Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2000)
juna 16.2000 * u m rm s in e w s O n the T able Information, announcements, surveys; affirmations, polemics, pleas— Sexual Minorities Roundtable dealt with broad agenda by Jo n ath an K ipp progress being made working side by side with the Portland Police Bureau. Progress is being made, and one could argue that Portland hovers above most U.S. cities, a roundtable member suggested, when looking at the relationship the sexual minorities communi ty shares with local police. Portlands new police chief, Mark Kroeker, attended the two-hour roundtable to listen to nearly 25 community members and roundtable regulars who chose the meeting over a frolic in the unusual early-June sunshine. Some would argue there is no better evi dence of progress. The chief? O f a major U.S. city’s police department? At a gay meeting? F r u s t r a t io From left: Lt. Jay Heidenriech, Lori Buckwalter, Assistant Chief Mark Paresi, Norm Costa ortland’s sexual minorities communi ty may he in its adolescence— no longer young and naive, demanding more, increasingly confident, a hit cranky, wanting more and better of everything. And like most people’s experience during adolescence, life for Portlands queers (the term now preferred by many) is an amalgam of good P J ails S afer P for and could he better; a blend of progress, frustra tion, optimism, anger and, ultimately, hope. P n his is a good start, but we have a long way to go,” Derek Travers acknowledged before launching into an impassioned speech about his experiences living in Portland. Travers said he doesn’t feel safe. A transsex ual and gay man, Travers said he doesn’t feel safe because of his own experience and what he’s heard others have gone through when dealing with Portland’s police. The young man had a laundry list of complaints for Kroeker and the bureau; gay youth being targeted by police topped his considerable list. O p t im is m L rogress S ome of those who gathered at a special Sat urday meeting of the Sexual Minorities Roundtable on June 3 came to acknowledge the positive aspects of the City of Roses and the ori Buckwalter, an activist and co-chair of the roundtable, said she agrees that so much more needs to he done. But she also tried to give encouragement to the concerned, and mostly young, citizens. N orm Costa announced that Portland police Chief Mark Kroeker is going to march in the pride parade on June 18. An invitation was sent to Kroeker, Costa said, and the chief accepted. Costa, who is involved in planning the annual celebration organized by Pride North west, made the announcement to more than 25 people who attended the Sexual Minorities Roundtable on June 3. Kroeker, who attended the meeting with his wife, Diane, did not respond to the announcement, neither confirming nor deny ing his participation. In fact, he looked slight ly surprised as he glanced at his wife and grinned. Kroeker joined the bureau late last year after a 32-year career in law enforcement. He had retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1997; his last post there was deputy chief. So will he march or won’t he? Portland Police Bureau public information officer Sgt. Mike Hefley confirmed on June 5 that the chief will march in the parade. Kroeker and his assistant chief, Mark Pare- si, promised no tear gas or riot-gear-clad mounted police. “Just go and have fun,” Paresi said in response to a roundtable participant’s concern about her safety at the event. ■ Reported by JONATHAN While few trans people are arrested and jailed each year in Multnomah County (one or two per year, according to Heiden riech), the sheriff department’s manual on harassment and dis crimination does address this community. The manual requires trans citizens to “be treated respectfully and afforded the same privileges as any similarly situated inmate.” But the special order outlining the new procedures goes even further in protecting members of the trans community who are in police custody. Following the arrest of a trans person, a detailed protocol goes into effect, including the identification of appropriate housing options. The protocol is lengthy and involves multiple police, jail and health personnel. Heidenriech said San Francisco averages 36 trans inmates in custody. Yet the city, known as a haven for alternative lifestyles, does not have a policy for the treatment of trans people during the incarceration intake process. In fact, Heidenriech said, law enforcement officials in San Francisco have discussed adopting the Multnomah County policy after seeing one o f the earlier drafts. The recently adopted policy was authored over the past three months, said Heidenriech, who is the sheriff’s representative to the Sexual Minorities Roundtable. “It’s something nobody else has in this country,” added Buck- waiter, who is also executive director of It’s Time, Oregon, an organization that advocates for the civil rights of trans people. The guidelines are the result of extended negotiation and collaboration between the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, representatives of the Sexual Minorities Roundtable and a com munity-police advisory group. The full text of the special order, including a downloadable version, can be found at www.itstime.org/news/MultCoInmate- SpclOrder.htm. ■ Reported by JONATHAN KlPP Wc'x U c b i t e **» u H f*e fc KlPP Continued on P age 8 T rans C ommunity ortland may have achieved something never before done in this country, according to Lori Buckwalter, co-chair of the Sexual Minorities Roundtable. A t the June 3 roundtable meeting, Buckwalter and Lt. Jay Heidenriech of the Multnomah County Sh eriffs Office announced new booking, classification and housing procedures for members of the trans community to be used in all county cor rectional facilities. The procedures are intended to protect the rights of trans sexual, transgendered and intersexed people in custody by addressing special concerns for their safety and general treat ment by jail personnel. For some trans people, Heidenriech said, there is a point in their transition to their adopted gender at which they techni cally could be placed in either male or female facilities. Because of this issue, the new procedures were written. N ew P olice C hief to M arch p u !i( c\/« need. M ake B ender Properties your real estate hom e. Put your feet up and relax! Details are our business. You w o n ’t lift a finger as w e attend to every aspect of buying or selling your h o m e -e v e n the lit tle chores that others sw eep under the rug. And successful? W h en it com es to fresh m arketing or resourceful hunting, our enterpris ing agents really clean house. C om plete service and client e d u c a tion are alw ays our priority. HOME PURCHASE & SALES IN V E S T M E N T P R O P E R T Y S A L E S , P U R C H A S E & M A N A G E M E N T L I C E N S E D T A X C O N S U L T A T IO N ft'* ACC in tut ftl dcuyiftitH! properties 4133 SE Division Street, “Richmond Place" f T I IN © 503.233.4363 Portland, Oregon 97202 "*7
