Eugene weekly., July 24, 2014, Page 7, Image 7

The number is up from the previous year’s
sustained rate of 31 percent. Gissiner says he
hopes the number goes down in the future. The
auditor’s office sees more incidents now that
EPD officers use Blue Team, software that re-
ports all uses of force, he says.
‘ I can’t imagine that there’s very
many agencies around the nation
that see every use of force.’
— M A R K G I S S I N E R , P O L I C E A U D I TO R
EPD’S ‘SUSTAINED’ RATE
OF MISCONDUCT GROWS
The Eugene Police Department (EPD) finds that in
approximately 44 percent of the cases investigated for
serious misconduct, the officer investigated has commit-
ted serious misconduct. That is a rate higher than many
other cities, according to the city of Eugene Police Audi-
tor’s 2013 Annual Report. The report, released May 31,
shows four other cities with “sustained” rates ranging
from 2 to 20 percent.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the whole investiga-
tive process — what the expectations are, willingness to
make decisions, having the resources to manage the kind
of load that we have,” Police Auditor Mark Gissiner says.
Eugene Police Commission Chair Bob Walker says
he thinks the number is high because of Eugene’s com-
prehensive oversight process. Cases are reviewed inde-
pendently by the police auditor and the Civilian Review
Board — a seven-member volunteer citizen body that
evaluates certain allegations of misconduct. Cases are
also reviewed at EPD by Internal Affairs, and the police
chief receives feedback from all three groups. Walker
says he thinks EPD holds police to a high standard.
The oversight bodies see more uses of force with Blue
Team, Gissiner says, because the software leads to all uses
of force being reported by a supervisor and sent to the audi-
tor. “I can’t imagine that there’s very many agencies around
the nation that see every use of force,” Gissiner says.
The annual report shows the most common allegation of
misconduct is regarding use of force; in 17 of 19 cases re-
ported, the use of force was found to be within policy or the
allegations were proven to be unsubstantiated. Twenty-nine
percent of complaints alleging serious misconduct are about
use of force, down from the previous year’s 35 percent. Gis-
siner says use of force is commonly the most prevalent al-
legation in other cities.
The year 2013 brought the most complaints — nearly
400 — against EPD since the auditor’s office has been open.
The report also states that the office has seen an increase
in complainants who are affected by mental illness. In the
last year or two, Gissiner says, the office has received more
walk-ins by those he believes are affected by mental illness.
He says people come in the office three to five times each
week experiencing delusions — some say officers are “fol-
lowing them around or devices from the sky are controlling
their behavior.”
The annual report can be found at wkly.ws/1sf.
— Missy Corr
BY PAUL NEEVEL
HAPPENING PEOPLE
NANCY-DIANE MANNELLI BREWER
“New York didn’t resonate with me,” says
Nancy-Diane Mannelli Brewer, who grew up in
Northport, on Long Island. “It’s too fast-paced
and competitive. I left when I was 18.” Mannelli
studied for a year at West Virginia University in
Morgantown, where she discovered
Transcendental Meditation, and spent three
years of quiet spiritual practice at an ashram
in the Catskills, where she met her husband-
to-be Bill Brewer, an artist. She taught TM for a
while in Annapolis and in Bermuda, until she
and Brewer got married, moved to Seattle and
had a daughter, Rhice. “When Rhice was 4 I
thought, ‘I need a career,’” says Mannelli, who
went to nursing school and got a job in the
oncology unit at the Seattle Children’s Medical
Center. “The kids had incredible stories. They
taught me a lesson about living and dying.”
When the Brewers moved to Eugene in 1992,
Mannelli found work at Sacred Heart Hospital.
“I’ve been on the hospice team since ’94 or
’95,” she says. “It has a similar thread to the
work I had been doing with children.” After
attending a training in pediatric palliative care
in 2004, Mannelli joined with her colleague,
LCSW Dora Parys, to launch the Little Stars
program, offering in-home hospice care to
seriously ill children. “She and I have worked
closely together since then,” says Mannelli.
“Little Stars has served many families in Lane
County.”
The local real estate market appears to be doing well with
residential sale prices improving in all areas, many by double
digits, according to a flyer sent out last week by broker Sally
Nunn. Nunn’s numbers compare June 2013 with June 2014
and show the biggest gains in the McKenzie Valley (16.9
percent) and Springfield (13.4 percent). West Eugene home
sales went up 10 percent with other parts of Eugene showing
single-digit growth. The number of closed sales in the metro
area increased 3.7 percent and the number of new listings grew
by 6.5 percent.
Several Oregon health insurance rate hikes are unjustified,
according to an analysis by the OSPIRG Foundation. Moda,
PacificSource, United and Health Net have proposed premium
rate increases but OSPIRG concludes that cost savings are not
being passed down to customers, medical cost trends are
overestimated and waste within the companies is not being
adequately addressed. See ospirgfoundation.org.
World-class track and field athletes are in town, giving local
businesses a nice boost. Thousands are here for the 2014 IAAF
World Junior Championships this week, a big invitational track
and field meet Saturday, July 26, at Hayward Field, and the
Eugene Marathon and Half Marathon Sunday, July 27.
Wholesome Café is a new business that celebrates its
official grand opening Thursday, July 31, with free food tasting
from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm that day. The café is located
downstairs in the Lane County Public Service Building, 125 E.
8th Ave., and offers a breakfast menu, house-made soups and
sandwiches and daily specials. The business was previously
called Wholesome Meals Delivered.
In labor news, we hear that Sacred Heart nurses and the
Oregon Nurses Association are voting this week on an
informational picket due to unsuccessful negotiations with
management. Most of the negotiated items are around safe
staffing for patient care, according to one source, and the only
remaining scheduled negotiation with a federal mediator was
this week, July 23. The contract with the nurses expired June
30. Meanwhile, Lane Transit District and Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 757 reached an agreement on a new three-year
contract earlier this month. See ltd.org.
We introduced RAIN (Regional Accelerator and Innovation
Network) in this column May 29 and the public/private
partnership designed to grow local innovation officially
launched July 14 with an inaugural class of eight startup
companies. The first class of the program will receive 12 weeks
of focused mentoring and development. RAIN inaugural startup
companies include ADASA, Black Lodge Design Lab, BT Biotech,
Dune Sciences, Heads of State, LawyerBoom, Manage My
Co-op and SCAPE. “Being an entrepreneur requires adaptability
and thick skin,” says Joe Maruschak, chief startup officer and
director of the program that promises to “challenge founders’
perceptions of their companies and provide them with the vital
skills they need to adapt quickly to feedback in a competitive
marketplace.” See raineugene.org.
Falling Sky Brewing in Eugene is now loaning customers a
free bicycle for up to 24 hours, including lock, lights and
helmet. “We have tried to encourage biking from the beginning,
so when the idea of a bike share came up, we thought — wow,
that would be awesome,” says co-owner Jason Carriere in a
press release. Falling Sky purchased seven underused bikes
from UO and partnered with Arriving by Bike, a local shop, for
equipment and maintenance. See fallingskybrewing.com or
call 520-8012.
Mudra Yoga Eugene is planning to open Aug. 4 at Station
Square, 199 E. 5th Ave. Owner is Heather Nelson and she’s
trying through crowd-funding to raise at least $6,500 for eco-
friendly renovations to the space. Find Mudra Yoga on Facebook,
call 543-9121 or email heather@eugenemudra.com.
The Springfield TNR Project (Trap/Neuter/Return of cats) is
a successful collaboration among Springfield mayor, City
Council, Police Department, Willamette Animal Guild and 50
volunteers. The project began in February and has spayed/
neutered 600 cats and transferred 114 to adopting agencies.
Adoption fees range from $40 to $90. Ages start at 1 year. For
more information or to donate or volunteer, call 607-4271.
A free small business clinic “Ask the Experts” will be from 5
to 7 pm Thursday, July 31, at the Eugene Public Library
downtown. Sponsored by LCC Small Business Development
Center and SCORE. Pre-registration required by calling 682-
5450.
eugeneweekly.com • July 24, 2014
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