Race in Oregon: Report Finds DOJ Unit Not Given Adequate Training

"Intelligence Unit employees have not received adequate cultural competency training, or training on anti-racial profiling , hidden or implicit bias, and/or diversity training."

That's one of the major conclusions of a five-month independent investigation into the Oregon Department of Justice's Intelligence Unit.

The report, by Carolyn Walker of the law firm Stoel Rives, was requested by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum after it was discovered her investigators were looking into Oregonians who used the hashtag, BlackLivesMatter.

That surfaced when one of those Oregonians - Erious Johnson, who happened to be the head of Rosenbaum's Civil Rights Division - used it in a tweet.

An investigator concluded that some of Johnson's tweets constituted a potential threat to police.

Rosenblum ordered the probe after Johnson's wife - Nkenge Harmon-Johnson, the President and CEO of the Urban league Portland, wrote a letter complaining of the surveillance that was going on.

The report concluded that political surveillance by the DOJ Intelligence Unit was not restricted to #BlackLivesMatter but also kept tabs on mentions of "Umpqua shooting," "KKK," and "white pride" among others.

The report concluded that there the investigator who searched "blacklivesmatter" is not indicative of "widespread behavior/actions."

Despite that, the report recommends that the criminal justice division "should proceed with the Attorney General’s directive to provide anti-racial profiling to the Intelligence Unit, and should implement mandatory training in the related and often overlapping areas of diversity, cultural competency and anti-bias training.

"The Intelligence Unit as a whole would benefit from clear and consistent leadership and direction regarding applying the relevant statutes and regulations to their daily activities, specifically with respect to electronic monitoring of social media. This training should be mandatory, documented and monitored for compliance, and refresher training should be provided at scheduled intervals.."