Community Conversations on Police Use of Force Policies

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Mayor Frank Bubenik, with the support of the Tualatin City Council, the Tualatin Police Department, and the entire City organization, signed the Reimagining Policing Pledge to address police use of force policies in Tualatin on June 10, 2020, following the killing of George Floyd and others. As described in the pledge, we committed to:

1. REVIEW the use of force policies.
2. ENGAGE the community by including a diverse range of input, experiences, and stories in our review.
3. REPORT the findings of our review to our community and seek feedback.
4. REFORM our community’s police use of force policies.

Over that fall and winter, we tackled step two of the process by reaching out to the community. Engagement was conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions and included four facilitated meetings, including one with the Diversity Task Force, as well as online engagement through email, social media, and a virtual comment box. 

On January 25, 2021, the City Council met to review the final report. The report included six recommendations identified by the community:

• Collaborate with regional partners to improve response to individuals experiencing mental health crises.
• Ensure use of force policies include a focus on using the least amount of force reasonable.
• Ensure use of force policies include a focus on using de-escalation techniques when reasonable. 
• Increase training on recognizing when someone is in distress.
• Increase training on cultural awareness and racial bias.
• Provide regular updates to the City Council and the community - particularly on stop data, use of force data, and officer misconduct. 

The City Council voted unanimously to accept the report and directed staff to prepare a work plan and report back to the City Council on progress implementing these six recommendations. 

Materials from the community engagement process and the final report are available below.