Keizertimes., August 31, 2018, Image 1

SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 48
SECTION A
AUGUST 31, 2018
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Hispanic man assaulted waiting for son
Assailant charged with
bias-motivated intimidation
in February incident
By ERIC A. HOWALD
and CASEY CHAFFIN
Of the Keizertimes
On Feb. 7, 2018, just after 1 p.m., on Elizabeth
Street North in Keizer, a Hispanic man was waiting
by his truck outside his apartment for his son so they
could go to work. Then John Ross Niko pulled up.
According to police reports, and verifi ed by a
witness who called 9-1-1, Niko got out of his vehi-
cle approached the Hispanic man, began threatening
him before punching him in the face, then got back
in his vehicle and fl ed the scene.
On another day, in another instance, the words
Niko used before the assault and during and after his
arrest might not have mattered as much, but Niko
is still facing charges of assault and second-degree
intimidation because his actions appeared to have
been motivated by racial bias. In Oregon, charges
of second-degree intimidation are leveled against
suspects when crimes are motivated by the suspect’s
“perception of the other’s race, color, religion, sexual
orientation, disability or national origin.”
The victim told police Niko stopped his car and
said, “Why are you standing here? Go back to Mex-
ico,” then got out of the car and hit him in the face.
The responding offi cer noted in his report that the
victim was bleeding around his nose when he ar-
rived.
A witness and the victim’s son said Niko insti-
gated the altercation, and a struggle continued while
the son tried to separate the two men. However,
Niko appears to have had a history of targeting the
the victim and his son. The victim told police Niko,
36, had previously verbally harassed him. The vic-
tim's son claimed Niko once tried to run him over
while walking the family dog.
Niko’s vehicle was found around the corner at
his residence and the victim and his son were able
to identify him as the assailant from a DMV photo.
Police returned to Niko’s home and placed him un-
der arrest while he protested against being “arrested
for being attacked by an illegal.” Niko asked offi cers
whether they knew the man’s legal status, but it is
illegal for offi cers to ask that question in Oregon
because it is a sanctuary state and has been that way
for three decades.
When offi cers asked Niko how he knew the man
was in the U.S. illegally, Niko responded, “because
he does not speak English.”
New Clear
Lake Principal
PAGE A2
Please see ASSAULT, Page A6
City council dragging its ‘All these changes are
feet on inclusivity talks happening ... it’s about
By ERIC A. HOWALD
and CASEY CHAFFIN
Of the Keizertimes
In January 2017, a user of
the social network Nextdoor.
com posted a photo of a swas-
tika drawn in the snow at their
home. It was the second time
in two years it happened at
the residence in the Gubser
neighborhood.
The post was met with
mixed reactions, some down-
played the severity of the act
while others encouraged the
resident to report it to the
police. Keizer resident Cyndi
Swaney took one of the most
vocal stances against it.
“It was surprising at how
nonchalant people were in
talking about the swastika
compared to gang tagging go-
ing on a few miles away,” said
Swaney in a recent interview.
She is a teacher in the Salem-
Keizer School District.
A few months later, Swaney
and a small group of friends
attended a string of city coun-
cil meetings asking for the city
council to consider adopting
an inclusivity resolution – a
statement declaring the city
a safe and inclusive space for
everyone regardless or race,
creed, national origin, gender
identity and sexual identity. In
the months before the ask, the
Salem-Keizer teachers union,
the Salem-Keizer School Dis-
trict, and the City of Salem
had all adopted similar resolu-
tions.
The request barely got out
of mouths of the group before
the language of the resolution
how you respond to it’
A tale of two cities' inclusivity
Salem and Keizer have incorporated two very different
takes on inclusivity. Salem's Chapter 97 of the city's revised
statues is a 'big tent' take on inclusion. Keizer's only mention
of inclusionary language is in the form of marginalizing
groups with different sexual identities, the result of a voter-
approved change in 1993.
SALEM
KEIZER
It is the policy of the
City to eliminate dis-
crimination based on
race, religion, color, sex,
marital status, familial
status, national origin,
age, mental or physical
disability, sexual orienta-
tion, gender identity and
source of income. The
Council fi nds that such
discrimination poses a
threat to the health, safety
and general welfare of
the citizens of Salem and
menaces the institutions
and foundation of our
community.
The City of Keizer,
including its Council and
elected or appointed offi -
cers, shall not make, pass,
adopt, or enforce any or-
dinance, rule, regulation,
policy or resolution that
extends minority status,
affi rmative action, quotas,
special class status, or any
similar concepts, based on
homosexuality or which
establishes any categorical
provision such as "sexual
orientation, " "sexual
preference," or any
similar provision which
includes homosexuality.
was deemed “infl ammatory”
by City Councilor Amy Ryan.
In later discussions, the peti-
tioners were accused of creat-
ing cover for undocumented
immigrants and attempting to
make Keizer a sanctuary city.
Nevertheless, Keizer May-
or Cathy Clark said the city
would look into “putting
Keizer wheels” on such a reso-
lution, and suggested the pos-
sibility of establishing a task
force. The idea was discussed
once more in a work session
in July 2017, but the council
hasn’t resurrected the conver-
sation since. While other issues
have come and gone in that
time, the council has canceled
seven of its last nine work
sessions when it might have
taken another look into the
inclusivity issue.
“I’m really surprised at
the pushback,” Swaney said.
“I never would have thought
it would take this long. I be-
lieved them when they said
Please see INCLUSIVE, Page A5
white people to escape the
By CASEY CHAFFIN
abolitionist movement in the
Keizertimes intern
A year after the Charlottes- years preceding the Civil War.
That legacy did not fade, it
ville “Unite the Right” Rally
left many injured and one found new outlets. As Randy
killed, the American conver- Blazak, a hate researcher who
serves as chair
sation about
of the Or-
hate contin-
egon Coali-
ues to stall
tion Against
out in certain
Hate Crimes
places.
in Portland,
For
an
said, “In the
example,
1990s,
the
look no fur-
HATE CRIME:
traditional
ther
than
Any crime motivated
Klan started
the
Keizer
by the perpetrator's
to fade, but
City Coun-
perception of the
there was a
cil chambers.
victim as belonging
lot of en-
After a group
to a protected class
of individuals. Burning
ergy around
of residents
a cross in your black
the idea that
a p p ro a c h e d
neighbor's yard would
the
north-
city leaders
be a hate crime.
west region
with a request
would secede
to adopt an
BIAS INCIDENT: and become
inclusivity
Any action that is
a white-only
resolution last
discriminatory against
homeland.”
year, the is-
a protected class, but
W h e n
sue died with
not criminal in nature.
Blazak moved
relatively
Standing outside a
to Portland to
minimal dis-
mosque and shouting
racial slurs at those
conduct re-
cussion (see
attending religious
search in the
related story,
services there would
late
1980s,
Council drag-
be a bias incident.
he did so be-
ging its feet this
cause Port-
page.)
land had be-
In a state
like Oregon, which regularly come known as “Skinhead
votes blue in national elec- City.”
“It was, I guess, shocking to
tions and is touted as a pro-
gressive haven, the conversa- a lot of folk because Oregon
tion stalls out in a fundamental was seen as a progressive place,”
misunderstanding of who we Blazak said. But the history of
are. Oregon was not founded, the state, and of America, con-
in 1859, as a liberal paradise: tinues to haunt the present.
it was founded as a place for Please see CHANGES, Page A5
There’s a
difference
Business
changes
PAGE A4
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packing
power
PAGE B1