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Eugene City Council
Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
June 27, 2022
5:30p.m.
Councilors Present: Claire Syrett, Matt Keating, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Randy Groves,
Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Greg Evans
Mayor Vinis opened the June 27, 2022, work session of the Eugene City Council in hybrid
format at 101 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 114, Eugene, OR 97401.
1. WORK SESSION: Police Auditor and Civilian Review Board Annual Reports
Mayor introduced Interim Police Auditor Leia Pitcher, who was joined by the chair of the
Civilian Review board, Carolyn Williams, and Associate Auditors Lindsey Foltz, and Rob
Eller. The group presented the Police Auditor and Civilian Review Board annual reports.
Council Discussion:
■ Mayor Vin is -expressed appreciation for the reports and the amount of work that went
into them.
■ Councilor Keating-asked if the auditor's office receives reports regarding individuals
in acute mental health crisis and, if so, what section that falls into; asked if there is a
large number of misconduct reports for mental health interactions; asked that mental
health interactions be parsed out in future reports; asked in what way complaints come
to them, phone, online or in person; asked for clarification regarding Springfield Police
in the audit process.
■ Councilor Groves -asked if the interim auditor has a sense of how the Eugene Police
Department and the oversight system compares to other departments around the
country; asked what support would be needed for police body cameras to be run all the
time when an officer is on duty; noted his interest in a program like Washington County
that pairs a law enforcement officer with a trained mental health professional; asked if
Eugene has looked into this type of program; stated that bad apples fall through the net
and the oversight committee is important to help address those issues.
■ Councilor Syrett -stated that the staff has done an impressive job over the past year
with limited staffing; noted that the graph that was provided was very helpful;
expressed appreciation for the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion at the auditor's
office; expressed appreciation for the Civilian Review Board and their efforts; noted
appreciation for caution in requesting assistance from outside agencies, as they are not
subject to Eugene's review process.
■ Councilor Zelenka -expressed appreciation for the work that the police auditor and
Civilian Review Board does; noted that in 35 cases, all but one case was unanimously
agreed upon between the Eugene Police Department chain of command, the police
auditor, and the chief; noted that only 19 employees had sustained allegations out of
160 sworn officers; asked the interim auditor to get the total number of encounters by
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Work Session
June 27, 2022 Page 1
Eugene Police Department to compare to the number of complaints filed; asked for
clarification regarding body camera and muting policies.
• Councilor Evans -noted that Eugene has a great police department and oversight
committee; stated that he is bothered that the University of Oregon Police Department
officers operate within Eugene city limits, carry guns and make arrests but are not
subject to the review process that Eugene Police Department is; asked the interim
auditor and staff what knowledge they have regarding the review process, if any, that
the University uses; applauded the interim auditor for starting the process to hire a
diversity, equity and inclusion officer; asked the interim auditor how Eugene can
effectively measure the level of trust and confidence in reporting for civilians to make
reports to the auditor's office.
• Councilor Clark -noted an interest in specific interactions with individuals with acute
mental health complications; asked if these cases would be a low percentage of the
overall number of cases; asked to clarify that the police chief decides if a complaint is
sustained; asked the interim auditor if she disagrees with the police chief more or less
frequently than her predecessor.
• Councilor Yeh -expressed appreciation for the work the interim auditor is doing to
build out the program; encouraged staff to be careful about the information put out by
the auditor's that could appear to defend the police department; expressed appreciation
for the work done by the Civilian Review Board.
• Councilor Semple -noted appreciation for being provided with the minutes from the
Civilian Review Board and the insight they provided.
• Councilor Keating-asked how the charge of the auditor's office has changed over the
years for both the better and worse.
• Councilor Syrett -noted appreciation for comments in support of hiring the interim
auditor into the role permanently; stated that the staff members added to the auditor's
office have been extremely important and helpful; noted that the City Manager does not
have to attend these reports but her input was helpful and should be noted for future
police auditor reviews.
• Councilor Evans -asked how many complaints about other agencies in Eugene's
jurisdiction are received by the auditor's office; requested that the Mayor request a
report from the University of Oregon's police agency regarding oversight.
• Councilor Zelenka -noted that University of Oregon has declined joint oversight
multiple times; reiterated that Eugene has one of the best police oversight systems in
the country and agencies come from all over the country to see the City's process.
Mayor Vinis adjourned the work session to move into executive session.
2. Executive Session Pursuantto ORS 192.660(2)( e ), Real Property Transaction
Due to technical difficulties, a lack of time and information updates available, the executive
session was cancelled and will be rescheduled later when the City Manager has information
to update Council.
Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 1:20 p.m.
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Work Session
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Respectfully submitted,
M~
Katie LaSala
City Recorder
(Recorded by Sara McKinney)
We beast of meeting available here .
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Work Session
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