Tim Lewis videotapes
an interaction between
a Eugene police officer
and demonstrators
downtown in this
EW file photo.
Community Policing
Is there public recourse against questionable
police conduct? 5 By Bobbie Willis
W
hen community concern rises over the
conduct of local law enforcement, as it
has in Eugene the last few years, it’s time to
scrutinize more closely the resources avail-
able for citizens to express that concern and to
search for accountability and resolution.
One option is through the Eugene Police
Commission, a 12-member citizen body cre-
ated by City Ordinance 20136 in December
1998, spurred on by (albeit a year and a half
after) EPD’s assault on demonstrators in the
June 1997 downtown tree-sitting protest.
According to its literature, the commis-
sion’s mission is “to recommend to the City
Council, the city manager, the Police
Department, and the people, the resources,
preferred policing alternatives, policies and
citizens’ responsibilities needed to achieve a
safe community.”
However, in keeping with the city ordi-
nance, the commission doesn’t undertake the
review of allegations and inquiries related to
the actions of individual police officers.
Thus, the commission provides no real,
direct recourse in instances such as alleged
sexual coercion cases against former officers
Juan Lara and Roger Magaña. Commission
member Floyd Prozanski says, “Those alle-
gations have not entered into any substantive
discussions concerning current policies. The
commission did receive a general report con-
cerning the two situations, but it was only
informational. I acknowledged the depart-
ment’s thorough investigation and its deci-
sive handling of both cases.” Prozanski also
says the cases have not affected the commis-
sion’s recommended policies. “The commis-
sion is spending time looking at the depart-
ment’s policies regarding conduct to make
sure that community standards are covered in
the policies.”
Commission member Bonny Bettman
adds, “The EPD has a Code of Conduct
Policy [that] is being reviewed this year.
Tradition and BEYOND ...
THE WORLD
FAMOUS
There are performance standards that are a
subset of [this policy] — the PC is review-
ing them, too … These policies cover stan-
dards of conduct and behavior. One of
[these] cases … was a conviction for an
abuse of power for the purpose of sexual
harassment, exploitation and victimization.
These crimes are even more devastating
because the victims are people the officer
was sworn and entrusted to protect. That is
severe criminal behavior and goes beyond
anything the policies address.”
This speaks to the limitations on the
Police Commission to effect direct change
within the system. Other limitations result
from commission members being nominated
by the mayor and appointed by the City
Council — chances of anyone too far outside
the fray gaining a nod from Mayor Torrey are
slim. The obvious glitch is the commission
advising EPD and other related city officials
consists of members nominated and
approved by those city officials.
These limitations have real repercussions
in the community. Majeska Seese-Green,
president of the Whiteaker Community
Council (WCC) and acting chair of the
WCC’s Police Issues Committee, has
become increasingly involved with policing
issues in Eugene — Whiteaker has been
caught in some of the higher profile policing
situations, such as the October 2002 early
morning SWAT raid on a residential
dwelling. Regarding the commission’s work
following the SWAT raid, she says, “I’ve
learned the Police Commission has a very
constricted purpose. I’m disappointed when
it narrows the scope of its work even further,
as it did on the SWAT issue. (Granted, their
committee has done major hard work on that
one — but with a very narrow focus.)”
Outside the mainstream, there are more
independent ways to take action: CopWatch
is a community organization that encourages
people to watch the cops rather than fear one
another. CopWatch utilizes video and
Internet technology to document and distrib-
ute incidents of police misconduct.
Tim Lewis of Eugene CopWatch gets
straight to the point on forums for public
concern: “It’s all bullshit — the Police
Commission,
the
Human
Rights
Commission — it’s all put up for the public
to be stuck in process. … The ideal situation
is for people to get to know their neighbors
and to rely on each other instead of dialing
911 any time they see a freak on the street.”
Lewis emphasizes that the CopWatch web-
site (www.eugenecopwatch.org) has all the
tools — fliers, contact information, news sto-
ries — people need to begin monitoring and
documenting police conduct themselves.
“It’s finding your own courage, about stand-
ing on the street and watching when a cop
pulls someone over and making sure that
everything goes OK.”
Is there a chance Eugene can create an
independent police review committee to
evaluate police conduct and to operate sepa-
rately from the city infrastructure? Bettman
says, “There are only a few ways this can
happen, and they are all highly politicized. At
any time citizens can initiate a ballot meas-
ure. … the City Council could either put it on
the ballot or move to study various models
adopted by other communities and consider
implementing them here. Currently, the
political composition of the City Council
almost certainly precludes the second two
options. That leaves a citizen ballot initiative.
If the community feels strongly that an exter-
nal review board or process is needed, they
have the power to create it, through the ini-
tiative process.” WCC’s Seese-Green adds,
“There’s no chance — with the current City
Council and mayor — that the city will cre-
ate an independent review commission,
unless the new chief takes the lead in
requesting one. That’s unlikely unless the
public demands one. Long term, another
route is a ballot measure.”
It should be noted that a few sources for
this story were reluctant to give specific
input on how to express concerns over police
conduct. But as Prozanski says, “Citizens
must be willing to bring policy issues … to
the attention of the Police Commission. … if
they believe that a specific officer has violat-
ed department policy, broken a law or acted
unprofessionally, they need to bring these
matters to the attention of the department. …
Citizen involvement is necessary to ensure
that the system works.”
Incidentally, the “Commendations &
Complaints” page on the EPD website
(www.ci.eugene.or.us/police/Int_Affairs/aic.
htm) is another way to document police con-
duct, though some who have used this sys-
tem have received only tepid EPD responses
at best.
ew
UO School of Music Chamber Music Series
Juilliard String Quartet
For more than 50 years, the JUILLIARD QUARTET has been one of the
most recognized chamber music groups of its time. Its honors include
four Grammy Awards, membership in the National Academy Recording
Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame, and Musician of the Year (1996) from
Musical America, to name only a few. Don’t miss an evening of stunning
artistry as the Juilliard performs music by Haydn, Beethoven, and Webern.
Thursday, Feb. 5 • 8:00 p.m.
BEALL CONCERT HALL
Tickets $32, $28, $15 at Hult Center (682-5000) or
EMU Ticket Office (346-4363). Free Musical Insights
with Robert Hurwitz, 7 p.m.
12 JANUARY 29, 2004