Police Citizen Review Subcommittee — Portland, ME
Date: 2025-07-09
Time: 18:00

City of Portland
 Police Citizen Review Subcommittee

 AGENDA
 July 9, 2025
 6:00 PM


1. Zoom information


 This meeting will take place remotely using Zoom pursuant to the Remote Meeting
 Policy adopted by the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee and as authorized under 1
 M.R.S. § 403-B . Allow your computer to install the free Zoom app to get the best
 meeting experience. If you are not able to attend live, a recording will be available
 following the meeting.

 For public comment, you will need to use the "raise your hand" feature. To raise your
 hand via the telephone, please hit *9. You will be unmuted by the host when it is time
 for public comment.

 https://portlandmaine-
 gov.zoom.us/j/81977688856?pwd=RYXb2BQoYVpOzxtaWTxzVOKb5QFFV5.1
 Passcode: 304710

 Phone one-tap:
 +13092053325,,81977688856# US
 +13126266799,,81977688856# US (Chicago)

2. Call to Order


3. Approval of the June 11, 2025 & June 23, 2025 meeting minutes


 a. Attachment
 b. Attachment
4. Update on the new Civil Police Review Board ordinance


 a. Attachment
5. Letter to City Council regarding Civilian Police Review Board ordinance


 a. Attachment
6. Training SOP
 a. Attachment
7. Public comment on agenda items


 Executive session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. Sec. 405(6)(F) to discuss IA2025-008 (presented
8. by Rachel), IA2025-009 (presented by Keith, Kay as back-up), and IA2025-010 (presented
 by Walter, Kay as back-up)


9. Next meeting’s date and agenda topics


 a. Attachment
10. Adjourn

City of Portland
 Police Citizen Review Subcommittee

 AGENDA
 July 9, 2025
 6:00 PM


1. Zoom information


 This meeting will take place remotely using Zoom pursuant to the Remote Meeting
 Policy adopted by the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee and as authorized under 1
 M.R.S. § 403-B . Allow your computer to install the free Zoom app to get the best
 meeting experience. If you are not able to attend live, a recording will be available
 following the meeting.

 For public comment, you will need to use the "raise your hand" feature. To raise your
 hand via the telephone, please hit *9. You will be unmuted by the host when it is time
 for public comment.

 https://portlandmaine-
 gov.zoom.us/j/81977688856?pwd=RYXb2BQoYVpOzxtaWTxzVOKb5QFFV5.1
 Passcode: 304710

 Phone one-tap:
 +13092053325,,81977688856# US
 +13126266799,,81977688856# US (Chicago)

2. Call to Order


3. Approval of the June 11, 2025 & June 23, 2025 meeting minutes


 a. Attachment
 b. Attachment
4. Update on the new Civil Police Review Board ordinance


 a. Attachment
5. Letter to City Council regarding Civilian Police Review Board ordinance


 a. Attachment
6. Training SOP



 Page 1
 a. Attachment
7. Public comment on agenda items


 Executive session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. Sec. 405(6)(F) to discuss IA2025-008 (presented
8. by Rachel), IA2025-009 (presented by Keith, Kay as back-up), and IA2025-010 (presented
 by Walter, Kay as back-up)


9. Next meeting’s date and agenda topics


 a. Attachment
10. Adjourn




 Page 2
 MINUTES
 POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE
 June 23, 2025
 Meeting Held Remotely via Zoom

Members present: Joey Brunelle, Vice-Chair; Rachel Schlein; Keith Bidwell; Xavier Botana;
Randall Kilty; Walter Bihumugani

Members absent: Kaylin Kerina, Chair.

Staff present: Associate Corporation Counsel Rachel Millette and Tracy Boyd.

6:01 Call to order.

 Motion was made by Xavier and seconded by Rachel S. to approve 2024 annual Report.
Passage 6-0.

 Discussion of letter to City Council regarding the new CPRB ordinance

 Joey explained that instead of drafting a letter to the City Council, Rachel S. and he
created a list of topics regarding the ordinance for the subcommittee to discuss. The topics
included: scope, eligibility criteria, complaint process, appeals process, staff/resources and
budget. Rachel S. added the letter could include recommendations or just explain the
subcommittee’s thoughts on a topic whether there is consensus or not on a particular
recommendation. Xavier asked Rachel M. if had an idea of what direction the council was
heading in regards to the ordinance. Rachel M. responded that she’d just received confirmation
that the public workshop would be held on July 28, 2025, held via Zoom, but that she does not
have a sense of what the council will decide on the different elements of the ordinance, or
whether or not it get sent to a council committee. Rachel then gave the subcommittee a summary
of the ordinance’s history.
 After a lengthy discussion the group narrowed down what to include in the letter. Joey
and Rachel S. agreed to draft a letter for the subcommittee’s review. Rachel S. suggested
creating a timeline for drafting and review of the letter: complete draft of letter by 7/2, agenda
published with draft attached on 7/3, subcommittee feedback before the 7/9 PCRS meeting, final
editing after the meeting, then send to the City Council by 7/21.

 No public comment was offered.

8:22 Motion was made by Randall and seconded by Keith to adjourn. Passage 6-0.




 Page 3
 MINUTES
 POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE
 June 11, 2025
 Meeting Held Remotely via Zoom

Members present: Kaylin Kerina, Chair; Joey Brunelle, Vice-Chair; Rachel Schlein; Keith Bidwell
(left meeting at 8:32); Xavier Botana; Randall Kilty; Walter Bihumugani (joined at 6:14).

Members absent: none

Staff present: Associate Corporation Counsel Rachel Millette; Chief Mark Dubois; Major Dan
Hondo; Lieutenant Jacob Titcomb; and Tracy Boyd.

6:05 Call to order.

 Motion was made by Joey and seconded by Randall to approve the May 14, 2025 meeting
minutes. Passage 5-0, with one abstention, Xavier.

2024 Annual Report update.

 Joey gave an overview of the 2024 Annual Report and posed some questions to the
subcommittee. Joey ended the presentation by asking if members could pair off and work on areas
to improve, including: offline collaboration/communication; documentation of the PCRS process
and meeting structure; training/orientation; and complaint form accessibility and availability; and
statistical analysis. Joey will finalize the Annual Report and the vote to approve it will take place
at the next meeting.

Update on the new Civil Police Review Board (CPRB) ordinance.

 Rachel M. explained that she doesn’t have a definitive date, but believes that the next City
Council workshop meeting to discuss the ordinance may be at the end of July. Keith asked why
the delay? Rachel gave a brief account of the history of the ordinance. Kay shared that it began
with Charter Commission. The ordinance was passed in fall of 2022 and became effective in July
of 2023. The first City Council workshop was in July of 2023. The subcommittee has sent to two
letters regarding the new ordinance, one to the Charter Commission and the other to the City
Council.

Discussion of letter to City Council regarding the new CPRB ordinance

 Joey suggested that a two person team draft a letter and Randall suggested discussing the
letter at the extra June Meeting. Joey and Rachel will work on a draft.

No public comment was offered.




 Page 4
7:02 Motion was made to enter into Executive Session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. Sec. 405(6)(F) to
discuss IA2025-002, IA2025-006, IA2025-008 and IA2025-009 by Keith and seconded by Xavier.
Passage 7-0.

8:26 Out of Executive Session.
 Motion was made by Xavier to find that IA2025-002 was thorough; seconded by Joey.
Passage: 7-0, IA2025-002 was found to be timely.
 Motion was made by Xavier to find that IA2025-002 was fair; seconded by Keith. Passage:
6-1, IA2025-002 was found to be fair, Xavier voted no.
 Motion was made by Keith to find that IA2025-002 was timely; seconded Joey. Passage:
7-0, IA2025-002 was found to be timely.
 Motion was made by Xavier to find that IA2025-002 was objective; seconded by Randall.
Failed: 4-3, Randall, Xavier, Joey and Walter voted no, IA2025-002 was not found to be objective.


 Motion was made by Joey to find that IA2025-006 was thorough; seconded by Randall.
Passage: 6-0, with Xavier abstaining, IA2025-006 was found to be timely.
 Motion was made by Keith to find that IA2025-006 was fair; seconded by Joey. Passage:
6-0, with Xavier abstaining, IA2025-006 was found to be fair.
 Motion was made by Joey to find that IA2025-006 was timely; seconded by Keith. Passage:
6-0, with Xavier abstaining, IA2025-006 was found to be timely.
 Motion was made by Joey to find that IA2025-006 was objective; seconded by Rachel S.
Passage: 6-0, with Xavier abstaining, IA2025-006 was found to be objective.

 Joey expressed that he feels that the PCRS should follow up with PD when a case doesn’t
pass any of the four criteria. Rachel S. concurred with Joey. Rachel M. explained that as long
the complainant and the officer are not identified, the subcommittee should be able to provide
feedback to PD either in the meeting or privately after.
 After much discussion, the PCRS decided to add a second meeting in June to discuss the
letter to the City council regarding the new ordinance and approve the annual report. The regularly
scheduled July meeting will include the three remaining cases and Rachel S.’s draft of a
training/orientation outline. Kay would like to discuss the four criteria possibly in September.
Rachel S. is trying to schedule a criminal procedure and IA process training for subcommittee
members to attend.
Topics for next meeting agenda.
 Approval of Annual Report
 Letter to City Council re: new ordinance

9:00 Motion was made by Xavier and seconded by Rachel to adjourn. Passage 6-0.




 Page 5
 MINUTES
 POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE
 June 23, 2025
 Meeting Held Remotely via Zoom

Members present: Joey Brunelle, Vice-Chair; Rachel Schlein; Keith Bidwell; Xavier Botana;
Randall Kilty; Walter Bihumugani

Members absent: Kaylin Kerina, Chair.

Staff present: Associate Corporation Counsel Rachel Millette and Tracy Boyd.

6:01 Call to order.

 Motion was made by Xavier and seconded by Rachel S. to approve 2024 annual Report.
Passage 6-0.

 Discussion of letter to City Council regarding the new CPRB ordinance

 Joey explained that instead of drafting a letter to the City Council, Rachel S. and he
created a list of topics regarding the ordinance for the subcommittee to discuss. The topics
included: scope, eligibility criteria, complaint process, appeals process, staff/resources and
budget. Rachel S. added the letter could include recommendations or just explain the
subcommittee’s thoughts on a topic whether there is consensus or not on a particular
recommendation. Xavier asked Rachel M. if had an idea of what direction the council was
heading in regards to the ordinance. Rachel M. responded that she’d just received confirmation
that the public workshop would be held on July 28, 2025, held via Zoom, but that she does not
have a sense of what the council will decide on the different elements of the ordinance, or
whether or not it get sent to a council committee. Rachel then gave the subcommittee a summary
of the ordinance’s history.
 After a lengthy discussion the group narrowed down what to include in the letter. Joey
and Rachel S. agreed to draft a letter for the subcommittee’s review. Rachel S. suggested
creating a timeline for drafting and review of the letter: complete draft of letter by 7/2, agenda
published with draft attached on 7/3, subcommittee feedback before the 7/9 PCRS meeting, final
editing after the meeting, then send to the City Council by 7/21.

 No public comment was offered.

8:22 Motion was made by Randall and seconded by Keith to adjourn. Passage 6-0.




 Page 6
City of Portland, Maine Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec.2-22 rev. 1-6-10

 Chapter 2 ADMINISTRATION*

----------
 *Charter reference(s)--Powers and duties, art. I, § 2.

 Cross reference(s)--Ordinances promising or guaranteeing the payment of money
for the city, or authorizing the issuance of any bonds in the city or any evidence of
the city's indebtedness, or any contract or obligation assumed by the city saved from
repeal, §1-4(1); ordinances making any appropriations saved from repeal, § 1-4(4);
ordinances prescribing the number, classification or compensation of any city officers
or employees saved from repeal, § 1-4(10); ordinances providing for retirement
benefits saved from repeal, § 1-4(11); uniform procedure for collecting assessments, §
1-16; elections, Ch. 9; general assistance, Ch. 13; planning board, § 14-16 et seq.;
administration and enforcement of zoning, § 14-461 et seq.; jurisdiction of board of
appeals for zoning, § 14-471 et seq.; board of appeals, § 14-541 et seq.; historic
preservation, § 14-600 et seq.; licenses and permits, Ch. 15; police, Ch. 20; special
police, § 20-16 et seq.; administration and enforcement of traffic regulations, §
28-11 et seq.; traffic division, § 28 et seq.; traffic engineer, § 28-21 et seq.;
parking division, § 28-41 et seq.
----------

Art. I. In General, §§ 2-1 —- 2-15
Art. II. Officers, §§ 2-16--2-30
 Div. 1. Generally, §§2-16—2-20
 Div. 2. Prohibition on Immigration Status Checks §§2-21—2-30
Art. III. Boards, Commissions, Committees, etc., §§ 2-31--2-40
Art. III-A. Portland Land Bank Commission; Fund, §§ 2-41—2-45
Art. IV. Civil Service, §§ 2-46--2-90
 Div. 1. Generally, §§ 2-46
 Div. 2. Civil Service Employment Commission, §§ 2-47--2-57
 Div. 3. Employment SubcommitteeFire and Police Department
Employment, §§ 2-58—2-75
 Div. 4. Police Citizen Review Subcommittee, §§ 2-76—2-90
Art. IV-A. Civilian Police Review Board, §§ 2-76—2-90
Art. V. Employee Benefits, §§ 2-91--2-200
 Div. 1. Generally, §§ 2-91--2-100
 Div. 2. Retirement, §§ 2-101--2-200
Art. VI. Funds Due to City, §§ 2-201--2-300
 Div. 1. Generally, §§ 2-201--2-220
 Div. 2. Provisional Payments, §§ 2-221--2-229
 Div. 3. Interest, §§ 2-230--2-300
Art. VII. Procurement and Contracting Procedures, §§ 2-301--2-400
 Div. 1. Generally, § 2-301
 Div. 2. Competitive Process for Contracts, §§ 2-302-2-312
 Div. 3. Sale or Disposal of Real or Personal Property §§ 2-
 313-2-400
Art. VIII. Civil Emergency Preparedness, §§ 2-401--2-415
Art. X. Exemption from Vehicle Excise Tax for Certain Military
Personnel, §§ 2-436--2-437

* * *




 Page 7
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-3 Rev. 1-6-10

 ARTICLE III. BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES, ETC.*


----------
 *Cross reference(s)--Civil service commission, § 2-66 et seq.; planning board, §
14-16 et seq.; jurisdiction of board of appeals for zoning, § 14-471 et seq.; board of
appeals, § 14-541 et seq.; historic preservation committee, § 14-603 et seq.; friends
of the parks, § 18-10.
----------

Sec. 2-31. Oath of office.

 (a) All persons appointed by the City Council to membership on
any board or commission of the City shall, prior to taking office as
such member, be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties by the
City Clerk, Justice of the Peace, or Notary Public.

 (b) The form of such oath shall be as follows:

 I, ________, do solemnly swear that I will support the
 Constitution of the United States and of this State, so long as I
 shall continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully
 discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties incumbent upon
 me as a member of ________, according to said Constitutions and
 the laws of this State and ordinances of this City.

 ____________
 State of Maine
County of Cumberland, ss. ____

 I, ________, certify that ________ personally appeared before
 me on this day and took the above oath.

 _____________
 City Clerk
 Justice of the Peace
 Notary Public
(Code 1968, §§ 204.1, 204.2; Ord. No. 478-73, 7-16-73)

Sec. 2-32. Limitation on term of service--Generally.

 (a) No person shall be appointed to, nor serve, more than three
(3) consecutive full terms or nine (9) consecutive-years, whichever is
greater, on the same board or commission of the city.

 (b) Except as otherwise specified in the Charter, Tthe foregoing
limitation shall apply only to service as a regular voting member of
the board or commission, and not to service as an alternate nor as a
nonvoting member.

 (c) To the extent that this Code provides for a different
limitation on the term of service for a specific board or commission,
the limitation provided in this article shall apply.

 Page 8
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-5 Rev. 1-6-10

(Ord. No. 301-91, 4-1-91; Ord. No. 118-08/09, 12-1-08)

Sec. 2-33. Applicability.

 (a) The above limitation on terms shall apply to the following
boards and commissions:

 (1) Board of appeals;

 (2) Board of assessment review;

 (3) Reserved;

 (4) Cable television committee (CATV);

 (5) Civil service commission employment subcommitteecommission;

 (6) Civil service commission police citizen review
 subcommitteeCivilian police review board;

 (7) Community development block grant allocation committee;

 (8) Friends of the parkParks commission;

 (9) Historic preservation committee;

 (10) Land bank commission;

 (11) Planning board; and

 (12) Portland public art committee;

 (b) Except as otherwise specified in the Charter, Tthe above
limitation on terms shall not be applied retroactively and shall apply
to any person serving on one (1) of the above-named boards or
commissions on the effective date of this section (5/1/91) beginning
with the expiration of the term in which they are so serving.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the limitation on terms shall be applied
to members serving on the boards and commissions identified in section
2-33, subsection (a), paragraphs 5,6,7 and 12, beginning with the
expiration of the term of any sitting board or commission member
following the passage of this amendment.

---------
 *Editor’s Note—In reference to Section 2-33(b) above, “passage of this
amendment” refers to Council Order 118-08/09, passed on December 1, 2008.
---------

 (c) Nothing herein shall prevent consecutive appointment of any
person to a different board or commission from that on which he or she
has served the maximum consecutive time.

 (d) In the case of the board of harbor commissioners, such

 Page 9
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-6 Rev. 6-4-2018

limitation shall apply only to the two (2) members appointed by the
City Council.

 (e) Any member on the above-named boards or commissions who
completes the maximum years of service prior to the expiration of his
or hertheir term shall be allowed to complete that term of service and
to continue to serve after expiration of that term until a successor is
appointed and qualified, provided such service shall not continue in
excess of one hundred twenty (120) days after expiration of the term.

 (f) If an individual who served as a member of the police citizen
review subcommittee is appointed to serve on the civilian police review
board, the years that the individual served on the police citizen
review subcommittee and the years served on the civilian police review
board will count toward the nine-year limitation in section 2-32(a).
(Ord. No. 301-91, 4-1-91; Substitute Ord. No. 233-99, §2, 4-5-99; Ord. No. 118-08/09,
12-1-08; Ord. No. 219-17/18, 6-4-2018)

Sec. 2-34. Period of ineligibility.

 Any person who completes the maximum terms or years of service on
a board or commission shall be ineligible for reappointment to that
board or commission for a period of three (3) consecutive calendar
years from the date of completion of such maximum terms or years of
service.
(Ord. No. 301-91, 4-1-91; Ord. No. 118-08/09, 12-1-08)

Sec. 2-35. Reserved.
Sec. 2-36. Reserved.
Sec. 2-37. Reserved.
Sec. 2-38. Reserved.
Sec. 2-39. Reserved.
Sec. 2-40. Tenure of Directors of the Board of the Greater Portland
Transit District.

 Each Director of the board of the Greater Portland Transit
District representing the City of Portland on the effective date of
this amendment, or thereafter, shall be appointed annually for a term
of one (1) year and until his or hertheir successor is appointed. Each
Director so appointed shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council.
(Ord. No. 659-86, § 1, 6-16-86)

* * *


 ARTICLE IV. CIVIL SERVICE*

----------
 *Charter reference(s)--Mandate for civil service, Art. VI, § 3.
 *Cross reference(s)--Commissions generally, § 2-31 et seq.

 *Cross reference(s)--32 M.R.S.A. § 7166 (Limitation on use of polygraph in
employment)


 Page 10
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-14 Rev. 1-6-10


 *Editor's Note--The Civil Service Ordinance was substantially reorganized
and revised by Council Order No. 89-02/03, 11-4-02.
----------

 DIVISION 1. GENERALLY

Sec. 2-46. Definitions.

 The following words and phrases, when used in this article, shall
having the meanings respectively ascribed to them unless the context
otherwise indicates:

 Cause. In the case of a member, "cause" shall mean just cause and
shall include any act or omission which constitutes legal cause and
includes, but is not limited to: violation of any departmental rule or
rules; incompetent or inefficient performance of duty; or inattention
to or dereliction of duties; insubordination; discourteous treatment of
the public or a fellow employee; violation of any provision of this
article or the rules adopted thereunder, whether such violation may
result in a forfeiture of office hereunder, or not; job suitability or
physical unfitness to perform the normal duties of the position which
the member holds; the use of intoxicating liquors, narcotics, or any
other drug, liquid, or preparation on duty, or to such an extent that
such use interferes with the efficiency or job suitability or physical
fitness of the member, or prevents the member from properly performing
the normal functions and duties of his or hertheir position;
misconduct; the commission of any disqualifying criminal offense;
failure to report to the appropriate superior; errors, incompetence,
misconduct, inefficiency, neglect of duty, or any other form of
misconduct or negligence of which the member has knowledge; and any
other acts or omissions which would tend to directly discredit or
injure the public service or would jeopardize the effective functioning
of the department. In the case of a civil service employment
commissioner or alternate, "cause" shall include any act or omission
which constitutes legal cause, and includes but is not limited to:
incompetent or inefficient performance of duty; unexcused absences from
commission meetings; violation of any provision of this article or the
rules adopted thereunder, whether such violation may result in a
forfeiture of office hereunder, or not; the commission or conviction
for any disqualifying criminal offense, or any action by the Civil
Service Commissioner or alternate intended to affect or influence, or
which could reasonably be expected to affect or influence any decision
of the City Manager, the Chief of either department, or the City
Council with respect to the department, or of any member of the
department with respect to the performance of his or hertheir duty.

 Charge means a written statement to the member describing the act
or omission constituting cause for action taken or proposed to be
taken.
 2-5
 Page 11
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-15 Rev. 2-5-2018


 Civil service commission means collectively the two independent
subcommittees constituting the commission, i.e. the employment
subcommittee and the police citizen review subcommittee.

 Demotion means any reduction in rank within the department but
shall not include any economic layoff.

 Director of human resources shall mean the person designated by
the City Manager to act as Director of Personnel for the City and his
or hertheir designees (also referred to herein as the "Director").

 Member means any firefighter, fire officer, police officer, or
superior officer appointed hereunder to any rank within the fire or
police departments, except the chiefs thereof.

 Promotion means any advancement in rank within the department,
other than the rank of chief.

 Rank means the position classification of any member to which he
or she has been appointed hereunder within the fire department or
police department but shall not include any contractual or other pay
differentials between functions or grades within each rank.

 Relative means grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son,
daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first
cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, domestic partner, father-in-law,
mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law,
sister-in-law, step-father, step-mother, step-son, step-daughter,
step-brother, step-sister, half-brother, or half-sister, whether by
half-blood or full blood, and whether by consanguinity or affinity.

(Code 1968, § 201.1; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 433-82, § 1, 3-15-82; Ord.
No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No. 288-90, 4-2-90; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No.
184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 4, 11-5-01; Ord. No. 143-17/18,
2-5-2018)

 DIVISION 2. CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION*

Sec. 2-47. Created.

 There is hereby created a civil service employment commission,
also referred to in this article as the commission. The commission
shall consist of two separate and independent subcommittees as follows:
 the civil service employment subcommittee and the civil service police
citizen review subcommittee. Commissioners shall be appointed to, and
serve on, one of the two subcommittees only.
(Code 1968, § 201.3; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
288-90, 4-2-90; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute
Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-01)


Sec. 2-48. Composition.
 2-6
 Page 12
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-47 Rev. 1-6-10


 (a) The Civil Service Employment Subcommittee of the Civil
Service Commission shall consist of three (3) commissioners and one
(1) alternate who shall serve in the absence of any commissioner.

 (b) The police citizen review subcommittee shall consist of seven
(7) commissioners who shall serve in the absence of any commissioner.
(Code 1968, § 201.3; Ord. No. 89-80 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-
5-01; Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-49. Qualifications.

 (a) Qualifications of commissioners. Every civil service
employment commissioner and alternate shall be a resident of the City
of Portland. In addition, the following persons shall not be eligible
for appointment to, or service on the Commission:

 (1) Any present or former employee of the city or school
 department, who was employed by the city or school department
 within the previous one ten (10) year periods;

 (2) Any present or former member of the City Council or School
 Board, who has held that position in the previous one ten
 (10) years period; or

 (3) Any civil service employment commissioner who has completed
 three (3) consecutive full terms of three (3) years as
 provided in Chapter 2, Article III;

 (4) Any individual presently serving as a member of the civilian
 police review board; or.

 (5b) Any relative of a present member of the police or fire
 departments. Additional subcommittee eligibility
 requirements:

 (1) Employment subcommittee. The following persons shall not be
 eligible to serve on the employment subcommittee:

 any relative of a present member of the police or fire
 departments.

 (2) Police Citizen Review Subcommittee. In order to ensure an
 objective and unbiased audit of the police department’s
 internal affairs investigation process, any applicant for
 service on the citizen review subcommittee shall be
 disqualified from serving on said subcommittee if:

 a. any member of the applicant’s immediate family is or has
 been a Portland police officer in the previous ten (10)
 years;
 2-7
 Page 13
City of Portland Administration
Code of Ordinances Chapter 2
Sec. 2-18 Rev. 2-5-2018


 b. the applicant or any member of his or her immediate
 family has been arrested by any member of the Portland
 police department within the previous ten (10) years, or
 has had the final disposition of any criminal
 proceedings resulting from such an arrest within the
 previous ten (10) years, whichever is longer;

 c. his or her immediate family has filed a complaint with
 the internal affairs unit of the Portland police
 department within the previous ten (10) years;

 d. the applicant or any member of his or her immediate
 family has brought suit against the City of Portland,
 the Chief of Police, the police department or any
 individual police officer for a cause of action arising
 out of an officer’s performance of his or her duties;
 within the last ten (10) years, or has had such a suit
 finally disposed of within the previous ten years,
 whichever is longer; and

 e. “Immediate family” as used herein shall mean and include
 spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren,
 parents, grandparents, and siblings.

 (bc) Failure to disclose any grounds for disqualification or
falsification of any information in the application process shall
disqualify the person from service on the commission and shall
constitute “cause” within the meaning of section 2-46.

 (cd) Any civil service employment commissioner or alternate who
becomes ineligible to serve during his or hertheir term shall resign,
and failure to do so shall be "cause" within the meaning of section
2-46. A commissioner or alternate on the employment subcommittee who
is a relative of any candidate for appointment under this article shall
inform the secretary in writing of such relationship and shall not
attend any meeting of the subcommittee commission dealing with such
candidacy, nor participate in nor attempt to influence any action by
the commission with respect to the position for which such relative has
applied.

 (de) Reasonable efforts shall be made to ensure that the
appointments to the civil service employment commission are diverse and
representative of the community.
(Code 1968, § 201.4; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299.86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
370-91, § 1, 6-5-91; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97;
Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-01; Ord. No. 118-08/09, 12-1-08; Ord. No.
143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-50. Appointment.

 Civil service employment commissioners and the alternates shall be
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appointed by the City Council. Such power of appointment shall be
exercised only after the City Clerk has published a notice announcing
such position or positions, describing the responsibilities thereof,
and soliciting applications by qualified persons in a newspaper of
general circulation within the city not less than fifteen (15) calendar
days in advance of action by such council. Applications may be
solicited whether or not there is a vacancy, and such applicants may be
considered for any vacancy which occurs within one hundred eighty (180)
days of the closing date for such applications. Such applicants may
also be considered for appointment as a commissioner pro tem pursuant
to section 2-55 below. Nothing herein shall limit the city's authority
to solicit applications whenever the City Manager deems that it is
necessary.
(Code 1968, § 201.4; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
138-92, § 3, 10-19-92; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97)

Sec. 2-51. Terms.

 (a) Term. Each civil service employment commissioner or alternate
shall be appointed to a three-year term, unless appointed to fill a
vacancy. Police citizen review subcommittee commissioners first
appointed hereunder shall be appointed for one-, two- and three-year
terms so that only two (2) are initially selected each year other than
by reason of resignation, removal or death. A commissioner or
alternate shall serve until his or hertheir successor is appointed and
qualified, but in no case longer than one hundred twenty (120) days
from the expiration of his or hertheir term.

 (b) Limitation on service. The term limitations of Chapter 2,
Article IIIii shall apply to service on each of the subcommittees of
the civil service employment commission.

 (c) Applicability. The limitation on terms provided by this
amendment shall apply to any person serving on the civil service
employment commission as of the effective date of this amendment
(7/5/1991) and to any person appointed after said effective date.
(Code 1968, § 201.3; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 275-83, 11-7-83; Ord. No.
299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No. 370-91, § 2, 6-5-91; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No.
184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-01; Ord. No. 118-08/09, 12-1-
08)

Sec. 2-52. Compensation.

 Civil service commissioners shall serve without compensation,
except that reasonable expenses incurred by any commissioner or
alternate incidental to his or her duties under this article may be
reimbursed.
(Code 1968, § 201.4; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97)

Sec. 2-53. Removal.

 Any civil service commissioner or alternate may be removed from
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office by the City Council for cause, after notice and the opportunity
to be heard.
(Code 1968, § 201.4; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-
01)

Sec. 2-54. Officers.

 Each subcommittee of Tthe civil service employment commission
shall annually elect one (1) of its members as the chair. Each The
commissionsubcommittee may, at its option, also elect one (1) of its
members as the vice chair, to serve in the absence of the chair. The
Director of Human Resources or his or hertheir designee shall serve as
secretary to the employment subcommitteecommission and shall furnish
any necessary administrative assistance. The corporation counsel or
his or her designee shall serve as secretary to the police citizen
review subcommittee and shall furnish any necessary administrative
assistance to that subcommittee.
(Code 1968, § 201.3; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
288-90, 4-2-90; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute
Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-01; Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-55. Commissioners pro tem.

 In the case of temporary absence from the city, temporary
disability of the civil service employment commission members and
alternate, or other circumstances, so that a quorum of a
subcommitteethe commission cannot be constituted without such action,
the City Council may appoint such commissioners pro tem as may be
necessary to constitute a quorum. Commissioners pro tem shall be
subject to the eligibility requirements of this division. A
commissioner pro tem shall possess the powers and discharge the duties
of a regular commissioner during the absence or disability for which he
or she has been appointed; provided, however, that a commissioner pro
tem shall have no authority with respect to rule-making by the
commission and shall not participate in any action or decision where a
quorum is otherwise present.
(Code 1968, § 201.4; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97)

Sec. 2-56. Meetings.

 (a) Calling of meetings. Meetings or hearings of either
subcommittee of the Civil Service Employment Commission may be called
at any time by its Chair, or in the absence from the city or disability
of the Chair, by any member of the Subcommitteecommission. The Chair
of a Subcommittee shall call a meeting upon request from any
Subcommittee cCommissioner.

 (b) Quorum. A quorum of the Employment Subcommittee
 of the Civil Service Commission shall be two (2). The Subcommittee
Alternate may attend any hearing or meeting, but shall participate as a
Commissioner only during the absence or disability of any Commissioner
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or whenever a vacancy on the Subcommittee Commission exists.

 A quorum of the Police Citizen Review Subcommittee shall be four
(4). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the quorum shall be reduced to
three (3) during any period when there is a vacancy on the
Subcommittee, including a vacancy in the position of alternate.
(Code 1968, § 201.5; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-
01; Ord. No. 247-03/04, 6-21-04)

Sec. 2-57. Prohibited practices.

 (a) Forfeiture of office. A determination by a court of competent
jurisdiction of a practice, or facts necessarily constituting a
practice prohibited by this section by any civil service employment
commissioner, alternate, member of a department, or any other person
shall result in the forfeiture of any office held by such person and
shall be a permanent disqualification for any office existing under or
governed by this article.

 (b) Nondiscrimination. No discrimination shall be exercised,
promised, or threatened by any person, in connection with any action
taken or to be taken under this article, in favor or against any
applicant or member of a department because of his or hertheir
religious beliefs, ancestry, national origin or veteran's status; race,
sex, sexual orientation, or color; because of age or physical or mental
disability, except where such requirements constitute a bona fide
occupational qualification or failure to meet the requirements poses a
safety hazard or cannot be reasonably accommodated; because the
applicant or member of the department, or member of his or hertheir
family, has or has declined to contribute to any political fund or to
render political service; or because of any lawful union activity or
membership. No person shall seek or attempt to use, nor shall the civil
service employment commission give consideration to, any political
endorsement, or any other factor prohibited by the preceding sentence.
To the extent consistent with law and with this article, it is the
policy of the city to encourage diversity in its work force and to use
affirmative action in its recruitment of applicants for positions
hereunder.

 (c) Falsification. No person shall make any false statement,
certificate, mark, rating or report with respect to any test,
certification or appointment made under any provisions of this article,
or in any manner commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the
impartial execution of this article and the rules and the regulations
adopted hereunder, or to cheat, or attempt to cheat, or abet cheating
on any examination.

 (d) Bribery. No person shall directly or indirectly give, render,
pay, offer, solicit, or accept any money, service, or other valuable
consideration for or on account of any appointment, proposed
appointment, promotion, or proposed promotion to, or any advantage in a
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position, or in an examination for a position, in the departments.
(Code 1968, § 201.7; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
288-90, 4-2-90; Ord. No. 239-91, § 1, 2-20-91; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No.
184-97, 1-22-97)

 Cross reference(s)--Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1-2.

 DIVISION 3. EMPLOYMENT SUBCOMMITTEEFIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENT
 EMPLOYMENT

Sec. 2-58. Applicability; duties.

 (a) In general. This division shall govern the appointment,
reinstatement, promotion, demotion, layoff, suspension, resignation, or
removal of members of the fire and police departments of the city,
other than the chiefs thereof, except to the extent that the Maine
Public Employees Labor Relations Law and any collective bargaining
agreement made in accordance therewith provides to the contrary.

 (b) Duties. In addition to carrying out the duties described
elsewhere in this article, it shall be the duty of the employment
subcommitteecommission:

 (1) To establish a system of personnel administration for members
 of the departments based on competition, merit principles,
 and scientific methods, and to prevent unlawful
 discrimination based upon race or color, religion, age, sex
 (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or
 expression, ancestry or national origin, physical or mental
 disability, veteran status, genetic information, previous
 assertion of a claim or right under Maine’s Workers’
 Compensation Act, previous actions taken protected under
 Maine’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, or any other
 protected group status as defined by applicable law, or
 political affiliation;

 (2) To oversee the process of creating lists of names of persons
 eligible for specific appointments; and

 (3) To make suitable rules, from time to time, which rules shall
 not be inconsistent with this article, applicable statutes,
 or regulations. Proposed rules shall be submitted to the City
 Manager and shall become effective when approved by the City
 Manager. All such rules shall be recorded in the office of
 the City Clerk.
(Code 1968, § 201.2; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, § 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Ord. No. 174-05/06, 3-6-06; Ord. No.
143-17/18, 2-5-2018)
Sec. 2-59. Reserved.
Sec. 2-59.1. Minimum qualifications for original appointment to the
fire department.


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 (a) Standards required. Each candidate for original appointment
to the fire department must meet the minimum requirements set forth in
this subsection. The deadline by which these requirements must be met,
the method of proving such requirements have been satisfactorily met,
and any additional requirements shall be established by rule of the
employment subcommitteecommission:

 (1) Age. Have reached the age of twenty-one (21), or have
 reached the age of twenty (20) with two years of post-high
 school education.

 (2) Good character. Be of good character; which includes a
 personal history of honesty, fairness, and respect for the
 rights of others and for state and federal law. No person
 shall be appointed who has a history which includes a
 disqualifying criminal offense or conviction.

 (3) Education and experience. Have a high school diploma or
 general equivalency diploma (GED);

 (4) Licensing. Possess a valid State of Maine Emergency Medical
 Technician license of EMT-B or higher;

 (5) Motor vehicle driver's license. Possess a valid motor vehicle
 driver's license for the three (3) years immediately
 preceding the date of application. If such license is from a
 state other than the State of Maine, the candidate must be
 qualified to receive a State of Maine driver's license; and

 (6) Citizenship or immigration status. Be a citizen of the United
 States or eligible to work in the United States.

 (b) Automatic disqualifiers. An applicant for original
appointment will be automatically disqualified from the hiring process
for any of the following characteristics, and as further established by
rule of the employment subcommitteecommission:

 (1) Disqualified Individuals. Disqualification from
 participating in federal funded health care programs under
 the Social Security Act.

 (2) Criminal Convictions/Conduct. Disqualifying criminal
 conviction;

 (3) Protection Orders. An active Protection from Abuse or
 Protection from Harassment Order (temporary or permanent)
 served on the applicant;

 (4) Military Service. Dishonorable discharge from the military or
 a bad conduct discharge from the military;


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 (5) Tattoos or Body Art. Tattoos, branding, body art or body
 markings that (a) indicate a criminal gang affiliation, (b)
 depict sexually explicit art or nudity, (c) are associated
 with hate groups or supremacist groups such as swastikas,
 pentagrams, or (d) otherwise violate the rules promulgated by
 the Fire Chief.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-59.2. Hiring process for original appointment to the fire
department.

 (a) Fire department hiring process. All applicants for original
appointment to the fire department shall satisfactorily complete the
minimum requirements in this section. The employment
subcommitteecommission may, by rule, establish processes and procedures
to implement these requirements, may set minimum passing scores, and
may impose additional requirements for original appointment.

 (1) Job-related aptitude capacity test. All applicants for
 original appointment must pass a job-related aptitude
 capacity test.

 (2) Physical fitness test. All applicants for original
 appointment must pass a physical fitness test.

 (3) Oral interview. All applicants for original appointment must
 satisfactorily complete an oral interview. The oral
 interview panel shall consist of one member of the employment
 subcommitteecommission and designees of the fire chief. No
 member of the panel may be a candidate for the position nor a
 relative of a candidate.

 (b) Conditional offer of employment. Upon successful completion
of the job-related aptitude capacity test, the physical fitness
assessment and the oral interview, the fire chief may evaluate the
candidates and make a conditional offer of employment to qualified
applicants, at his or hertheir discretion. The conditional employee
must successfully complete the following requirements. Failure to do
so will result in revocation of the conditional offer of employment.

 (1) Background check. All applicants for original appointment
 must satisfactorily complete a background check, including
 criminal history, driving record, and credit check.

 (2) Medical examination. The applicant must satisfactorily
 complete a medical exam to determine whether the applicant is
 physically capable of performing the essential functions of
 the job.

 (3) Job suitability assessment. The applicant must
 satisfactorily complete a job suitability assessment.

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 (c) Rehire of former fire department member. In the sole
discretion of the fire chief, a fire department member who voluntarily
terminated his or hertheir employment on satisfactory terms may be
rehired to a vacant, entry-level position within one year of
termination without completing the full process required by subsection
(a) above. However, the member must satisfactorily complete a new
medical examination and job suitability assessment, and must complete a
new probationary period.

 (d) Transfer between public safety departments. Upon the written
request of the employee to the chief of his or hertheir department, an
employee in good standing within either department may be transferred
from one department to the other to an entry level position, subject to
the conditions and limitations established by rule of the employment
subcommitteecommission and with the approval of both chiefs and the
City Manager. Police officers requesting a transfer to the Fire
Department must successfully complete the Candidate Physical Abilities
Test (CPAT) and provide proof of a valid State of Maine Emergency
Medical Technician license. The Chief of Police may waive the police
entrance exam for firefighters. All other hiring requirements must be
successfully completed.

 (e) Waiver. During periods of difficulty in recruitment, the
employment subcommitteecommission may vary the requirements of this
section by rule, which rule shall not be effective for more than one
hiring cycle.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-59.3. Disqualification and temporary withdrawal from fire
application process.

In accordance with rules promulgated by the employment
subcommitteecommission, an applicant may be disqualified, or
temporarily withdraw, from the application process as follows:

 (a) Disqualification. After notice and an opportunity to be
heard, the employment subcommitteecommission or the fire chief may
disqualify an applicant for original appointment.

 (b) Temporary withdrawal of applicants for original
appointments. An applicant for original appointment may, for
sufficient cause, temporarily withdraw from consideration for a
limited period of time with the prior approval of the fire chief.
During the period of temporary disqualification the applicant’s
eligibility for appointment shall automatically expire 12 months
after the date the applicant passed the aptitude capacity test.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-59.4. Fire department promotional process.

 (a) Minimum qualifications. All candidates for promotion within
the fire department shall satisfactorily complete the minimum
requirements in this section. The employment subcommitteecommission
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may, by rule, establish processes and procedures to implement these
requirements, may set minimum passing scores, and may impose additional
requirements for promotion.

 (1) Time in service. Promotional candidates must have the
 following amount of time in service to be eligible for a
 promotion:

 a. Six years of continuous service in the fire department
 for promotion from firefighter to lieutenant.

 b. One year of continuous service as a lieutenant for
 promotion from lieutenant to captain.

 (2) Training. Promotional candidates must possess the minimum
 amount of training, certification, and/or education for the
 rank to which he or she is seeking promotion.

 (3) Departmental officer candidate program. Promotional
 candidates must participate in and complete a fire department
 officer candidate program, which may include job-shadowing,
 mentorship, and similar requirements.

 (4) Assessment center exam. Promotional candidates must complete
 and pass an assessment center exam each year.

 (5) Oral interview. All promotional candidates must
 satisfactorily complete an oral interview. The oral
 interview panel shall consist of one member of the employment
 subcommitteecommission and designees of the fire chief. No
 member of the panel may be a candidate for the position nor a
 relative of a candidate. The president of the union, or
 histheir designee, shall have the right to observe, but not
 participate in, the interview.

 (6) Job suitability assessment. Candidates must undergo a job
 suitability assessment. Assessments within three (3) years
 from the date of examination may be used, or the fire chief
 may require an updated job suitability assessment at any
 time. Assessments may be taken into consideration in the
 promotional process.

 (b) Eligible promotion list. Promotional candidates shall be
placed on a ranked certified promotional list. A separate list shall
be made for each promotional rank.

 (1) The list shall be ranked based on a methodology established
 by the employment subcommitteecommission.

 (2) The employment subcommitteecommission shall also establish
 rules governing the validity of the list, including the
 minimum number of names required on the list, the duration
 and expiration of the list, and other requirements.
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 (c) Promoting from ranked certified promotional list. Promotions
in the fire department shall be made from the ranked certified
promotional list in their order of ranking, unless the candidate
refuses the promotion, is disqualified for cause by the chief, or lacks
the particular skill set required by the promotional vacancy. If the
chief disqualifies a candidate for cause, he or she shall state the
reasons for disqualification in writing.

 (d) Command staff. The employment subcommitteecommission may
provide by rule for special procedures or different competitive
examination for appointment to fire department command staff because
such rank requires particular and exceptional qualifications of a
scientific, managerial, professional, technical, or educational
character and said rule may waive any requirement of this article in
such cases.
 (e) Waiver. When the number of employees eligible for promotion
to a particular vacancy is insufficient to permit meaningful
competition, the employment subcommitteecommission may vary the
requirements of this section by rule, which rule shall not be effective
for more than one promotional cycle.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-59.5. Disqualification during fire promotional process.

After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the employment
subcommitteecommission or the fire chief may disqualify a candidate
from participating in the promotional process, or may remove a
candidate for promotion from the ranked certified promotional list.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-59.6. Fire department appeals and rights.

 (a) Appeals from decisions of the fire chief. Except as otherwise
provided, an applicant, candidate for original appointment, or
candidate for promotion shall have the opportunity to appeal any
decision made by the fire chief under this division to the employment
subcommitteecommission, pursuant to rules established by the
subcommitteecommission. The subcommittee commission may, after
hearing, uphold or overturn the fire chief’s decision. The subcommittee
commission shall provide the fire chief and the appellant with written
notice of its decision and the reasons therefor.

 (b) Appeals from decisions of the employment
subcommitteecommission. An appeal of a decision of the employment
subcommitteecommission under this section may be taken to the city
council. The city council may, after hearing, uphold or overturn the
employment subcommitteecommission’s decision. The council shall provide
the subcommitteecommission, fire chief, and appellant with written
notice of its decision and the reasons therefor.

 (c) Applicant rights. If a decision is overturned with respect to
an applicant, the applicant shall continue through the remainder of the
application process or be considered eligible for hire, as applicable.
 In the event an applicant is reinstated pursuant to this section, he
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or she shall have no right or entitlement to be considered for any
vacancy that exists at or prior to the date of said reinstatement.

 (d) Promotional candidate rights. If a decision is overturned
with respect to a promotional candidate, that candidate shall 1) be
allowed to continue through the promotional process; 2) be placed on or
reinstated to the ranked certified promotional list; or 3) be promoted,
as applicable. The decision maker shall specifically state the
appropriate remedy.

 (e) Vested rights. No rights shall vest in any person who is
deemed to be a qualified applicant or who is placed on the ranked
certified promotional list, and no names shall be carried over from one
eligible list to another, except as otherwise provided in this section.

 (f) Rulemaking. The employment subcommitteecommission may
promulgate rules to implement this section, including forms and
deadlines for appeal.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-59.7. Fire department probationary period.

 (a) Each member who is originally appointed to or rehired in the
fire department, or who is promoted, pursuant to this division shall
be a probationary employee for one (1) year from the date of
appointment or promotion. This section shall not, however, apply to
an employee who is recalled after layoff, so long as he or she
completed the probationary period prior to layoff.

 (b) The fire chief may at any time during the probationary
period reject any person appointed or promoted. The fire chief must
state his or hertheir reasons for rejection in writing, and provide
those reasons to the employee and the employment
subcommitteecommission.

 (c) In the case of a promotional candidate, any candidate
rejected by the fire chief shall revert to the rank and pay status
from which he or she was promoted.

 (d) Any person rejected during the probationary period shall
have no right of hearing or appeal under this division.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)


Sec. 2-60. Reserved.
Sec. 2-60.1. Minimum qualifications for original appointment to the
police department.

 (a) Standards required. Each candidate for original appointment
to the police department must meet the minimum requirements set forth
in this subsection. The deadline by which these requirements must be
met, the method of proving that such requirements have been
satisfactorily met, and any additional requirements shall be
established by rule of the employment subcommitteecommission:
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 (1) Age. Have reached the age of twenty-one (21) by the date of
 appointment;

 (2) Good character. Be of good character; which includes a
 personal history of honesty, fairness, and respect for the
 rights of others and for state and federal law. No person
 shall be appointed who has a history which includes a
 disqualifying criminal offense or conviction.

 (3) Education and experience. Have a high school diploma or
 general equivalency diploma (GED) and meet the admission
 standards of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 (4) Motor vehicle driver's license. Possess a valid motor
 vehicle driver's license for the three (3) years immediately
 preceding the date of application. If such license is from a
 state other than the State of Maine, the candidate must be
 qualified to receive a State of Maine driver's license.

 (5) Citizenship or Immigration status. Be a citizen of the
 United States or demonstrate a permanent right to work in the
 United States.

 (b) Automatic Disqualifiers. An applicant for original
appointment will be automatically disqualified from the hiring process
for any of the following characteristics, and as further established by
rule of the employment subcommitteecommission:

 (1) Criminal Convictions/Conduct. Any conviction for a
 disqualifying criminal offense or engaging in conduct that
 qualifies as a disqualifying criminal offense as defined in
 Maine law and the entrance standards of the Maine Criminal
 Justice Academy, including having no convictions for or have
 engaged in any conduct which would constitute Murder, Class A,
 Class B, Class C, or Class D crimes, or any provision of the
 Maine Criminal Code, Chapters 15, 19, 25, or 45 which include
 Theft, Falsification in Official Matters, Bribery & Corrupt
 Practices, and Drugs.

 (2) Domestic Violence. Any conviction for a crime of domestic
 violence or any active Protection from Abuse Order (temporary
 or permanent) served on the applicant.

 (3) Drug Activities. The use, purchase, or possession of illegal
 drugs or controlled substances within the five (5) years prior
 to the date of application.

 The trafficking in and/or furnishing of marijuana, as defined
 in the Maine Criminal Code, is an automatic disqualifier from
 the hiring process. The use of marijuana is not an automatic
 disqualifier. The use of marijuana by an applicant will be
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 assessed on a case by case basis; including, but not limited
 to, the frequency and recency of the use.

 (4) Military Service. Dishonorable discharge from the military
 or a bad conduct discharge from the military.

 (5) Tattoos or Body Art. Tattoos, branding, body art or body
 markings that (a) indicate a criminal gang affiliation, (b)
 depict sexually explicit art or nudity, (c) are associated
 with hate groups or supremacist groups such as swastikas or
 pentagrams, or (d) are on the applicant’s face, neck or hands.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)


Sec. 2-60.2. Hiring process for original appointment to the police
department.

 (a) Police department hiring process. All applicants for
original appointment to the police department shall satisfactorily
complete the minimum requirements in this section. The employment
subcommitteecommission may, by rule, establish processes and procedures
to implement these requirements, set minimum passing scores, and impose
additional requirements for original appointment.

 (1) Job-related aptitude capacity test. All applicants for
 original appointment must pass a job-related aptitude
 capacity test. The aptitude capacity test may be waived for
 a police applicant who is a full-time employee with law
 enforcement duties and arrest authority in another
 jurisdiction at the time of application and is certifiable by
 the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 (2) Physical fitness assessment. All applicants for original
 appointment must pass meet the Maine Criminal Justice
 Academy’s physical fitness assessment standards prior to the
 oral interview. or Applicants may take the fitness test at
 the Portland Police Department or produce a current, valid
 letter from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy stating that
 the applicant has successfully completed the Academy’s
 physical fitness assessment.

 (3) Oral Board. An oral interview will be conducted with all
 applicants who have passed both the aptitude capacity test
 and the physical fitness assessment.

 (b) Conditional offer of employment. Upon successful completion
of the job-related aptitude capacity test, the physical fitness
assessment and the oral interview, the Police Chief may evaluate the
candidates and make a conditional offer of employment to qualified
applicants, at his or hertheir discretion. The conditional employee
must successfully complete the following requirements. Failure to do
so will result in revocation of the conditional offer of employment.
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 (1) Background check. A conditional employee must be
 fingerprinted and satisfactorily complete a background check,
 including, but not limited to, criminal history, prior
 substance abuse, driving record, and credit check.

 (2) Polygraph. A conditional employee, shall be required to
 submit to a polygraph examination to the extent such
 examination is permitted by law.

 (3) Medical examination. A conditional employee shall undergo a
 medical examination to determine whether the applicant is
 physically capable of meeting the standards established by
 the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 (4) Job suitability assessment. Candidates for police original
 appointment shall be given a post-offer job suitability
 assessment as required by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 (b) Transfer between public safety departments. Upon the written
request of the employee to the chief of his or hertheir department, an
employee in good standing within either department may be transferred
from one department to the other to an entry level position, subject to
the conditions and limitations established by rule of the employment
subcommitteecommission and with the approval of both chiefs and the
City Manager. Police officers requesting a transfer to the Fire
Department must successfully complete the Candidate Physical Abilities
Test (CPAT) and provide proof of a valid State of Maine Emergency
Medical Technician license. The Chief of Police may waive the police
entrance exam for firefighters. All other hiring requirements must be
successfully completed.

Sec. 2-60.3. Disqualification and temporary withdrawal from police
application process.

 In accordance with rules promulgated by the employment
subcommitteecommission, an applicant may be disqualified, or
temporarily withdraw, from the application process as follows:

 (a) Disqualification. After notice and an opportunity to be
heard, the employment subcommitteecommission or the police chief may
disqualify an applicant for original appointment.

 (b) Temporary withdrawal of applicants for original appointments.
 An applicant for original appointment may, for sufficient cause,
temporarily withdraw from consideration for a limited period of time
with the prior approval of the police chief. During the period of
temporary disqualification the applicant’s eligibility for appointment
shall automatically expire 12 months after the date the applicant
passed the aptitude capacity test.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

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Sec. 2-60.4. Police department promotional process.

 (a) Minimum qualifications. All candidates for promotion within
the police department shall satisfactorily complete the minimum
requirements in this section. Promotional appointments shall be made
from successive ranks. The employment subcommitteecommission may, by
rule, establish processes and procedures to implement these
requirements, may set minimum passing scores, and may impose additional
requirements for promotion.

 (1) Time in service. Promotional candidates must have the
 following amount of time in service to be eligible for a
 promotion:

 a. Three (3) years of continuous service in the police
 department for promotion from officer to the rank of
 Sergeant.

 b. Twelve months of continuous service as a Sergeant in the
 police department for promotion to the rank of
 Lieutenant.

 (2) Selection Components

 a. An annual professional development course.

 b. A job-related aptitude capacity test.

 c. Consideration of the candidate's last completed
 performance evaluation immediately prior to the date of
 the aptitude capacity test.

 d. Seniority in the department as of the date of the
 aptitude capacity test.

 (3) Oral interview. All promotional candidates must
 satisfactorily complete an oral interview. The oral
 interview panel shall consist of one member of the employment
 subcommitteecommission, a member designated by the president
 of each of the affected unions and three (3) members
 appointed by the police chief.

 (4) Job suitability assessment. Candidates for the position of
 Sergeant must undergo a job suitability assessment.
 Assessments within three (3) years from the date of
 examination may be used, or the police chief may require an
 updated job suitability assessment at any time. Assessments
 may be taken into consideration in the promotional process.

 (b) Promotion list. Promotional candidates shall be placed on a
certified promotional list. A separate list shall be made for each
promotional rank.
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 (1) The list shall be prepared based on a methodology established
 by the employment subcommitteecommission.

 (2) The employment subcommitteecommission shall also establish
 rules governing the validity of the list, including the
 minimum number of names required on the list, the duration
 and expiration of the list, and other requirements.

 (c) Creation of certified list for promotional appointment.

 (1) When requested to do so by the Chief, the employment
 subcommitteecommission shall furnish a certified list of
 names from which a promotional appointment may be made.

 (2) There shall be one eligible list maintained for police
 promotion in weighted score order for each promotional rank
 and the certified list shall be made up from the eligible
 list in the weighted score order. The certified list for
 promotional appointment shall contain the names of a
 minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) applicants
 on the eligible list with the highest, aggregate scores.

 (d) Command staff. The employment subcommitteecommission may
provide by rule for special procedures or different competitive
examination for appointment to a sworn, non-union command staff
position in the police department because such rank requires
particular and exceptional qualifications of a scientific,
managerial, professional, technical, or educational character and
said rule may waive any requirement of this article in such cases.

 (e) When the number of employees eligible for promotion to a
particular vacancy is insufficient to permit meaningful competition,
the employment subcommitteecommission may vary the requirements of
this section by rule, which rule shall not be effective for more than
one promotional cycle.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018
Sec. 2-60.5. Disqualification during police promotional process.

After notice and an opportunity to be heard, the employment
subcommitteecommission or the police chief may disqualify a candidate
from participating in the promotional process, or may remove a
candidate for promotion from the ranked certified promotional list.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)
Sec. 2-60.6. Police appeals and rights.

 (a) Appeals from decisions of the police chief. Except as
otherwise provided, an applicant, candidate for original appointment,
or candidate for promotion shall have the opportunity to appeal any
decision made by the police chief under this division to the
employment subcommitteecommission, pursuant to rules established by
the subcommitteecommission. The subcommittee commission may, after
hearing, uphold or overturn the police chief’s decision. The
commissionsubcommittee shall provide the police chief and the
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Sec. 2-42 Rev. 1-6-10

appellant with written notice of its decision and the reasons
therefor.

 (b) Appeals from decisions of the employment
subcommitteecommission. An appeal of a decision of the employment
subcommitteecommission under this section may be taken to the city
council. The city council may, after hearing, uphold or overturn the
employment subcommitteecommission’s decision. The council shall
provide the subcommitteecommission, police chief, and appellant with
written notice of its decision and the reasons therefor.

 (c) Applicant rights. If a decision is overturned with respect
to an applicant, the applicant shall continue through the remainder
of the application process or be considered eligible for hire, as
applicable. In the event an applicant is reinstated pursuant to this
section, he or she shall have no right or entitlement to be
considered for any vacancy that exists at or prior to the date of
said reinstatement.

 (d) Promotional candidate rights. If a decision is overturned
with respect to a promotional candidate, that candidate shall 1) be
allowed to continue through the promotional process; 2) be placed on
or reinstated to the ranked certified promotional list; or 3) be
promoted, as applicable. The decision maker shall specifically state
the appropriate remedy.

 (e) Vested rights. No rights shall vest in any person who is
deemed to be a qualified applicant or who is placed on the ranked
certified promotional list, and no names shall be carried over from
one eligible list to another, except as otherwise provided in this
section.

 (f) Rulemaking. The employment subcommitteecommission may
promulgate rules to implement this section, including forms and
deadlines for appeal.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)
Sec. 2-60.7. Police department probationary period.

 (a) Probationary period. A specified period of time during which
the employee has no expectation of continued employment and may be
removed from employment for any reason, with or without just cause.

 (b) Original appointment. Except as otherwise provided below for
police lateral transfers, every person receiving an appointment as a
police officer shall be a probationary employee for a period of two (2)
years from the date of appointment.

 (c) Lateral transfers. A police lateral transfer who has two
years of post-academy, full-time, continuous service as a police
officer at the time of appointment shall be credited with up to twelve
(12) months of service toward completion of the department’s two year
probationary period. Eligibility for promotional appointment shall be
the completion of three (3) years of service in the Portland Police
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department.

 (d) Promotional appointments. Every person receiving a
promotional appointment shall serve a probationary period of one (1)
year while occupying the position to which he or she has been
appointed.

 (e) Completion of probationary period. The police chief may at
any time during the probationary period reject any person appointed or
promoted to a position in the police department. The police chief must
state his or hertheir reasons for rejection in writing, and provide
those reasons to the employee and the employment
subcommitteecommission. In the case of a promotional appointment, the
officer shall revert to the rank and pay status from which he or she
was promoted.

 (f) No hearing or appeal. Any person rejected during the
probationary period shall have no right of hearing or appeal under this
section.
(Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)
Sec. 2-61. Reserved.
Sec. 2-62. Reserved.
Sec. 2-63. Reserved.
Sec. 2-64. Reserved.
Sec. 2-65. Reserved

Sec. 2-66. Physical standards and background investigation for
original appointment; Job suitability assessment for promotion, for
police lateral transfer and for police original appointment.

 (a) Physical standards for original appointment.

 (1) Medical examination. All candidates on the eligible list for
 original appointment shall undergo a medical examination by a
 physician specified by the employment subcommitteecommission,
 said medical examination to be done only after a conditional
 offer of employment has been made to the candidate. The
 examining physician shall report his or hertheir findings in
 writing to the subcommittee commission with respect to
 whether the candidate is physically capable of meeting the
 standards established by rule of the subcommitteecommission.
 If the physician's report indicates a disqualification which
 can be corrected, the candidate's name shall be returned to
 the eligible list except that such person shall not be again
 considered for appointment until such time as he or she
 furnishes satisfactory evidence that the disqualifying
 condition has been corrected. If the physician's report
 indicates a disqualification which cannot be corrected and
 which prevents the candidate from performing an essential
 function of the position with or without reasonable
 accommodation, the candidate's name shall be permanently
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Sec. 2-49 Rev. 1-6-10

 removed from the eligible list pursuant to section 2-61
 above.

 (2) Physical fitness standards. In addition to the medical
 examination, the employment subcommitteecommission shall
 establish by rule minimum standards and procedures for a
 physical fitness assessment of candidates for original
 appointment, which standards shall be determined by the
 subcommittee commission to be a bona fide occupational
 qualification or failure to meet them poses a safety hazard
 or cannot be reasonably accommodated in an individual case.
 Such physical fitness assessment shall be administered to
 each candidate by the department as provided in section 2-
 65(a)(3) above, and the result thereof shall be provided to
 the chief.

 (b) Background investigation for original appointment.

 (1) Fingerprinting. Candidates for original appointment to
 either department shall be directed to the police department
 where they shall be fingerprinted. All candidates shall
 execute any necessary waivers for the background check. The
 fingerprints and records of each candidate shall be checked
 against the local police files, state police files and, if
 available, the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
 in order to determine whether the candidate has been
 convicted of a disqualifying criminal offense.

 (2) Polygraph. Candidates for original appointment to the police
 department shall be required to submit to a polygraph
 examination to the extent such examination is permitted by
 law.

 (c) Job suitability assessment for promotional appointments, for
police lateral transfers and for police original appointments.

 (1) All candidates whose names appear on any certified list for
 promotional appointment may be required to be examined by a
 psychologist for job suitability, the results of which
 examination shall be used by the chief of the department and
 by the city manager. Examinations hereunder for promotional
 appointment shall be required every year, except that the
 chief may waive said requirement if such examination has been
 done within three years of the date of the candidate’s
 appearance on a certified list, and the results are available
 for use by the chief and the city manager. The extent of
 said examination shall be determined by a psychologist on an
 individual basis and may be either pre-offer or post-offer,
 depending upon the content of the assessment, the
 psychologist’s representation as to the purpose of the
 assessment and the department’s preference.

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 To the extent permitted by law, the chief of either
 department may request that candidates on an eligible list
 undergo the job suitability examinations prior to drawing up
 a certified list if (1) doing so would overcome scheduling
 difficulties for a candidate and the candidate agrees to such
 scheduling and (2) doing so is necessary to ensure a timely
 appointment process. Nothing herein shall change a
 candidate’s position on the eligible list or give him or her
 any vested rights therein.

 (2) Candidates for police lateral transfer shall be given a
 post-offer job suitability assessment.

 (3) Candidates for police original appointment shall be given a
 post-offer job suitability assessment as required by the
 Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 (d) Failure to pass polygraph test or job suitability assessment
for police original appointment or job suitability assessment for
police lateral transfer or job suitability assessment for police or
fire promotional appointment. Notwithstanding anything herein to the
contrary, any candidate for police original appointment who fails to
pass a polygraph test as required hereunder, or, in the case of a
police original appointment, police lateral transfer or police or fire
promotional appointment, who fails to meet the job suitability
assessment pursuant to this section, shall be removed from any list on
which the candidate appears pursuant to section 2-61 above, and shall
not be eligible to retake the written test until two years from the
date the eligible list from which the candidate was removed was made.

 (e) Failure to appear or complete hiring requirements. Any
candidate who fails to appear for, or to complete, any component of the
examination process, or any other requirement of the hiring procedure,
shall be disqualified as a candidate and removed from any list on which
he or she may appear. Such disqualification shall be reported to the
employment subcommitteecommission by the Director. Upon request of the
candidate, the employment subcommitteecommission may, in its
discretion, waive the disqualification herein if: (i) the subcommittee
commission finds that the candidate had sufficient excuse for such
failure; and (ii) it finds that any rescheduling necessitated by such
failure can be accomplished in a timely manner and with no disruption
of the hiring process. Any candidate disqualified hereunder may reapply
for any succeeding examination.

 (f). Temporary withdrawal of  applicants for original
appointments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a candidate for original
appointment may, for sufficient cause, temporarily withdraw from
consideration for a limited period of time upon the prior approval of
the chief of the department. Any denial of a request for temporary
withdrawal by the chief may be appealed to the subcommittee commission
which may grant the request if (i) the subcommittee commission finds
that the candidate had sufficient cause for such request; and (ii) it
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finds that any rescheduling necessitated by request can be accomplished
in a timely manner with no disruption of the hiring process. A
candidate who is permitted to withdraw temporarily shall retain his or
hertheir place on the eligible list but shall not be considered for
hire, or in the case of promotional appointment, shall not be placed on
any certified list requested during the period of temporary
disqualification. “Sufficient excuse” or “sufficient cause” as used
herein shall include, but not be limited to, death or serious illness
of a family member; temporary illness or disability of the candidate;
completion of an academic or training program, or similar excuse and
cause.

 (g) Duration of certified list. The certified list shall be
limited to the vacancy or vacancies for which it was requested. The
names of persons not appointed shall be returned to the eligible list
from which they were drawn. Each candidate for promotion who is not
appointed shall be given, upon request, a statement by the chief of the
department as to the reason or reasons why he or she was not
recommended for appointment; or if he or she was recommended, a
statement from the City Manager as to why he or she was not appointed.
(Code 1968, § 201.12; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
288-90, 4-2-90; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97 Ord. No. 220-99, §
4, 3-1-99; Ord. No. 121-99, 12-20-99; Ord. No. 174-05/06, 3-6-06; Ord. No. 298-05/06,
6-19-06 emergency passage; Ord. No. 126-09/10, 1-4-10)

Sec. 2-67. Working test period.

 (a) Except as otherwise provided below for police lateral
transfers or as otherwise provided for re-hires under subsection 2-
59(e), every person receiving any appointment or transferring pursuant
to section 2-59 above shall be tested for a working test period of one
(1) year while occupying the position to which he or she has been
appointed or transferred, except that the working test period for
original appointees or transferees to the police department shall be
two (2) years. The period of the working test shall begin immediately
upon appointment or transfer. The City Manager may at any time during
the working test period reject for reasons stated in writing any person
appointed to a position in either department. The City Manager shall
forthwith report to the employment subcommitteecommission in writing
each rejection during such working test period, stating the date of the
rejection and the reason for the rejection.

 (b) Any person rejected during the working test period shall have
no right of hearing, or appeal under this article, and in the case of a
promotional appointment, shall revert to the rank and pay status from
which he or she was promoted. No original appointment shall be
effective beyond the end of the working test period unless, within ten
(10) days preceding the end of the working test period, the City
Manager shall report to the employment subcommitteecommission in
writing that in the opinion of the City Manager, the employee's work
has been such as to indicate that he the employee is willing and able
to perform theirhis duties in a satisfactory manner. Upon delivery of a
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favorable report from the City Manager, the appointment shall become
permanent.

 (c) A police lateral transfer who has prior service as a police
officer at the time of appointment shall be credited with up to twelve
(12) months of service toward completion of the department’s two year
working test period, provided, however, that eligibility for
promotional appointment shall continue to be completion of three (3)
years in the Portland police department.
(Code 1968, § 201.13; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Ord. No. 174-05/06, 3-6-06; Ord. No. 126-
09/10, 1-4-10)

Sec. 2-68. Disciplinary action.

 (a) Action by chief of department. Unless otherwise governed by a
collective bargaining agreement, the chief of the department may, for
cause:

 (1) Suspend without pay any member for one (1) offense for a
 period of not more than fifteen (15) working days, resulting
 in the loss of not more than three (3) weeks' pay;

 (2) Issue a written reprimand to be included in the member's
 personnel file.

Suspensions without pay shall not be for more than thirty (30) working
days in aggregate in a calendar year. Upon imposition of any
discipline, the chief shall immediately file with the employment
subcommitteecommission a written statement of the disciplinary action
taken and the reason therefor. A copy of the statement shall be
delivered to the department member in person or by mail at the member's
last and usual place of abode. Actions of the chief taken within this
subsection shall be final and there shall be no appeal therefrom under
this article.

 (b) Action by subcommitteecommission. The employment
subcommitteecommission shall have the power and authority to demote,
suspend with or without pay, and remove members of the police
department and the fire department for cause and after presentation of
charges and hearing. The subcommittee commission shall have the right
to reinstate any such demoted, suspended or removed member of the
police department or fire department after a hearing upon
recommendation of the chief of the department to which the applicant
seeks reinstatement, provided the City Manager joins in such
recommendation for reinstatement.

 (c) Action by chief pending hearing. Pending a hearing before the
employment subcommitteecommission, the chief of the department or the
City Manager may, for the cause to be presented to the
subcommitteecommission, suspend any member, without pay, until the next
succeeding meeting of the subcommitteecommission; provided, however,
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that no suspension without pay pending a hearing by the subcommittee
commission shall be effective for more than fifteen (15) days; no
suspension without pay shall be effective unless it is either preceded
by a filing of charges with the subcommittee commission or such charges
are filed within ten (10) days thereafter, Saturday, Sunday and legal
holidays excepted; and if the subcommittee commission determines that
no disciplinary action is warranted, it shall provide that any salary
which should have been paid during such period of suspension shall be
paid to the member.

A member may elect to waive a hearing before the employment
subcommitteecommission and accept disciplinary action determined by the
chief of the department. Said waiver shall be made in writing prior to
the implementation of the discipline. Prior to waiving a subcommittee
commission hearing, the member shall be provided with written notice of
the charges against him or her, a brief statement of the evidence
against him or her, and an opportunity for a hearing before the chief.
Said hearing shall be informal in nature and shall not be an
adversarial hearing, but the member may have counsel and/or a union
representative present. The member shall have the right to confer with
said counsel and/or representative during the hearing and to have them
speak on his or hertheir behalf. The hearing before the chief may be
tape recorded upon the request of either party.

 (d) Notice; opportunity to respond. Prior to suspending any
member without pay under subsection (c) above, the chief of the
department shall provide the member with notice of the substance of the
charges against him or her, a statement of the evidence, and an
opportunity to respond to said charges and evidence.

 (e) Hearings without formal charges. Whether or not charges are
filed with the subcommitteecommission, the subcommittee commission
shall within thirty (30) calendar days schedule a hearing to determine
whether disciplinary action should be taken against any member where:

 (1) The member fails or refuses to testify before the
 subcommittee commission at any disciplinary hearing; or

 (2) The member becomes the defendant in a pending criminal
 proceeding, the conviction in which proceeding would be a
 disqualifying criminal conviction.

Either party may request a continuance of such hearing, which may be
granted by the subcommittee commission upon such terms and conditions
as it deems appropriate. If the continuance is requested by a city
official, the member shall receive theirhis regular pay for the
duration of the continuance. However, if a suspended member requests a
continuance of the hearing, the member will not be paid for the
duration of the continuance period requested by himthe suspended
member.

 (f) No deferral of action. Disciplinary action by the
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subcommittee commission for the same conduct which is the subject
matter of a pending criminal proceeding shall not be deferred unless
the subcommittee commission shall order such deferment at the request
of the member charged, in which case the subcommittee commission may
impose reasonable conditions, including but not necessarily limited to,
a continuing suspension without pay.

 (g) Result of collateral criminal proceeding. The acquittal of
the member on criminal or civil charges involving material allegations
which are substantially similar to the material allegations made in the
disciplinary proceeding shall not require abatement of a disciplinary
proceeding by the Subcommitteecommission. A final judgment of
conviction of a crime which is a disqualifying criminal offense shall
operate as a disqualification from office, and, upon proof of such
conviction to the subcommitteecommission, such member shall be removed.

 (h) Procedure at disciplinary hearings. All hearings of the
subcommittee commission shall be deemed to be civil in nature and shall
be informal in conduct. Such hearings shall be governed by this article
and by any rules of practice and procedure adopted by the
subcommitteecommission. In the conduct of such hearings, the
subcommittee commission shall not be bound to the technical rules of
evidence. No informality in any proceeding or hearing or in the manner
of taking testimony before the subcommittee commission shall invalidate
any decision of the subcommitteecommission. Disciplinary action shall
be taken only upon a preponderance of the evidence.

 (i) Decision. After hearing, the subcommittee commission shall
make written findings of fact with respect to any specific allegations
and shall determine whether such facts constitute cause for
disciplinary action, and if the subcommittee commission determines that
cause for disciplinary action exists, the nature of the disciplinary
action to be taken. Such decision may be appealed as provided by law.

 (j) Expenses. The subcommittee commission may, if it determines
that charges made were without substantial justification, recommend to
the City Council the payment of reasonable counsel and witness fees
incurred by any member in the defense of such unjustified charges.
(Code 1968, § 201.14; Ord. No. 89-80, 7-7-80; Ord. No. 299-86, 1-22-86; Ord. No.
288-90, 4-2-90; Ord. No. 117-95, 11-20-95; Ord. No. 184-97, 1-22-97; Ord. No. 174-
05/06, 3-6-06)

Sec. 2-69. Reserved.
Sec. 2-70. Reserved.
Sec. 2-71. Reserved.
Sec. 2-72. Reserved.
Sec. 2-73. Reserved.
Sec. 2-74. Reserved.
Sec. 2-75. Reserved.



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Sec. 2-59 Rev. 6-17-10
 DIVISION 4. POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE

Sec. 2-76. Functions and duties.

 (a) Duties. The duties of the police citizen review subcommittee
are as follows:

 (1) To determine whether police investigations into citizens’
 complaints by members of the public against police officers
 are thorough, objective, fair and timely by auditing the
 police department’s internal affairs’ unit investigative
 methods and procedures;

 (2) To report in writing to the City Manager periodically, but no
 less than annually beginning in January 2003, as follows:

 a. on the subcommittee’s determination as to the
 thoroughness, objectivity, fairness and timeliness of
 the police internal affairs’ investigation of citizen
 complaints against police officers; and

 b. any recommendations and/or proposals for improvements or
 modifications in the police internal affairs
 investigative process, policies or training, and for
 enhancing public confidence in the methods and process
 of investigation of citizen complaints against police
 officers.

 (3) To hold a public hearing at least annually to receive
 comments upon the police citizen complaint process.

 (4) Although it shall have access to individual internal affairs
 reports in order to review investigative methods and
 procedures, all reports of the subcommittee shall be done in
 such a manner that particular complainants, witnesses and
 officers are not personally identifiable.

 (5) Reports of the subcommittee shall be made available to the
 public to the extent consistent with the State Freedom of
 Access Act, 1 M.R.S.A. Sec. 401 et.seq.

 (6) To make suitable procedural rules, from time to time, for the
 conduct of its duties. Proposed rules shall be submitted to
 the City Council and shall become effective only when
 approved by the City Council. All such rules shall be
 recorded in the office of the City Clerk.

 (b) Complaints to be reviewed: The subcommittee shall review all
completed internal affairs investigations of citizen complaints.

 (c) Timing of review. All subcommittee reviews of citizen
complaints shall take place only after final disciplinary action has
been taken and all appeals exhausted or the case has been finally
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Sec. 2-76 Rev. 2-5-2018
closed with no disciplinary action taken.

 (d) Notification of review. The subcommittee shall notify the
citizen complainant, in writing, of the subcommittee’s review and any
findings made by the subcommittee regarding the thoroughness,
objectivity, fairness and timeliness of the internal affairs
investigation.

 (e) Scope of authority. The subcommittee shall conduct its
duties solely to determine the thoroughness, objectivity, fairness and
timeliness of the police department’s internal affairs’ methods and
procedures in regard to citizen complaints against police officers, and
the subcommittee shall have no power or authority to subpoena or call
witnesses nor to impose or modify any disciplinary action, or lack of
action, against any police officer. The subcommittee shall make no
recommendations nor offer any findings or comments relative to any
disciplinary action, or lack of action, against any officer.

 (f) Training. Prior to assuming their duties hereunder,
subcommittee commissioners shall attend training by city staff as to
the subcommittee’s duties and responsibilities, applicable state and
local law and regulations, issues relevant to the conduct of the
citizen review function, accepted police practices and the department’s
internal affairs investigation process. Such training shall be
provided by the city at no cost to the subcommittee members.

 (g) Resources. To facilitate the effectiveness and objectivity of
the police citizen review subcommittee, the city shall make available
to the subcommittee the services of a technical advisor, as needed by
the subcommittee. The technical advisor may be used for the purposes
of training; briefing the subcommittee on accepted police practices,
applicable law and issues relevant to the discharge of the citizen
review function; and educating the subcommittee on aspects of the
internal investigation process. The advisor shall be retained by the
City Manager after consultation with the Chief of Police,
representatives of the police unions and the subcommittee chairperson.
 Any person who presently maintains any business or professional
affiliation with the police department shall be disqualified from
serving as technical advisor.

The city shall further make available all internal affairs
investigation reports and police documents relevant to such
investigations which are necessary for the subcommittee to conduct its
duties hereunder. In no case shall the subcommittee have access to
police officers’ personnel records except to the extent that they are
part of an internal affairs investigation report or are considered a
public document under the state Freedom of Access law.
(Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-01; Ord. No. 143-17/18, 2-5-2018)

Sec. 2-77. Confidentiality.

 Each member of the civil service commission is obligated to
maintain the confidentiality of all information and documents either
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provided to or reviewed by them, in accordance with state law. Failure
to maintain such confidentiality will be cause for removal from the
commission. All reports and requests for disclosure of any information
shall be referred to the corporation counsel for review prior to
release.
(Substitute Ord. No. 83-01/02, § 3, 11-5-01)

Sec. 2-78 thru 2-90. Reserved.

 ARTICLE IV-A. CIVILIAN POLICE REVIEW BOARD

Sec. 2-76. Created.

 Pursuant to Article IX of the Charter, there is hereby created a
civilian police review board, the purpose of which is to increase
public trust and confidence in the Portland Police Department.

Sec. 2-77. Composition.

 The civilian police review board shall consist of ten (10) board
members. Seven (7) of the board members shall be voting members, and
three (3) of the board members shall be non-voting members.

Sec. 2-78. Qualifications.

 (a) Qualifications of commissioners. Every board member shall be
at least 18 years of age and a resident of the City of Portland for at
least three (3) months prior to the start of their term. The following
persons are not eligible to be members on the board:

 (1) Any present or former employee of the city or school
 department, who was employed by the city or school department
 in the previous five-year period;

 (2) Any present or former member of the City Council or School
 Board, who held that position in the previous five-year
 period; or

 (3) Any individual presently serving as a commissioner or
 alternate on the civil service employment commission;

 (4) In order to ensure an objective and unbiased audit of the
 police department’s internal affairs investigation process,
 any applicant for service on the civilian police review board
 shall be disqualified from serving on said board if:

 a. any member of the applicant’s immediate family is or has
 been a Portland police officer in the previous ten (10)
 years;

 b. the applicant or any member of their immediate family
 has been arrested by any member of the Portland police
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 department within the previous ten (10) years, or has
 had the final disposition of any criminal proceedings
 resulting from such an arrest within the previous ten
 (10) years, whichever is longer;

 c. the applicant or any member of their immediate family
 has filed a complaint with the internal affairs unit of
 the Portland police department within the previous ten
 (10) years;

 d. the applicant or any member of their immediate family
 has brought suit against the City of Portland, the Chief
 of Police, the police department or any individual
 police officer for a cause of action arising out of an
 officer’s performance of their duties within the last
 ten (10) years or has had such a suit finally disposed
 of within the previous ten (10) years, whichever is
 longer; and

 e. “Immediate family” as used herein shall mean and include
 spouse, domestic partner, children, grandchildren,
 parents, grandparents, and siblings.

 (c) Failure to disclose any grounds for disqualification or
falsification of any information in the application process shall
disqualify the person from service on the board and shall constitute
“cause” within the meaning of section 2-82.

 (d) Any board member who becomes ineligible to serve during their
term shall resign, and failure to do so shall constitute "cause" within
the meaning of section 2-82.

 (e) Reasonable efforts shall be made to ensure that the
appointments to the civilian police review board are diverse and
representative of the community.


Sec. 2-79. Appointment.

 (a) Subject to the provisions of section 2-80, members of the
civilian police review board shall be appointed as follows:

 (1) Six (6) voting members appointed by the City Council;
 (2) One (1) voting member appointed by the Mayor; and
 (3) Three (3) non-voting members appointed by the City Council.

 (b) Such power of appointment shall be exercised only after the
City Clerk has published a notice announcing such position or
positions, describing the responsibilities thereof, and soliciting
applications by qualified persons in a newspaper of general circulation
within the city not less than fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of
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action by the city council. Applications may be solicited whether or
not there is a vacancy, and such applicants may be considered for any
vacancy that occurs within one hundred eighty (180) days of the closing
date for such applications. Nothing herein shall limit the city's
authority to solicit applications whenever the City Manager deems that
it is necessary.

Sec. 2-80. Terms.

 (a) Term. Each board member shall be appointed to a three-year
term except as set forth in subsection (c) or unless appointed to fill
a vacancy. A board member shall serve until their successor is
appointed and qualified, but in no case longer than one hundred twenty
(120) days from the expiration of their term.

 (b) Limitation on service. No person shall be appointed to, nor
serve, more than three (3) consecutive full terms or nine (9)
consecutive years, whichever is greater, on the board.

 (c) Initial Civilian Police Review Board. For the first civilian
police review board appointed following its creation, the city council
and mayor shall first select from the current members of the police
citizen review subcommittee in making appointments to the board.
Additional vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the process
outlined in Section 2-79. On the first board, two (2) voting members
appointed by the City Council shall serve for a one (1) year term, two
(2) voting members appointed by the City Council shall serve for a two
(2) year term; two (2) voting member appointed by the City Council
shall serve for a three (3) year term; the one (1) voting member
appointed by the mayor shall serve for a three (3) year term; one (1)
non-voting member appointed by the City Council shall serve for a one
(1) year term; one (1) non-voting member appointed by the City Council
shall serve for a two (2) year term; and one (1) non-voting member
appointed by the City Council shall serve for a three (3) year term.

Sec. 2-81. Compensation.

 Civilian police review board members shall serve without
compensation, except that reasonable expenses incurred by any member
incidental to their duties under this article may be reimbursed upon
prior approval of the city manager.

Sec. 2-82. Removal.

 Any civilian police review board member may be removed from office
by the city council for cause, after notice and the opportunity to be
heard. "Cause" shall include any act or omission which constitutes
legal cause, and includes but is not limited to: incompetent or
inefficient performance of duty; unexcused absences from board
meetings; violation of any provision of this article or the rules
adopted thereunder, whether such violation may result in a forfeiture
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of office hereunder, or not; the commission or conviction for any
disqualifying criminal offense, or any action by the board member
intended to affect or influence, or which could reasonably be expected
to affect or influence any decision of the city manager, the chief of
police, or the city council with respect to the department, or of any
member of the police department with respect to the performance of
their duty.

Sec. 2-83. Officers.

 The board shall annually elect one (1) of its members as the chair
and one (1) of its members as the vice chair, to serve in the absence
of the chair. Whenever possible, non-voting members of the board shall
serve as the chair and vice chair. A member may not serve as chair for
more than three (3) consecutive years. The City Manager’s designee
shall serve as secretary to the civilian police review board and shall
furnish any necessary administrative assistance to the board.

Sec. 2-84. Meetings.

 (a) Calling of meetings. Meetings or hearings of the board may be
called at any time by its Chair, or in the absence from the city or
disability of the Chair, by any member of the board. The Chair shall
call a meeting upon request from any board member.

 (b) Quorum. A quorum of the Civilian Police Review Board shall be
a majority of the total number of voting members presently appointed to
the board. The board shall act by a majority of voting members present
and voting.

Sec. 2-85. Functions and duties.

 (a) Duties. The duties of the civilian police review board are
as follows:

 (1) To receive complaints of police misconduct by civilians and
 police as follows:

 a. Complaints received by the board, whether from civilians
 or police officers, shall be referred within twenty-four
 (24) hours after receipt to the police internal affairs
 department for investigation. When receiving complaints,
 the Board shall follow the police department’s standard
 operating procedures regarding interviewing the
 complainant and documentation requirements.

 b. To the extent that the police department receives a
 civilian complaint directly or through means other than
 referral by the board, the police department will
 provide the community liaison with a copy of the
 complaint within five (5) calendar days.

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 c. The board will not accept any complaints from police
 officers or their representatives regarding disciplinary
 actions or personnel matters.

 d. For purposes of this Article, complaint shall have the
 same definition as outlined in the police department’s
 standard operating procedure.

 (2) To review all final investigation reports submitted by
 internal affairs and/or police command staff for due process
 issues, including but not limited to, issues of fairness,
 thoroughness, objectivity, and timeliness, for both the
 complainant(s)/civilian(s) involved in the matter and the
 officer(s);

 (3) To maintain the confidentiality of all information and
 documents provided to and/or reviewed by the board in
 accordance with state law;

 (4) To hold a public hearing at least annually to receive
 comments upon the complaint process and to engage the City
 residents as to the board’s purposes and goals.

 (5) To provide a written annual report to the Mayor, City
 Council, City Manager, and Chief of Police that includes, but
 is not limited to, the following:

 a. the board’s  policy and  funding recommendations
 concerning the police internal affairs process, police
 policies, practices and procedures, and the board’s
 functions and duties; and

 b. the number of complaints submitted to the board and the
 number of complaints resolved during the previous year.

 (6) To ensure that all reports of the board shall be prepared in
 such a manner that particular complainants, witnesses, and
 officers are not personally identifiable.

 (7) To ensure that its reports are made available to the public
 but only to the extent permitted by the State Freedom of
 Access Act, 1 M.R.S.A. Sec. 401 et. seq. and other applicable
 law.

 (8) To propose, from time to time, suitable rules governing the
 board’s administrative procedures and board member roles.
 Such proposed rules will become effective only when approved
 by the city council.

 (9) To request additional funding from the city manager as part
 of the city’s annual budget process and at such other times
 as it deems necessary, though nothing in this Article shall
 require the city manager or the city council to provide any
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 particular amount of funding.

 (b) Timing of review. All board reviews of internal affairs
investigations shall take place only after final disciplinary action
has been taken and all appeals exhausted or settled or the case has
been finally closed with no disciplinary action taken. The police
department shall submit its report on the conclusions of any internal
affairs investigation no more than fourteen (14) calendar days after
the findings become final and after final disciplinary action has been
taken and all appeals exhausted or settled or the case has been finally
closed with no disciplinary action.

 (c) Notification of review. The board shall notify the
complainant, in writing, of the board’s review and any findings made by
the board regarding due process in the internal affairs investigation,
including but not limited to, issues of fairness, thoroughness,
objectivity and timeliness.

 (d) Scope of authority. The board shall have no power or
authority to subpoena or call witnesses or to impose or modify any
disciplinary action, or lack of action, against any police officer. The
board shall make no recommendations or offer any findings or comments
relative to any disciplinary action, or lack of action, against any
officer.

 (e) Training. Prior to assuming their duties hereunder, board
members shall attend training by city staff as to the board’s duties
and responsibilities, applicable state and local law, ordinances, and
rules and regulations, accepted police practices, the department’s
internal affairs investigation process, including the rights of
officers being investigated, and proper techniques for receiving
internal affairs complaints, including the process utilized by the
police department. Such training shall be provided by the city at no
cost to the board members.

 (f) Resources. To facilitate the effectiveness and objectivity of
the civilian police review board, the city shall make available to the
board the services of a technical advisor, as needed by the board. The
technical advisor may be used for the purposes of training; briefing
the board on accepted police practices, applicable law and issues
relevant to the discharge of the citizen review function; and educating
the board on aspects of the internal investigation process. The
technical advisor shall be retained by the city manager after
consultation with the chief of police, representatives of the police
unions and the chair of the board. Any person who presently maintains
any business or professional affiliation with the police department
shall be disqualified from serving as technical advisor.

 The City Manager shall designate a staff member to serve as the
civilian police review board’s Community Liaison. The Community Liaison
shall ensure that the public is aware of the methods for filing
complaints, and shall assist the board with carrying out its duties,
conducting outreach, and other duties as assigned by action of the
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board.

 The Police Department shall designate a staff member to serve as
the civilian police review board’s Police Liaison. The Police Liaison
shall be familiar with the police department’s standard operating
procedures and shall assist the board with questions concerning the
department’s standard operating procedures.

 The city shall further make available all internal affairs
investigation reports and police documents relevant to such
investigations which are necessary for the board to conduct its duties
hereunder. In no case shall the board have access to police officers’
personnel records except to the extent that they are part of an
internal affairs investigation report or are considered a public
document under the state Freedom of Access law.

Sec. 2-86. Confidentiality.

 Each member of the civilian police review board is obligated to
maintain the confidentiality of all information and documents either
provided to or reviewed by them, in accordance with state law. Failure
to maintain such confidentiality will be cause for removal from the
board. All reports and requests for disclosure of any information
shall be referred to corporation counsel for review prior to release.

Sec. 2-87. Appeals.

 (a) An individual aggrieved by the report on a complaint issued
by the civilian police review board may submit a notice of appeal of
the board’s due process determinations to the city council. Any such
appeal must be in writing addressed to the mayor, must state the basis
for the appeal, and must be filed with the mayor on or before the day
that is thirty (30) days after the date of the board’s report.

 (b) Within sixty (60) days after receipt of a notice of appeal,
the city council shall hold a hearing during which it shall review the
board’s report, the internal affairs investigation materials, and the
notice of appeal. After such hearing, the city council will provide an
advisory opinion regarding due process issues of the internal affairs
investigation, including, but not limited to, issues of fairness,
thoroughness, objectivity, and timeliness, for both the
complainant/civilian involved in the matter and the officer. The city
council’s review shall be de novo and will occur in executive session
where required by state law. The council’s advisory opinion will not be
legally binding on the city, the police department, police officers, or
individuals. The city council will have no power or authority to
subpoena or call witnesses nor to impose or modify any disciplinary
action, or lack of action, against any police officer. The city
council’s hearing will not address, and its advisory opinion will make
no recommendations nor offer any findings or comments relative to any
disciplinary action, or lack of action, against any officer or any
other personnel matter. The city council’s advisory opinion on any
appeal will be final and not appealable.
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 (c) All such appeals to the City Council are subject to the same
confidentiality requirements that are applicable to members of the
police civilian review board. All reports or decisions of such appeals
and requests for disclosure of any information related to an appeal
shall be referred to corporation counsel for review prior to release.

Sec. 2-88. Reserved.
Sec. 2-89. Reserved.
Sec. 2-90. Reserved.




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 June 30, 2025

City Councilors & Mayor Dion,

We, the Portland Citizen Review Subcommittee (PCRS), have some feedback regarding the
draft ordinance to establish a new Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB).

As you know, the purpose of that Charter amendment, passed by voters in November 2022,
is to replace the PCRS with a more robust oversight body.1

In their final report, the Charter Commission wrote that “citizen oversight should be in the
Charter to elevate the status of the existing board in order to mitigate the potential for
harm and to build broader public trust between civilians and police.”2

We are pleased by some of the aspects of the new draft ordinance, and also have some
significant concerns that we want to bring to your attention:

 (1)We believe the development of this ordinance should follow your standard
 process, and be sent to committee for discussion with all stakeholders.

Though we are approaching three years since the Charter Amendment was passed by
voters, we believe that the City Council should follow its normal legislative process and
send this ordinance to committee.

To date, there have been no City Council public hearings regarding this new ordinance, no
stakeholders have been formally engaged, and no experts have been consulted. We believe
that skipping this critical step will result in a weaker ordinance that has less buy-in from
stakeholders and the public.

Full-Council workshops are limited in what they can accomplish: they usually top out at
around two hours, individual councilors only get so much time to speak, and public
comment is not taken.

In a committee context, a panel could be called that includes experts in police oversight
(such as experts from NACOLE or members of oversight boards in other cities), Charter
Commissioners or members of the Racial Equity Steering Committee, representatives from

1 Charter Commission Final Report, 2022, https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/7cae899c-8d25-4e45-

9e93-152ebc91be67 [Page 79]
2 Charter Commission Final Report, 2022, https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/7cae899c-8d25-4e45-

9e93-152ebc91be67 [Page 10]




 Page 48
organizations who work with marginalized individuals, members of the Police
Department’s administration and IA Unit, and others. The public could be engaged and
their comments invited. The committee would have the time and space to get into the
nuance and detail of this complex issue.

The end result of following your normal process and sending this to committee would be
an ordinance that has been more thoroughly vetted, and more thoroughly socialized with
the public and stakeholders.

The purpose of the new board is to increase public trust. That starts with you, and the
process you use to create the ordinance that will enable that new board. We would remind
the Council of former Councilor Duson’s oft-heard refrain of “Process, process, process!”

 (2)There continues to be no mechanism for following up with board
 recommendations.

The draft ordinance says that the CPRB is empowered to “make policy recommendations to
the mayor, the city council, and the chief of police.” The Charter says that the CPRB may
make recommendations to the City Council regarding “the police internal affairs
investigative process, policies or training, and for enhancing public confidence in the
methods and process of investigation of citizen complaints against police officers."

However, if making recommendations is intended to increase public trust in our police
department, we believe that there must be some kind of follow-up or response to those
recommendations.

Historically when the PCRS has made recommendations, whether and how the City
Manager, Police Chief, or City Council respond has been inconsistent. Sometimes a response
is verbal, sometimes it’s in an executive session, sometimes it’s a letter, and sometimes
there’s no response at all. We believe that it is important to formalize and standardize this
process, and require a written response to formal Board recommendations.

One idea we had was to mandate that the City Manager or their designee formally respond
to any formal recommendations from the CPRB within 60 days, but we are open to other
methods of accomplishing this.

 (3)The ordinance imposes eligibility restrictions far beyond what the Charter
 intended and required, and have actually been expanded since the last draft
 seen before bargaining.




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The Charter amendment passed by voters only requires that CPRB members be 18 years or
older, and have been residents of Portland for at least 3 months. This was intentional: in
their final report, they stated that “removing eligibility restrictions for board membership”
was one of the “enhancements” they were making.3 They did not specifically stipulate that
restrictions could be added, but all the PCRS restrictions they were trying to remove have
been added to the draft ordinance nevertheless.

Removing restrictions had been a main recommendation of the Racial Equity Steering
Committee in 2020-2021. They wrote in their final report,

 “RESC recommends an oversight committee that welcomes all community participants,
 regardless of their experiences with law enforcement, the criminal justice system, or
 their employment. The committee is firm in their belief that the current
 disqualifications attached to the PCRS stigmatize and punish people who have been
 arrested and/or who have been incarcerated.” 4

Despite all this, the draft ordinance bans:

 ● Anyone who was employed by the City or School Department in the last 5 years.
 (This would actually disqualify one of the current members of the PCRS - Xavier
 Botana - from serving on the new board.)
 ● Anyone who has been a City Councilor or School Board member in the last 5 years.
 ● Anyone who has been arrested by the Portland Police Department in the last 10
 years, as well as their spouses, domestic partners, children, grandchildren, parents,
 grandparents, and siblings.
 ● Anyone who has submitted a complaint to the Portland Police Department in the
 last 10 years, as well as their spouses, domestic partners, children, grandchildren,
 parents, grandparents, and siblings.

Note that the first two have been increased from 1 year (the Council’s stated desire after
much discussion in the 2023 workshops) to 5 years after bargaining with the police unions.

Why should a former janitor at Portland High School, retired teacher from Reiche, or
former Parks Department landscaper be disqualified from serving on the CPRB?




3 Charter Commission Final Report, 2022, https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/7cae899c-8d25-4e45-

9e93-152ebc91be67 [Page 11]
4 Racial Equity Steering Committee Final Report, 2021, https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/41c75af1-

d867-4dc0-b4af-39af4a6470d8 [Page 11]




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Why should the grandchild of someone arrested during the Obama Administration be
disqualified from serving on the CPRB?

Why should someone whose family member submitted a complaint be themselves
disqualified from serving for a full decade?

Both the Racial Equity Steering Committee and the Charter Commission discussed the issue
of these disqualifications at great length, and they both wanted to remove them. The
Charter Commission thought it had accomplished that with its amendment language.

While we strongly recommend that you revisit the disqualifications that have been added
back in, and reasonably adjust them to increase the diversity of perspectives on the new
board, we also acknowledge that the CPRB will be reviewing sensitive matters and
confidential material, and decreasing the risk of potential bias is a complex consideration.

 (4)The two non-voting members should not be the Chair & Vice Chair.

The Charter requires two non-voting members, but it does not require that they be the
Chair and Vice Chair, as currently written in the draft ordinance. This clause was added
after a comment from a former councilor in one workshop two years ago.

These non-voting seats were intended to function like they do on the School Board, for
example as youth representatives or representatives from local organizations with helpful
perspectives on the matters the board will discuss.

Requiring that the Chair and the Vice Chair be non-voting is not only extremely unusual, it
would hamper the ability of the Board to function properly. We would like to see this
removed.




We also wish to highlight some of the positive changes that have been made to the
draft ordinance:

 ● As required by the Charter, the new board will be able to receive complaints from
 the public and send them to the Police Department for review.
 ● The new board will be able to review internal Police Department complaints, not
 just external (i.e. initiated by the public).




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 ● The new board is able to review IA investigations for due process issues beyond the
 four criteria in the PCRS ordinance (fairness, objectivity, timeliness, and
 thoroughness).
 ● The new board will have the ability to request a budget and staff from the City
 Manager; this will also include opportunities for the CPRB to have conversations
 about budgetary needs with the City Manager.

For more information, we suggest watching the replay of our June 23 meeting where we
discussed the new ordinance in some detail.5 That 2-hour discussion on a 95-degree day
was the basis for this letter. We did our best to examine the new ordinance in the larger
context, but we acknowledge that we are just volunteers and none of us are experts in this
topic – which is why we believe this must be sent to committee for a fuller discussion with
a broader circle of stakeholders and experts.

Thank you for your time,

Joey Brunelle
Vice Chair
Police Citizen Review Subcommittee

Rachel Schlein
Member
Police Citizen Review Subcommittee




5 PCRS June 23 Meeting, https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/8149/media




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 Doc #: WI-XXXX
 Standard Operating Procedure Rev #: ###
 Effective Date: dd-MMM-yyyy
Title: Police Citizen Review Subcommittee Training Procedures




 1.​ PURPOSE and INTRODUCTION

 All Police Civilian Review Subcommittee (PCRS) members must receive initial and ongoing
training to execute their responsibilities in an effective and legitimate manner, and to fulfill the
mandates of their positions. Training includes PCRS policies and procedures on their local law
enforcement agency, the basics of civilian oversight, and the authority and responsibilities
associated with their role as a subcommittee member.

 2.​ SCOPE

 This procedure applies to all PCRS members, and their responsibilities around initial and
ongoing training while currently active as subcommittee members.

 3.​ ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES

 Role Responsibilities
 PCRS Chair or ●​ Will provide initial orientation of newly appointed PCRS
 Designee members.
 ●​ Will identify and disseminate ongoing training opportunities to PCRS
 members.
 ●​ Will keep a record of PCRS member training completion.
 ●​ To the extent available, will provide initial orientation of newly appointed
  City of Portland
 PCRS members.
 Legal
  Representativee ●​ To the extent available, will support ongoing training needs of PCRS
 members as applicable.
 ●​ To the extent available, will provide initial orientation and training to newly
  Portland Police appointed PCRS members.
 Department ●​ As applicable, and to the extent available, will provide continuing
  Representativee education opportunities for PCRS members, including ride-alongs.

 ●​ Will complete all initial and ongoing required training.
  PCRS Members


 4.​ PROCEDURE

 4.1​ Initial Training and Orientation

 4.1.1​ Within 30 days of appointment, and ideally prior to first meeting attendance,
 new PCRS members will meet with the PCRS chair or their designee, and
 will go over the following:
 4.1.1.1​ Outline of orientation training expectations.




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 Doc #: WI-XXXX
 Standard Operating Procedure Rev #: ###
 Effective Date: dd-MMM-yyyy
Title: Police Citizen Review Subcommittee Training Procedures




 4.1.1.2​ PCRS model of civilian oversight; history of PCRS; any relevant
 charter, ordinance, and/or municipal codes; community and local
 government expectations of PCRS.
 4.1.1.3​ Important documents, including ordinances, SOPs, definitions,
 annual reports, letters to the public, and where to find them.
 4.1.1.4​ Investigative procedures and practices; meeting procedures; case
 review, presentation, and findings.
 4.1.1.5​ Policies and best practices for communication during and between
 meetings.
 4.1.2​ Within 30 days of appointment, and prior to first meeting attendance, new
 PCRS members will meet with a City of Portland legal representative, to the
 extent available, and will go over the following:
 4.1.2.1 Public records and public meeting laws, and applicability to PCRS.
 4.1.2.2 Confidentiality requirements.
 4.1.2.3 City of Portland resources/supports available to PCRS members.
 4.1.3​ Within 60 days of appointment, new PCRS members will meet with a
 Portland PD representative, to the extent available, and will go over the
 following:
 4.1.1.6​ A tour of the police station.
 4.1.1.7​ Discussion of the PD’s current and past relationship to PCRS.
 4.1.1.8​ Introduction to the Internal Affairs department, and overview of its
 processes.
 4.1.1.9​ Discussion and expectations of training the PD offers to PCRS.
 4.1.4 Within the first 6 months of PCRS appointment, new members will attend the
 following trainings at Portland PD, which the PD will offer to the extent
 available:
 4.1.4.1 Criminal Procedures
 4.1.4.2 Virtual Reality simulation training
 4.1.4.3 Behavioral Health Unit
 4.1.4.4 Ride-alongs
 4.1.4.5 Any additional specialty areas of interest to PCRS members and
 agreed upon by PPD (for example, Criminal Investigations Division, K-9, Community
 Policing, etc.)

 4.2​ Ongoing Training
 4.2.1​ PCRS members are required to participate in annual training. The chair or
 their designee will keep PCRS members informed of training opportunities.
 Training will be available at no cost to PCRS members.




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 4.2.1.1​ The chair or a designee will identify and disseminate information on
 annual training. It is the responsibility of individual members to
 sign-up and participate in training individually and/or to organize
 them collectively for the group. Individual members are also
 encouraged to identify and participate in relevant training in their
 interest areas.
 4.2.1.2​ The chair or their designee will keep track of member training
 participation. It is the responsibility of individual members to notify
 the chair or designee of what training they have completed.
 •​ Attached form, “Training Attendance Form for PCRS Members,”
 may be utilized by PCRS members to keep track of their
 individual and group training attendance; use of the form is
 optional.
 4.2.1.3​ Training can be defined as classes or training offered online or in
 person, and can also include activities such as informational
 meetings with relevant organizations.
 4.2.1.4​ PCRS members will complete a minimum of 2 hours of continuing
 education a year.
 4.2.1.5​ Ongoing training will include an annual minimum of at least one
 ride-along with a PPD officer per each PCRS member, to the extent
 the PPD is available.
 4.2.2​ Consider the following organizations as resources for ongoing training, as
 examples:
 4.2.2.1​ National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
 (NACOLE)
 4.2.2.2​ National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)
 4.2.2.3​ Through These Doors
 4.2.2.4​ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
 4.2.2.5​ Preble Street Resource Center
 4.2.2.6​ Mayor/City Manager Offices
 4.2.2.7​ District Attorney's Office
 4.2.2.8​ Maine Criminal Justice Academy
 4.2.2.9​ Cumberland County Jail
 4.2.2.10​Longcreek Youth Development Center
 4.2.2.11​Medical Examiner
 4.2.2.12​Cumberland County Sheriff's Office




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 5.​ SUPPORTING FORMS

 Forms Title
 Form 1 Training Attendance Form for PCRS Members

6. APPENDIX

 Appendix Title
 Appendix 1 Links to Training Resources and Documents

7. REVISION HISTORY

 Revision Changes / Rationale
 Number




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Appendix 1
 Links Relevant to PCRS Training

Training Resources:

PCRS Website

PCRS Training Presentation (9-13-2024)

Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) Frequently Asked Questions

Maine Laws

National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) Training Resources

NACOLE “Civilian Oversight Basics”


Important Documents:

PCRS Ordinance

PCRS Annual Reports

PCRS Suggested Guidelines for Evaluating Internal Affairs Investigations

PPD Commendation or Complaint Form in English (also available on PCRS website in Arabic,
Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Somali)

PCRS Letters to Complainants

PCRS Results from the Community Survey of Police Oversight, Spring 2021

Where to Find City of Portland Meeting Minutes

Portland Police Department Standard Operating Procedures




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Form 1
 Training Attendance Form for PCRS Members



Name of PCRS Member:



 Date Description of Training Length (in hrs)




 Page 58
2025 PCRS Work Plan

 1.​ Offline Collaboration/Communication
 i.​ Rachel
 ii.​ Randall
 2.​ Documentation of Our Process & Meeting Structure (w/ recommendations)
 i.​ Randall
 ii.​ Keith
 3.​ Orientation/Training
 i.​ Rachel
 ii.​ Walter
 4.​ Complaint Form Availability/Accessibility & Community Engagement
 i.​ Joey
 ii.​ Kay
 5.​ Statistical Analysis
 i.​ Randall
 ii.​ Xavier
 6.​ New Ordinance
 i.​ Rachel
 ii.​ Joey
 iii.​ Xavier & Kay (advisory)




 Page 59

APPROVED MINUTES
 POLICE CITIZEN REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE
 July 9, 2025
 Meeting Held Remotely via Zoom

Members present: Kaylin Kerina, Chair, Joey Brunelle, Vice-Chair; Rachel Schlein;
Randall Kilty; Walter Bihumugani; and Keith Bidwell

Members absent: Xavier Botana

Staff present: Associate Corporation Counsel Rachel Millette, Chief Mark Dubois, Major
Dan Hondo, and Tracy Boyd.

6:03 Call to order.

 Motion was made by Randall and seconded by Rachel S. to approve June 11, 2025
meeting minutes. Passage 6-0.

 Motion was made by Joey and seconded by Rachel S. to approve June 23, 2025
meeting minutes. Passage 5-0, Kaylin abstaining.

Update on the new Civilian Police Review Board ordinance:
 Rachel M. informed the subcommittee that the next public City Council workshop
regarding the Civilian Police Review Board Ordinance will be held on July 28, 2025,
virtually, at 5:00 p.m.
Discussion of letter to City Council regarding the new CPRB ordinance:
 Rachel S. & Joey drafted a letter for review by the subcommittee. The letter was
edited and Joey made a motion to approve the letter to send to the City Council, seconded
by Randall. Passage 6-0.

Training SOP:
 Rachel S. drafted a PCRS training SOP, members provided feedback. After the
discussion, Rachel S. suggested that she revise the draft for further discussion at the next
meeting.

No public comment was offered.

6:57 Motion was made to enter into Executive Session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. Sec.
405(6)(F) to discuss IA2025-008, IA2025-009, IA2025-010 by Randall and seconded by
Rachel S. Passage 6-0.

8:37 Out of Executive Session.

 Motion was made by Joey to postpone voting on IA2025-008 until the August
meeting; seconded by Rachel S. Passage: 6-0.
 Motion was made by Keith to find that IA2025-009 was thorough; seconded by
Randall. Passage: 5-1, Kaylin voting no, IA2025-009 was found to be thorough.
 Motion was made by Randall to find that IA2025-009 was fair; seconded by Keith.
Passage: 5-1, Kaylin voting no, IA2025-009 was found to be fair.
 Motion was made by Keith to find that IA2025-009 was timely; seconded by
Randall. Passage: 5-1, Kaylin voting no, IA2025-009 was found to be timely.
 Motion was made by Randall to find that IA2025-009 was objective; seconded by
Keith. Passage: 4-2, Kaylin and Keith voted no, IA2025-009 was found to be objective.

 Motion was made by Randall to find that IA2025-010 was thorough; seconded by
Keith. Failed: 2-4, Kaylin, Joey, Walter, and Keith voted no, IA2025-010 was not found
to be thorough.
 Motion was made by Randall to find that IA2025-010 was fair; seconded by Keith.
Passage: 4-2, Kaylin and Joey voted no, IA2025-010 was found to be fair.
 Motion was made by Joey to find that IA2025-010 was timely; seconded by
Randall. Passage: 6-0, IA2025-010 was found to be timely.
 Motion was made by Keith to find that IA2025-010 was objective; seconded by
Rachel S. Failed: 2-4, Kaylin, Randall, Joey, and Walter voted no. IA2025-006 was not
found to be objective.

Next meeting’s date and agenda topics:
 Randall & Keith will present on: policy recommendations based on the cases that
were discussed at this meeting involving creation of a process for case presentation, the
review process and subsequent follow-up with the Complainant and PD, meeting
framework and how cases are categorized.
 Rachel S. will present: available training, draft training SOP, in person meetings,
and a possible new format for protected data.
 Walter and Joey will work on an outline for improvement to the complaint process.
 Rachel S. will re-present IA2025-008.
 Joey and Keith volunteered to present a case if there are cases to be reviewed.

9:03 Motion was made by Joey and seconded by Randall to adjourn. Passage 6-0.