In a news release issued Wednesday after the vote passed, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales said the new contract will help fill vacancies through “new recruitment and retention initiatives.”
The new contract will raise starting salaries for officers; eliminate the 48-hour rule, which blocked immediate investigation of officer-involved shootings; erase 12 union grievances against the city; and make a commitment between the city and police union to comply with the Department of Justice Settlement Agreement.
READ MORE: Portland police chief says addressing staffing shortage a ‘top priority’
“We are determined to fill officer vacancies with quality men and women from Portland’s diverse communities. People who believe in service and quality relationships in the community,” Hales said. “Portland’s labor agreement with our police union will not only address our police staffing crisis, it reinforces a modern police bureau of accountability and transparency, that fully represents our community.”
RELATED: Read the new police union contract
The news release also said the city and the union will work together to create new rules for the use of body cameras. The new contract does not include any language about the use of body cameras.
Don’t Shoot Portland camps outside City Hall
Don’t Shoot Portland pitched tents and camped Tuesday night outside City Hall.
On Monday night, the group issued a news release calling for a Tuesday protest and campout, instructing its members to “be non-violent, non-destructive and respectful to our city and community members.”
A couple hours before protesters were scheduled to start showing up Tuesday to set up camp for the night, the city locked the office doors to City Hall.
“Locking the public out of our own building and then calling it business as usual is outrageous,” McKelvey said.
Last week, a meeting on the contract was moved and City Hall was locked after protests against the contract. Two people were arrested.
Don’t Shoot Portland said it is in the process of filing a lawsuit against the mayor’s office for Hales’ “disgusting abuse of power.”
READ MORE: News release from Don’t Shoot Portland
KGW reporters Dave Northfield and Kyle Iboshi have been covering the protest at City Hall. Follow the latest updates on the Twitter feeds for Northfield and Iboshi.