City Council candidate Terrence Hayes, whose cousin was killed by Portland officers, endorsed by police union

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – Ninety-eight candidates are running for the new Portland City Council in November, and each one of them has a story.

However, few are as compelling as that of Terrence Hayes, who is one of 16 candidates running in District 1 representing outer-East Portland. This area runs east of I-205 and includes the Portland International Airport.

Back in 2017, Terrence Hayes’ cousin, Quanice Hayes, was shot and killed by Portland police officer Andrew Hearst . Authorities said Quanice, 17, was a robbery suspect and had a replica handgun with him at the scene.

A grand jury decided not to charge Officer Hearst. But in 2021, the Portland City Council voted to settle a lawsuit by the Hayes family for $2.2 million.

“Our entire community’s impacted,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said at the time. “Families, doctors, nurses, neighbors, first responders, all of us.”

Despite the settlement and the family tragedy, Terrence Hayes has received an endorsement by the Portland Police Association, the union representing Portland’s police officers.

Terrence Hayes joined this week’s segment of Eye on Northwest Politics to discuss his campaign and how his cousin’s death — and the following settlement — influenced his decision to run for office and forced him to see the city in a different light.

“His death moved me to recognize that there is a bridge or a gap of knowledge and understanding between, specifically, Black communities and policing,” Hayes said. “We generally don’t understand the laws and rules that govern the behavior of officers. And when we take those type of losses, we feel them personally. So I wanted to make sure I understood how our city was ran. How our bureau practiced those type of engagements. And I wanted to be a part of change.”

Despite this history, Hayes said the Portland Police Association has chosen to endorse him because “when they look at a story like mine, they realize that they need somebody who’s done the work in community, has experienced the highest level of laws, and is still willing to sit at the table.”

“To me, it means Portland should be excited…for how the PPA is now seeing their relationship between community and itself,” Hayes said. “I think community as a whole in Portland has historically felt like Portland police have been able to kind of hide behind what we say is ‘the blue shield,’ and I don’t think they want to be there anymore.”

Hayes also served time in prison for attempted murder after shooting a man in the leg, which he claimed had been in self defense. The conviction came from a 10 to 2 jury decision before non-unanimous jury verdicts were outlawed in Oregon.

Hayes said this experience motivated his political activism because he wanted to bring a unique perspective, “because most individuals like myself who’ve committed a crime, we want a better life — especially after we’ve been held accountable.”

In his time working within the community, Hayes has served on several boards and commissions related to criminal and racial justice, such as Portland Ceasefire. He’s also been on the board of the Freedom Fund, which raises bail money for people of color.

Hayes said he feels a duty to these causes because he wanted to bring his “lived experience to the table.”

“I think for the past four to six years, the Black narrative when it comes to criminal justice reform and the criminal justice system, it’s kind of been run by folks who don’t know that don’t always look like you and I,” Hayes said.

But for a part of Portland that has historically gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the city’s attention, Hayes said the “biggest thing for me is I want to make sure that … we have enough officers in our district.”

“Despite your view on police, on either side of this argument, we have to know that it’s problematic that we only have four squad cars to cover all of East Portland,” Hayes said. “East Portland has been very clear about two things. One is that they want responses from officers when they call for help. And two, they want an answer to encampments … something that impacts their life every day.”

Watch the complete interview in the video player above.

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