Dan Brunell Emerald
John Secean addresses a crowd of about 100 at a police forum Sunday in recognition of International Police Brutality Day. The
event showcased videos and presentations by community members concerned over police conduct.
SpeakOut
continued from page 1
action is necessary.
“There is no review process for
complaints,” she said. “Complaints
are just given to the police who al
ways deny they’ve done anything
wrong.”
Carol Berg, volunteer of the IPRP
and CopWatch, a police watchdog
organization, said speak outs provide
an environment where people can
share their stories freely and learn
about how to deal with the police.
“The point is to invite the public
in a safe place to testify and relate
what they experienced with the po
lice,” she said. “...We want people
to know their rights so they don’t
get into unnecessary conflict or
dangerous situations.”
Libris Solar, IPRP volunteer, spoke
about police discrimination against
people of different classes, races and
appearances. He shared his own ex
perience of being stopped by officers
because someone had reported him
as “looking different and suspi
cious.” Solar said that if people are
approached by the police for these
reasons, they need to find witnesses
and also show the police they know
their rights.
“Someone can call on you be
cause they don’t like your hair or
rings or clothing,” he said. “When I
was stopped by the police, I went to
a nearby phone booth and called
911 and said officers were detain
ing me for ludicrous reasons. I
haven’t been stopped since ...You
can’t let them have control.”
Berg added that this SpeakOut!
was held on campus to especially
educate students about their rights
and make them aware of the IPRP’s
efforts. She said the group has had
a number of calls from University
students who are concerned specif
ically about the police party pa
trols.
Elizabeth Allen, a sophomore so
cial science major at Lane Commu
nity College, said she attended the
event because she believes students
are specifically targeted by the EPD.
“I’ve seen bad mistreatment and
it’s all directed at students,” she
said. “I had a party with three peo
ple at my house. Almost 11 officers
came in illegally with video cam
eras and cuffed me because I was a
‘threat.’ I asked them how I could
be a threat when there were 11 of
them with guns on their hips ... I’m
a 19-year-old girl.”
Hilary Berkman, director of the
Office of Student Advocacy, an
ASUO program also spoke about the
student legal services offered by the
University, where students can turn
to if they’ve had experience with po
lice misconduct.
Two videos that displayed police
brutality and misconduct through
out time were also shown at the
SpeakOut! These videos presented
cases where police officers had been
charged with inflicting pain and
physical harm.
The IPRP also handed out “Know
Your Rights” cards, produced by the
American Civil Liberties Union.
The cards presented a list of what
people legally can and can’t do and
displayed lesser known information
such as not being required to show
an officer identification.
“The police are supposed to up
hold the law,” Berg said. “But it’s
not their job to administer punish
ment. That’s the court’s job and peo
ple need to be aware of this. ”
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