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community
june18
2020
It’s Time to Listen continued from page 9
forcement officers when they do break the law.
Police accountability isn’t just a racial issue. On
May 27 of this year the Columbia County Spotlight
reported that the City of St. Helens and Officer
Adam Raethke are being sued for excessive use of
force during an arrest in August 2019. The plain-
tiff, Robert Barror, was pulled over while returning
from a medical appointment and has a condition
which did not allow him to raise his hands over
his head, which he told the officers during the en-
counter. Barror says he was thrown to the ground,
punched in the back several times, and had a knee
driven into his rib cage. According to the Spotlight,
Barror requested medical attention, but an EMT
determined he did not need to go to the hospital.
He was booked into the Columbia County Jail, and
after his continued requests, he was seen again by
the same EMT who instructed officers to take him
to a hospital. At the hospital Barror lost conscious-
ness. He was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder,
collapsed lung, and an accumulation of blood be-
tween his chest wall and lung, and spent eight days
in the hospital. Barror has not been charged with a
crime, while the City of St. Helens has declined to
discuss the incident.
Change is coming
As communities are faced with racial in-
justice and demands for accountability continue to
grow, change is beginning to take place. The city
of Camden, New Jersey, a city once considered one
of the most violent in the country, dismantled and
reformed their Police Department seven years ago.
Officers are no longer judged on the number of ar-
rests they make or tickets they write, and now do
more patrols on foot while working to build trust
with residents. It appears to be working – murders
are down by two-thirds, overall violent crime is
down by nearly half, and complaints of excessive
use of force by police have dropped 95%. When
the most recent protests began in Camden, rather
than battle demonstrators, Camden Police Chief
Joe Wysocki helped lead a Black Lives Matter
march.
After weeks of protests other cities and
communities are starting to seriously rethink the
way they police and are taking action. Some of
the ideas under consideration include, requiring
officers to carry their own professional liability
insurance, creating an independent agency to in-
vestigate and prosecute critical incidents involving
police, mandatory psychological testing for offi-
cers, and community participation in negotiating
police union contracts. In addition:
• A coalition of four current and former district at-
torneys in California has called on the State Bar
to ban law enforcement unions from funding dis-
trict attorney campaigns, saying the contributions
represent a conflict of interest and that their col-
leagues cannot ethically prosecute police officers
if they are receiving funds and endorsements from
unions that finance those officers’ legal expenses.
• During the current protests, citizens are calling
for the defunding of police departments. This is
not always a call for completely dismantling de-
partments, but in many cases, it means redirecting
funds from police departments to other parts of so-
ciety that help people, like housing and education.
But, in a major shake up – nine members of the 13
person Minneapolis City Council announced their
intention to disassemble their department. “We’re
committed to dismantling policing as we know it
in the City of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our
community a new model of public safety that actu-
ally keeps our community safe,” Council President
Lisa Bender told CNN in an interview in June. In
a TIME magazine op-ed Council member Steve
Fletcher said many of the members of the current
Council ran on a platform of police reform and ac-
countability, which has been met with “stiff insti-
tutional resistance.” Fletcher said the City has al-
ready explored the idea of implementing programs
to dispatch county mental health professionals to
mental health calls, and fire department EMTs to
opioid overdose calls, without police officers; ex-
perimented with unarmed, community-oriented
street teams on weekend nights downtown to fo-
cus on de-escalation; and could turn over traffic
enforcement to cameras and parking enforcement
staff. While a smaller police force may remain to
deal with crime, it won’t be the default when in-
teracting with the community in a crisis. “Our city
needs a public safety capacity that doesn’t fear our
residents,” wrote Fletcher. “That doesn’t need a
gun at a community meeting. That considers itself
part of our community. That doesn’t resort quickly
to pepper spray when people are understandably
angry. That doesn’t murder black people.” Other
cities have followed Minneapolis’s lead – Denver,
Albuquerque, Seattle, New York, and Atlanta have
all announced community police reforms.
• In a move that stunned many, on Monday, June 8
Portland Police Chief Jamie Resch resigned her po-
sition amid criticism of her department’s response
to the current protests. Resch had only been on
the job for six months. Lieutenant Chuck Lovell,
a Black American, was named the new chief. The
previous week the Portland Public Schools said it
was ending its contract with the Police Department
to provide school resource officers in its schools.
“I’ve asked our community time and time again,
what do we need to do,” said Resch while an-
nouncing her resignation. “The Portland Police
Bureau has made change… but they are not the
change. What the Portland Police Bureau has not
done is stand up and say, ‘We will be the change.’”
In addition, the Portland City Commission is on
the verge of cutting $15 million from their $244
million annual police budget, and redirecting the
funds to community programs.
• Democrats in Washington D.C. have proposed a
federal bill that would allow civil suits against po-
lice, ban chokeholds, limit no-knock raids, require
police to publish use-of-force data, and implement
mandatory officer re-training.
The disparities in how we police our com-
munities are just one very visible symptom of a
much bigger, systemic problem of inequality. The
recent violence against Black Americans has fo-
cused a spotlight on racism in our society and is
forcing us to consider change, confront our culpa-
bility, and have difficult conversations, which are
uncomfortable and hopefully revealing.
After organizing and leading the protest in
St. Helens on June 3, Savannah Manning closed
her inspirational speech with these thoughtful
words: “I know that I don’t speak for every person
of color, and that my experiences are my own, but
I believe talking about personal experiences and
collectively coming up with solutions will bring
forth a more united community. We just have to
come together as a community and listen. Just lis-
ten... I hope my voice is heard.”
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An Interview with
Savannah Manning
One of the
original organizers of
the Black Lives Matter
protest in St. Helens on
June 3 was 18 year old
Savannah Manning, a
2020 graduate of St.
Helens High School,
where she helped
choreograph and lead
dance routines at school
assemblies. She plans
to attend Portland Com-
munity College in the
fall, where she will study
to become a dental hy-
gienist, and also plans
to audition for the Blazer Dancers – “Dancing is one of my
biggest passions,” she says. Since recent events she says
she is considering writing a series of children’s books that
talk about racial and social equality. Manning graciously
agreed to speak with Vernonia’s Voice the week after the
rally.
Vernonia’s Voice: Why do you think it’s important for young
people like you to be involved in social justice and political
issues?
Savannah Manning: The younger generations are our future
and I believe if we have as many ideas as we can get then
we can find the right solutions. I definitely think young people
should be involved.
VV: What’s it been like for you as an 18 year old to be so in-
volved in something that’s received so much attention in our
community?
SM: At first it was strange because I’m not use to having so
many people I don’t know thank me and congratulate me, but
I feel if this many people were willing to listen to someone
like me then hopefully we can make positive changes in the
community and more people will be willing to step up and
make those changes. I’m really happy so many people have
showed support and it does make me hopeful that things will
change for the better.
VV: What’s your personal reaction to the spread of the cur-
rent protests around the country and the world? Do you be-
lieve real change will come from this?
SM: I think many people are ready for positive changes and
ready for everyone to be seen as equal and treated equally.
I don’t agree with the violence and the looting that has oc-
curred. I believe that if we can come together peacefully and
send the message without being violent, a lot more positive
change can happen. If most of our society and nation can
come together, we can make those changes. I just really
hope things do change, not just for my generation and the
older generations, but also for the younger generations as
well. I believe it’s our duty to make everyone feel safe.
VV: What do you think we can do as individuals in our small,
rural communities here in Columbia County to address racial
injustice and help bring about change in our communities?
SM: I think the best thing we can do is keep talking. We
need to have people share their experiences so we learn to
do things better and change things in a positive way. People
need to stop passing down hate and discrimination to their
children. Children are very impressionable and their parents
or our society teaches them racial injustice. It just creates this
endless cycle. I feel like we need to end this cycle. I definite-
ly believe that, not only the little communities, but in all the
states, the entire nation, and the world, just needs to be able
to listen so we can change things positively and peacefully. I
think if we can listen it will help lead to positive change.
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