Audit: Police wrongfully collected data on protesters

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A city audit is critical of the way the Portland Police Bureau collected and stored surveillance information regarding racial justice protests in 2020. KGW-TV reports auditors said police collected information about protesters who were not connected to any crimes, and kept some private information for too long. The audit was done after Black Lives Matter protesters expressed concern that police were gathering information that could violate their civil rights. The report concluded that some concerns were unfounded — like the rumor that police were spying from aircraft — but others were warranted. Portland auditors reviewed 73 police and Criminal Intelligence Unit reports — a sample of more than 1,500 reports in total.