By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
After endless debate, the Portland City Council in Oregon voted unanimously Thursday for its police department to rejoin the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force — sort of.
The city quit the JTTF in 2005, citing concerns that the FBI was violating civil rights. It was also concerned its officers might snoop on citizens and violate local laws. Then-police chief and mayor were also angry that they did not have access to the same classified information task force officers had.
But on Thursday, the council reached a compromise: It decided not to permanently assign manpower to the JTTF, but to get involved with the anti-terrorism task force on an “as-needed basis” when it deemed the investigations worthy, The Oregonian reported.
Under the plan, the police chief will have the discretion to assign officers to investigations after consulting with the police commissioner, the Oregonian reported. Some community members were adamantly against the city having a relationship with the JTTF.
U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton praised the vote, The Oregonian reported.
The issue to rejoin bubbled up again late last year after the FBI set up a sting and busted a man who was plotting to detonate a bomb at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland.
