Outside Auditor to Monitor Foxworth Investigation

from the Potter files...

The City of Portland has hired attorney Sheryl Hayashida to conduct a review of its investigation into a complaint filed against Portland Police Chief Derrick Foxworth.

Hayashida is based in Torrance Ca., and in her career has experience in overseeing and conducting investigations. She is a former county counsel for Washington County who practiced labor and employment law. She has also worked for the State of Washington Attorney General's Office and in private practice.

Hayashida was hired Friday (4/20) and began her review immediately. She will provide an independent review of the completeness and impartiality of the investigative process. She also will determine if there are additional documents to obtain or witnesses for investigators from the Bureau of Human Resources and the City Attorney's office to interview.

Hayashida will report her on-going findings to HR Director Yvonne Deckard. She will issue her final report to Mayor Tom Potter, who will then release it to the public.

Smart move. As with auditing the VOE process, in a perfect world the original response probably could have been swifter and more decisive. But like Blackmer, the mayor seems quickly to have grasped the need for strong accountability, and is proceeding accordingly.