Portland Police Bureau’s Rapid Response Team Relaunched Amid Police Gaslighting

In a move that has set the stage for another episode of PPB drama, the Portland Police Bureau has resurrected its controversial Rapid Response Team (RRT) with all the usual finesse of their circus act. In a press conference carefully choreographed to exclude the public, Chief Bob Day boldly defended the decision, claiming the RRT revival was born from extensive community consultation.

Well, sort of.

During PPB’s latest performance on June 13th, Chief Day confidently declared, "We’ve been meeting regularly with a number of groups in this time period in anticipation of maybe not only the ongoing challenges we’re facing, but what we may face in the fall," name-dropping the ACLU, Oregon Justice Resource Commission [SIC], and a bouquet of community advisory groups like it was an awards ceremony. Per the usual pattern and practice, they thought the name drop would be sufficient. Turns out, verifying these meetings was elusive.

We reached out to the ACLU of Oregon who confirmed, despite Chief Day’s claim, that they had not yet met with PPB about the Rapid Response Team. While Day claimed that PPB had met with the Oregon Justice Resource Commission [sic], the bureau’s own press office could not confirm if any bureau members had attended the meeting between OJRC and city attorney staff. Juan Chavez, director of OJRC’s civil rights project, did confirm they had talked with the city attorney’s office but , Chavez noted, it “wasn’t exactly a productive meeting.”

We poked the PPB’s Public Information Office (PIO) for further details, and while they had a response, it confirmed our suspicions. "The Chief and Bureau members met with PCCEP," the PIO’s email reassured us, pointing to a community engagement meeting on June 5th, 2024. Except at that meeting, PPB and Chief Day conveniently forgot to provide any information on the RRT’s structure, training, or who’s on the squad.

But wait, there’s more. While the PIO’s response to our email teased future heart-to-hearts with advisory groups, they couldn’t confirm many of the discussions about the RRT that Chief Day had claimed. As for Chief Day’s claim of consulting the Training Advisory Council, the PIO’s confidence wobbled. “We are not sure if and when it will be on the Training Advisory’s agenda—if they want it, it certainly can be. The Chief met with them on May 8—we don’t know if he discussed RRT or not.” We reached out to the TAC and they have not yet provided any minutes or agenda items confirming.

In response to our questions, the PIO equivocated.

“I think what the Chief was trying to say is we regularly engage with all of our advisory groups on a number of topics and continue to look for new ways to engage the community to transform the dynamic between the police and the people we serve.”

That is a very different claim than the one made by Day on June 13th. His statement spoke clearly about a laundry list of consultations that had taken place After a look, that list seems a lot shakier.

This is a textbook case of gaslighting by the PPB. The cavernous gap between Chief Day’s fairy tales and what actual community organizations are saying underscores the city’s ongoing trust issues with the thin blue line. The PPB’s press conference was a sad attempt at PR that left activists more puzzled than ever. It seems PPB’s definition of "consultation" is about as substantial as their transparency (nonexistent).

The revival of the RRT serves as a reminder of deeper concerns about police accountability and meaningful community engagement in Portland. We stand firm in demanding real dialogue, real transparency, and real change from those who claim to keep Portland weird and safe.