City of Tigard > News > Tigard Urges Portland to Rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)

Tigard Urges Portland to Rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)

Home > News > Tigard Urges Portland to Rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)

	City of Tigard 13125 SW Hall Blvd. Tigard, Oregon 97223	Press Release January 24, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact:	Jim Wolf, Public Information Officer Tigard Police Department 503-718-2561 Pager: 503-795-2391 jim@tigard-or.gov

Tigard Urges Portland to Rejoin the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)
Tigard City Councilor Nick Wilson is currently leading the City of Tigard in efforts to strongly urge the City of Portland to reverse their decision cast in 2005 which withdrew their participation in the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The City of Tigard has made their intentions evident by creating a resolution for council consideration at a session slated for January 25, 2011. The document reads in part "urging the City of Portland to reverse its decision of 2005 to withdraw from the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and commit resources to the current makeup of the JTTF."

The renewed interest expressed by Councilor Wilson was made more apparent after the November 26, 2010 incident involving an alleged attempted bombing in Portland near Pioneer Courthouse Square during a well attended holiday event hosted by the City of Portland.

Shortly after the incident in Portland, Councilor Wilson, along with Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen, began to voice their concerns regarding the City of Portland's lack of participation in the "JTTF." Both men presented their position that now more than ever it is important for the City of Portland to rejoin the JTTF "as cities have a fundamental role to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people." In a statement to Mayor Dirksen, Councilor Wilson stated that "crime does not respect political boundaries and the fight against crime requires cooperation between all of our police forces. Terrorism, in particular, because of its political nature, requires close cooperation between local police forces and national and international intelligence agencies."

The City of Portland decided to pull out of the JTTF in 2005 citing concerns with the then Bush Administration's anti-terrorism policies amongst other issues. With the exception of Portland, nearly 100 FBI field offices throughout the nation collaborate with their local law enforcement in efforts to comprise a JTTF in those respective communities.