Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Police Chief Mike Reese discuss return to Joint Terrorism Task Force

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Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Police Chief Mike Reese discuss return to Joint Terrorism Task Force

Published: Saturday, November 27, 2010, 6:41 PM     Updated: Saturday, November 27, 2010, 11:09 PM

Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian

View full sizeMichael Lloyd/The OregonianPortland Police Chief Mike Reese (left) and Mayor Sam Adams at a press conference earlier this year.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Police Chief Mike Reese have discussed for months whether Portland should rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group that investigated Friday's failed plot to set off a bomb downtown.

Five years ago, Portland became the first city in the nation to withdraw from the FBI-led task force.

Adams did not know about the plot to detonate a bomb at the tree lighting at Pioneer Courthouse Square until after Mohamed Osman Mohamud's arrest Friday night.

Saturday, Adams said he and Reese have been working to strengthen partnerships among the Portland Police Bureau, the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office, and have invited conversations among the three agencies on whether Portland should return to the task force.

"I want to conduct a deep debrief on all actions and circumstances leading up to (Friday's) arrest," Adams said. "If I believe there is a compelling public safety reason to change Portland's existing relationship with the JTTF, I will not hesitate to propose one to the City Council."

Interim U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton said he approached the mayor months ago to discuss how the federal agencies and Portland police "can work together on cases like this."

More

» Criminal complaint affidavit

» Timeline

» Portland's Somali community condemns alleged plot

» Suspect was his mother's 'golden child'

» Mayor, police chief discuss return to Joint Terrorism Task Force

» More coverage

"I've been talking to the mayor for some time to make sure we're doing the best we can to protect people here in Oregon," Holton said.

Adams, who serves as police commissioner, said he wasn't aware of the case until 9:15 p.m. Friday when he was called to Portland's FBI headquarters for a briefing. The mayor said he would have been notified if the bomb threat had been real.

He said the protocol was the same followed by former Mayor Vera Katz when he served as her chief of staff.

"On these international terrorism investigations, it's top secret, limited to select law enforcement circles," Adams said.

The FBI informed Portland's police chief early on about the federal investigation. It's standard for federal authorities to deal with law enforcement, not civilian city officials who provide oversight. Reese, who was filling a patrol shift Saturday night, declined comment about the task force until he could meet with the mayor, said Sgt. Pete Simpson, his spokesman.

In April 2005, the City Council, led by then-Mayor Tom Potter, voted 4-1 to withdraw its two police officers from the federal task force. Potter cited the potential for trespasses against civil liberties and an inability to oversee Portland officers who would be deputized as federal agents. Commissioner Dan Saltzman cast the lone vote against withdrawal.

Enlarge Ross William Hamilton, The Oregonian Portland, Oregon -- 11/27/10 -- From left, Ahmed Ali, 24, Omar Hashi, 35, and Amin Dawid, 28, talk about their concerns of the negative effect on the local Somali community from the bomb plot by a Somali-born 19-year-old, Mohamed Osman Mohamud. Hashi owns the Hashi Halal Market, which they are standing in front of in North Portland. Motoya Nakamura /The Oregonian Local community reacts to bombing plot gallery (10 photos)

Adams, who voted among the majority five years ago, emphasized that he has much more faith in the White House and the leadership of the U.S. attorney's office now than he did in 2005. He added the current partnership seems to be working well.

In the past decade, the city has gone back and forth on its ties to the federal task force, which focuses primarily on domestic terrorism and includes law enforcement agencies from across the state who work with FBI agents. In October 2001, then-City Commissioner Charlie Hales was the lone council member to oppose the city's role in the multi-agency task force, describing it as another step in the "erosion of community policing." At that time, seven Portland police officers were assigned to it.

Andrea Meyer, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said her agency would oppose any move to put Portland police back on the task force. The ACLU argues the bureau would lose the ability to ensure its city officers are adhering to state law, which is unique in that it prohibits police from collecting and maintaining information on someone's religious beliefs.

"We've never opposed Portland police working cooperatively with FBI on a case-by-case basis," Meyer said, as occurred in the Mohamud arrest

The bombing plot was "very unnerving," the mayor said."It came as a shock to me, as I'm sure it did for most Portlanders,"

Adams said it was a "reminder that we are not an oasis with a wall around us. We work hard to have a free and open local community. But it's a reminder that part of us must always be vigilant to prevent people from abusing those values of openness."
James Mayer of The Oregonian contributed to this story.
-- Maxine Bernstein

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