen Osoinach agreed the training should have come much earlier.
"We weren't very thoughtful about the way we prepared you for this role,'' Osoinach said. ""I'm sorry it's taken this long in the process.''
The board's meeting came a day after the stunning announcement by former Oregon Chief Justice Paul J. DeMuniz that he was withdrawing from chairing the board as the city-hired community liaison and a week after the board hosted a contentious public hearing.
The hearing revealed the public's deep distrust of police and dissent among board members about whether the community board could truly act independently. The city and Justice officials are still working to determine how to fill DeMuniz's position.
Whole Story: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/04/former_state_rep_avel_gordly_c.html#incart_river
