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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2005)
BY TED TAYLOR One More Time Eternal police review idea gains momentum, again. E LANE COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH FREE or low cost exams Birth control supplies for men and women Pregnancy counseling and testing Eugene 682-4361 WIC 682-4202 STD exams and treatment HIV counseling and testing Immunizations WIC Confidential Services – Se habla español C h ao Pr a Ya The Best Thai Cuisine 5BEST NEW RESTAURANT 5BEST SOUTHEAST ASIAN 5BEST TAKE OUT 2 6 L u n c h S p e c i a l s • Lunch & Dinner, Dine In or Take Out H u g e V e g e t a r i a n S e l e c t i o n s • Family Owned & Operated. 580 Adams St., Eugene (across from Red Apple) • 344-1706 MON-FRI Lunch: 11am-3pm, Dinner: 4:30-9pm • SAT 12-9pm For Delivery Call Pony Express 485-2090 THE WAIT IS OVER! JAN. 27 ... ugene voters by a narrow margin nixed a ballot measure in 1998 that would have established an independ- ent, external police review board for Eugene; but following recent police sex scandals and alleged racial profiling incidents, the issue is likely heading to voters again. Improved relationships between the people of Eugene and police officers benefit every- one, according to those who spoke to a crowd at the City Club’s New Year’s Eve meeting at the Hilton. The topic of the meeting was “Is it Time for a Police External Review in Eugene?” A show of hands at the standing- room-only meeting indicated near-unanimous support for the idea. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we have to rebuild trust in this community,” said Tim Laue of the Eugene Police Commission, “be- cause not only do the officers I know feel like they are unsupported right now, they also feel a great sense of shame for the actions of the few that have maligned the hard work they do — and they work very hard.” Laue is chair of the Police Commission and shared the podium with Guadalupe Quinn of Communities United for Better Policing (CUBP), a group that has evolved out of the city’s Racial Profiling Task Force. The two were introduced by District Circuit Judge Cindy Carlson, who also called for rebuilding trust in the police department. “This is not about being anti-public safety,” said Quinn, “but rather about holding people accountable. It’s important, especially in com- munities of color, that we have a trusting and good relationship with public safety. We need to be able to work together and that’s hard to do if we don’t have that kind of trust.” Quinn said CUBP is working independ- ently of the Police Commission, but not en- tirely. “Our hope is that as we do our work we will find places where we can connect and fold in with what the Police Commission is doing,” said Quinn. “Maybe at the end of the process that the Police Commission is going through and in the process CUBP is going through we might end up on the same page.” Both groups appear to be heading for supporting a ballot measure that would create an external review process. City Club member Emily Shue asked the presenters for an analysis of the “condition” of the Eugene Police Department today. Laue said that was a question best answered by city management, but he did offer an historical per- spective. Laue, a former city councilor, recalled that in 1992 the council adopted its Long-Range Plan for Public Safety, which included com- munity policing. “One of the things we did was set expectations in our community around the concepts of community policing, largely in- volving interactions between officers and the community in problem solving on a pro-active basis,” he said. “Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, mostly budgetary, the council was un- able to fund that plan. So now what you have is a department where officers are responding to call after call after call in a reactionary mode, many times in a high-stress mode in quick suc- cession, one after another. That has had an in- credible impact on morale in the department.” Laue said the police want a good relation- ship with the community, “but those relation- ships don’t take place during enforcement ac- tions — in crisis situations — and mostly that’s all the officers in Eugene can do right now.” Quinn said, “Our relationships with the po- lice aren’t bad; they just don’t exist in the way that we believe are constructive, effective and real, and our hope is to develop that.” Quinn noted that she has been working on issues of social justice for decades. “We’re committed to making this happen,” she said. “This is the best time in the past 25 years to bring about change.” An audience member asked the two presen- ters to talk about the reasons not to have exter- nal police review. Quinn said she has heard from people that the city already has an effective process in place to deal with complaints against the po- lice. She has also heard people voice fears that the process could be used to persecute police officers. Laue said one argument against external re- view is that it’s the police chief’s job to disci- pline officers, and the chief can be fired if he or she is not doing the job. Likewise, it’s the city manager’s job to supervise the chief. Laue also said some people are concerned about the cost of staffing an external review process and worry about the process becoming politicized. The Police Commission is currently re- searching the experiences other cities have had with external review. The issues are many, in- cluding disciplinary actions, appeals, time commitments, police unions, whether panel members are elected or appointed, and how the process would work with Eugene’s particular form of council/manager government. Both Quinn and Laue said there are no sim- ple solutions for problems with law enforce- ment. “My feeling,” said Laue, “is that if it takes external review or anything like it … to rebuild trust, then that’s what we have to do.” ew CHOW! writers: Eugene Weekly's Restaurant Guide Chow! features reviews of area eateries and a directory of Eugene and Corvallis restaurants. Ad reservation deadline is Friday, Jan. 21st by 5pm. Contact Mark Frisbee 484-0519 ext. 12 10 JANUARY 6, 2005 do you just wanna rock? WRITE MUSIC REVIEWS FOR EUGENE WEEKLY! We are now accepting submissions of CD reviews by local writers. What’s in it for you? You’ll just do it for the glory . . . (These are unpaid reviews, but you’ll get to see your work in print!) What’s in it for us? We’ll boost our music coverage and get rockin’ reviews from the experts (that would be YOU) who know what’s really happening in the music world. Reviews should be between 100 and 200 words, on any musical genre, and should be emailed to cal@eugeneweekly.com under the subject heading: “Local CD Review.” Please include complete information about the CD, including band name, album name, year and record label, contact information so we can reach you, as well as a short bio about yourself. For additional guidelines and information, contact Eugene Weekly: 484-0519, Ext. 26
