After months of talks with federal officials and civil libertarians, Mayor Sam Adams has crafted a plan for Portland police to participate again in the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.

While it plays to the mayor's liberal base with added safeguards for civil liberties, it's not going to fly with the feds.

would allow three to five Portland police criminal intelligence officers to participate in certain Joint Terrorism Task Force investigations on an as-needed basis.

Portland officers would be able to attend regular task force briefings, and the chief and police commissioner would also receive at least biannual briefings. The chief, who now has secret clearance, could apply for top secret clearance to the federal investigations.

Portland officers would not only have to comply with state law, but report any violations to the chief and city attorney. It would also require the chief to present an annual public report to the City Council on city officers' work with the task force.

All that is acceptable to the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI.

But a deal breaker could be a clause Adams added this week -- modeled after one sought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon -- that would restrict Portland police involvement to the task force's full investigations, or during a critical incident or imminent terrorist threat. It would not allow officers to get involved in what the FBI classifies as preliminary investigations or assessments, including the initial follow-up of leads.

U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton said federal officials have agreed to unprecedented civil liberty protections and would welcome Portland's involvement in the task force. But the clause restricting the stage of investigations that Portland officers could participate in would impede that collaboration.

"Unfortunately, as currently drafted, the proposed resolution does not provide a way in which the PPB can rejoin the team," Holton said in a

"That one section makes this unworkable."

The mayor said the federal government can accept his offer of local resources in part, or as a whole. He will file the resolution this week. He's seeking

(The council Wednesday set the time for the public hearing for 2 p.m. April 28.)

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"Neither our safety nor our civil rights are best served by current practices. We can and must do better," Adams said.

Portland's distinction as the only metropolitan city that withdrew its officers from the multi-agency task force six years ago became a hot issue since the November arrest of Mohamed Mohamud.

The 19-year-old is accused of trying to detonate what he thought was an explosive-filled van parked beside thousands assembled in Pioneer Courthouse Square for the annual tree-lighting ceremony. The mayor was unaware of the alleged bomb plot and the FBI sting operation to thwart it until after arrest.

Andrea Meyer, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said the investigative restriction would help city officers avoid violating state law and infiltrating lawful activity if no reasonable suspicion or criminal nexus is established. State law is unique in that it prohibits police from collecting and maintaining information on lawful political and religious activity.

"Those preliminary assessments present a higher risk to officers of violating state law," Meyer said. Meyer said Tuesday she had not seen Adam's resolution.

Adams said he supports the investigative safeguards because the FBI has access to tools – such as surveillance and wiretapping – not routinely available to city officers.

Yet federal officials say the city's restriction is not workable since terrorism investigations are "fluid." It would also bar city officers from what they routinely do now, such as talking to people on the street or looking at web pages.

"It makes no sense to ask PPB officers to be in for this part of a conversation, but out for another part of a conversation," Holton said. "When a player joins a soccer team, they don't dictate when they're going to play, how much and in what position. We think that kind of operation should be left up to the coach of the team."

And the coach of the task force is the FBI special agent in charge, Holton said.

Under the mayor's plan, Holton said it would be impossible to give the chief and mayor regular task force briefings because they include information about early stages of an investigation.

Under the mayor's resolution, a Portland police supervisor would be assigned to the task force whenever a criminal intelligence officer is assigned, and the chief – who now has secret clearance –could apply for top secret clearance, affording access to classified information. The mayor would apply for secret clearance, which less than 10 mayors nationwide have obtained in the last 10 years. If a city officer reported a violation of state law to the city attorney's office, and a city attorney needed to evaluate classified FBI information, the chief could request the FBI to provide the material under a non-disclosure agreement.

After Mohamud's November arrest, Commissioner Dan Saltzman urged the city to rejoin the task force.

The Portland council voted 4-1 to withdraw from the task force in April 2005, led by then-Mayor Tom Potter. Potter cited insufficient oversight of city officers who must adhere to stricter state laws, saying he feared the potential for trespassing on civil liberties. Saltzman cast the lone vote against withdrawal.

The FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces – in which FBI agents work with state and local law enforcement officers -- are based in 106 U.S. cities. Portland's formed in 1997 to prevent potential threats to the Nike World Masters Games, and over the years between two and 7 city officers were assigned to it.

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On Wednesday, the ACLU released this statement regarding the mayor's proposal: