Outside consultants hired to audit Portland Police Bureau deadly-force cases say the city blocked them from reviewing two closed shootings, a move they warn could blunt transparency and slow reforms. The OIR Group’s latest external review is supposed to mine past incidents for lessons so the bureau can adjust training, tactics and supervision before the same problems repeat.
What the report reviewed
The OIR Group’s ninth report, prepared for the city’s Independent Police Review, looked at 10 completed incidents between 2019 and 2022, according to OIR Group. That pool included nine officer-involved shootings and one in-custody death by suicide.
Of those, the consultants found two fatal officer-involved shootings, three people who were struck and later recovered, and four incidents in which officers fired but did not hit anyone. The report also notes that two other officer-involved shootings that would normally have been included were closed and delayed from review because civil litigation was still pending, and it lays out seven recommendations to improve investigations and follow-through, according to OIR Group.
A sea change, consultants say
The reviewers wrote that the city’s new practice of delaying outside review until civil cases conclude is a break with how things were handled before and amounts to “a sea change” that reduces the value of outside scrutiny. They urged the city to start expert reviews as soon as administrative investigations are complete and to create a formal system to track, implement and document recommendations so they do not disappear into a file cabinet.
Police bureau response
The Police Bureau’s written response, attached to the report, says leadership appreciates outside review but warns that publishing draft analyses while litigation is pending can complicate those cases. Chief Robert Day agreed that reviews are valuable but asked that drafts for incidents tied up in court be routed through the City Attorney’s Office so there is a chance to discuss and confirm the factual summaries. The bureau also described steps it says it is taking to better document and follow up on recommended reforms.
Community reaction and civil claims
Oversight advocates counter that withholding external reviews keeps the public in the dark and cuts off chances to learn from mistakes. Local groups and community watchdogs told reporters the change will likely make it harder to turn findings into concrete training or policy fixes.
The Oregonian reported that the Townsend family won a $1 million jury award over a police shooting, a judgment the city later paid after dropping an appeal in April 2025, an outcome that defenders of delaying public drafts say helps explain city attorneys’ caution.
What happens next
The OIR Group and the Independent Police Review are scheduled to present the report at City Council and to the Citizen Review Committee this week and will take public testimony. Advocates and the consultants say the real test will be whether the city adopts the formal tracking and implementation measures the report recommends so identified problems do not simply surface again in a future review, as noted in a local news report.
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