(PORTLAND, Oreg.) — The Portland City Council grappled with the implications of artificial intelligence in policing during City Administrator Raymond Lee’s report at the Wednesday, November 4 meeting.
Councilor Sameer Kanal brought up several concerns over the use of AI, specifically the Tech Five USA contract for biometric solutions and a 'copilot' for police, which he argued violates a city ban on facial recognition and existing council direction.
Photo Credit: YouTube / eGov PDX
Councilor Kanal began by quoting an article from Street Roots.
“On October 28th, there was an article in Street Roots entitled, quote, ‘Portland Police are Banned from Using AI They Plan to Use it Anyway,’ end quote. It shows that in August, the administration specifically including BTS, again determined, quote ‘A Copilot at police is feasible,’ end quote, without council consultation or input or even a briefing.”
“The article says that Copilot is marketed to law enforcement as providing steps for arrests, that you can use it to prepare investigation briefs and automatically summarize witness testimony.”
“We’re looking at AI as it is an inevitably good thing in how we’re branding it. There’s the fact that we have rules that are clearly not being followed, because you yourself told us that this would not be used for police in a previous one of these monthly reports to council earlier this year,” Kanal said.
Alarmed at not fully understanding what the Tech Five USA contract is, Councilor Kanal asked City Administrator Lee to pause the proceedings while council is in conversation.
Lee was unable to pause the contracts but committed to learning all he could and following up with the council at a later date.
In a news article released by portland.gov in April 2026, the City of Portland spoke about advancing the use of AI in various areas of city administration.
Photo Credit: portland.gov
“The City is rolling out a new, approved AI tool—Microsoft Copilot Chat Basic—for use by employees outside of the Police Bureau, alongside a new administrative rule that establishes standards for how AI technologies are used across all bureaus. Together, these actions will help ensure AI is used thoughtfully, securely and in ways that build public trust.”
"Our goal is to leverage AI thoughtfully and responsibly," said Mayor Keith Wilson. "The Incubation Lab is a way to invite community input, explore new ideas, and identify opportunities where AI can support routine tasks—allowing our employees to focus on the creativity, judgment, and human connection that are at the heart of public service."
OpGov.News will follow developments on this issue and update when new information is made available.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please email me at rory.h@lead4earth.org.
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