Portland Police Oversight Board Approval Will Have To Wait: Judge

PORTLAND, OR – A new police oversight board will actually have to meet a few times before a federal judge will give them his approval. That was the word on Thursday from Federal Judge Michael Simon.

Simon told officials from Portland and the US Justice Department to return on June 6 to see how the board is doing.

The city is required to set up a board to oversee the implementation of a 2014 agreement between Portland and the Justice Department. Justice had determined that Portland Police had discriminated against people that they believed had a mental illness. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts.

This new board was created last week after a previous attempt was scrapped because of infighting between members.

After an attorney for the Justice Department told Simon that the committee is already functioning, Simon seemed skeptical, pointing out that they hadn't even had a meeting.

Simon then ordered the parties to return to court next year to see how things are doing.

All parts of the agreement have to be approved by Simon.

Photo via Shutterstock.