Now police accountability critics the Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA) have their say on their hiring: it's "a slap in the face." The AMA just sent out a press release this afternoon saying that they had encouraged Chief Mike Reese to hire a person of color to the high-level position, since there are exactly zero people of color in commander jobs. Also, the Kuykendall and Reese play in a hilariously-named band together. This is from the AMA release:
Reese's personal relationship with Kuykendall, which includes their membership in a band called "The Usual Suspects," as well as Kuykendall's background in the District Attorney's office and at the Portland Business Alliance, gives the appearance of insider influence. "In the same way Mayor Adams selected Chief Reese without input from the community, Reese has now picked an Assistant in direct contradiction to input from the community, and without doing a broader search," said Pastor T. Allen Bethel of the Coalition.
