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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2016)
Moved to Act Obama gets emotional on gun control QR code for Portland Observer Online ‘City of Roses’ See page 2 Icy Grip Freezing rain disrupts work and schools See Local News, page 3 Volume XLV Number 1 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • January 6, 2016 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity photo by o livia o livia /t he p ortland o bserver Rev. T. Allen Bethel speaks out during a picket at City Hall after the Oregon Court of Appeals orders the reinstatement of a Portland officer who was fired for shooting an unarmed black resident to death six years ago. Behind him, NAACP Portland chapter president Jo Ann Hardesty also rallied to oppose the ruling. Police Reform Activists Stunned Fired cop ordered returned to force by o livia o livia t he p ortland o bserver A court ruling giving a Portland Police officer his job back after he was fired for killing an unarmed black res- ident in 2010 has been met with outrage from members of the African-American community, other civil rights advocates, and the mayor. Black ministers from the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Police Reform, representatives of the Port- land NAACP, Black Lives Matter and others activists, braved frigid temperatures to protest the decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals and form a picket line at City Hall on New Year’s Eve, the day after the Dec. 30 deci- sion was announced. Aaron Campbell, who was only 25 at the time of his death, was shot in the back after police were called for a wellness check at his Northeast Sandy Boulevard apart- ment. There were reports that he was distraught and pos- sibly suicidal over his brother’s death earlier that day from natural causes. The shooter – Officer Ron Frashour, was acting as cover behind a police car for another officer who shot Campbell with beanbag rounds. Frashour was eventually removed from the force for acting outside of police pro- tocols, but never convicted. An arbitrator ruled he had “an objectively reasonable basis” to use deadly force. The city’s agreement with the Police union to use bind- ing arbitration as a way to resolve labor contract disputes was the basis for the appeals court decision to affirm the ruling. With the appeals case now closed, Frashour stands to return to the force. “What about our safety, our humanity?” asked Ang- ie Black, a mother and member of Black Lives Matter. “Don’t I have the right to see my son grow up, and hope he is safe and alive and well? I would be scared if I knew that officer was patrolling the neighborhood where my son is playing or going to school.” Joining her at the City Hall protest was Black’s son, Moses, who stood beside her for support, and both weres C ontinued on p age 5