For background, Brady policies relate to Brady v. Maryland. In short, SCOTUS ruled police and prosecutors had to share certain info w/ defendants including exculpatory evidence, like whether any officers who would testify had committed misconduct. /2 https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/373/83/
In 2017 in normal business, Portland's IPR (body that holds police accountable) reviewed PPB's compliance with Brady ruling. To their surprise, PPB, like other agencies nationwide, had no specific Brady policy.

Here's the report: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/ipr/article/637168 /3
When the IPR realized there was no policy, they were pretty concerned, pointing out that not having one may have contributed to an ad hoc process that exposed the city, Bureau, and taxpayers to liability, not to mention jeopardized a defendant's right to a fair trial. /4
Further, IPR says the Bureau did not provide documentation proving they were teaching the officers about the ruling. IPR frequently bemoans the lack of cooperation from PPB, which is partly why there is a movement underway to overhaul police accountability in Portland. /5
Lastly, the IPR review said the officers they spoke to couldn't even recall being trained on a LANDMARK Supreme Court case.

IPR recommended the bureau adopt a Brady policy and train officers on it right away. How did PPB respond? Read on. /6
The police chief at the time, Mike Marshman, agreed! In 2017, he said PPB would draft a policy within 90 days. BUT... It didn't happen, hence I am doing this story now. (PPB just shared a draft last month) /7
PPB made its Professional Standards commander available to answer the question: what took so long? He said turnover in the chief's office and elsewhere allowed it to slip through the cracks.

The IPR director told me the Bureau didn't prioritize it /8
In the era of police accountability, this is one policy that standardizes how an agency investigates officer misconduct and ultimately shares that with a District Attorney, ( @DAMikeSchmidt in this case.) Many wonder: why have they not had this policy all along? /9
We'll have the full story on WHY the Bureau says it took so long, HOW officers followed their constitutional obligation absent a policy, and WHAT this new policy accomplishes on @KATUNews after #MNF and on http://KATU.com  /END
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