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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1985)
» * « w x' -» $s -, « . I '- 'V - 3 't y Cf ■ne, O r e r o n • - 7 ' ? c r 1,’ b r n p y - -;n 974J3 Vet honored Salvadoran struggles Page 3 Page 4 Volume XVI, Number 2 November 13, 1985 25C Copv PORTLAND OBSERNER Two Sections City settles Stevenson claim bv Jerrv d a rn e r I lie fam ily ut 1 loyd I) Stevenson and hi-, m othe r. M arx H a rvey, have settled the ir c iv il rig hts cases against the t iiv o t P o r tla n d , C h ie f P enny H a rrin g to n , and police o tlice rs G ary Harbour, Biuce Panties, and Iho m a s M itchell As a result ot the settlement, cash benefits totalling over $2 m illio n w ill be made available to the Steven son fa m ily and M is H a rvev 1 he am ount is believed to be the largest amount every paid bv the City ot Port land as a result ot a civil rights claim . I uder the settle m e nt o t the c iv il suit $126.824 w ill be placed in an a n n u ity lo r each o t S te v e n s o n ’ s fiv e children Susanna Stevenson and her a tto rn e v , Tom Steenson each w ill receive $248,464 and S te v e n s o n ’ s mother w ill receive $50.000. Stevenson, a Black m an w h o was m a rrie d and the fa th e r o f fiv e children, died a lte r police applied the caratoid artery hold around his neck. Stevenson’ s wife filed a $ 1 ' m illio n w ro n g fu l death suit ill I S D is tric t ( o u r t, saving th a t her h u s b a n d 's death was the result o f carelessness by the police and that his civil rights were v io la te d S a in e d in the su it were ( fu e l P enny H a r r in g to n and policcm eni Garv Barbour. Bruce Pan proposal Stevenson's fa m ily 's acceptance ot the o u t-o f co u rt settlem ent brings to an end all litig a tio n regarding liability in S te ve n so n 's d e a th . I he c ity ot P o rtla n d w ill have paid out $697,921, plus p a rt o t the $ 7 ,7 5 0 a r b itr a to r 's fee. Since fiscal sear Id"” to August ot 1985, the ( Hv ot P o rtla n d has paid $1,057.712 to in d iv id u a ls w ho have tile d c la im s a g a in st the P o rtla n d Police Bureau lo r o tlic e r s ' m iscon duct and c rim in a l behavior A ccord mg to the B u re a u of Risk M an agem ent, $986,277 was paid to in d iv id u a ls w h o s u ffe re d b o d ily in ju rie s and $71,415 was pa id lo r property damages A ttornev's lees are not included in the above figures I he bos below is a bre akd ow n ot the dollar am ount paid bv the City tor d iffe re n t p o lice m isco n d u ct Under each cate gorv is a lis t o f the areas covered I lie largest am ount paid for bcxlilv in ju r y c la im s d u r in g the p e rio d covered was in fiscal year 1980 when the city paid in dividu als $4'6,94O lor c la im s ag ainst the P o lic e B ure au ( iscal year 1981 was second highest when $242,651 was pa id out bv the city for bodilv in ju ry claims As lo r p ro p e rtv da m ag es, fis c a l sear 1977 was the year the citv paid the m ost in c la im s w h ic h to ta le d $18,160 I he second highest was in 1981 w ith $17,729 paid to individuals ties and I om M itchell According to I buck D u ffy (police liaison lo i M avoi ot Portland) M avor Bud ( la rk w ill a p p ro v e th e se t tlement An attorney fo r the city said Stevenson’ s fam ily had agreed to the lo r propertv damage Portland Police Bureau Liability Claims Paid fro m Fiscal Year 1977 to August 1985 A M O U N T P A ID I SI < >1 W IA P O N S $116,082 I leemg suspect shot excessive force Innocent by slander shot Accidental discharge I allure to c on tro l access to weapons by others I veessive force w ith nightstick Im proper or negligent use o l tear gas I X ( I SSIVI I O R ( I W IIH O U T W I APO N 251,616 ( fiber undue force Illegal arrest w ith undue force A R R I ST W IT H W A R R A N T 123.95' Illegal arrest, detective warrant Illegal arrest, no ju risdiction Illegal arrest, fraudulent basis lo r warrant A R R I S I W IIH O U T W A R R A N T '1,875 probable cause ( aneclied "W a n te d N o tice” M istake o l law W rotig person IM 2 6 W illtu l negligence I allure to protect in fo rm a n t I allure to cancel "W a n te d W a rra n t” M IS ( I I I A N I O U S 251,680 ( ivil Rigfits vlolations Harrassmenl I )ainuge to suspect's property (including vehicles) Stolen property I allure to care for custody items No notice o f Im poundm ent (vehicle) Illegal tow-away I allure Io n o tify o f H o ld Release NT ( ¡ • • " 'j , n ,,n where Ih r remaining J / •e ' , / t I ■ ‘ tid e d h l the bu reau o l H iO je unt mas belong uniter is hZZ was fwjtii out Io Oregonian listens to community h i Robert I othian Act was so succv s fu l," P hillips said, "w as because the news media played Tor the first tune, the top echelon leadership o l the O regonian cattle to N o rth e a st P o rtla n d last week lo r a m ee ting at K in g N e ig h b o rh o o d such a responsible role.” H illia r d resp on ded th a t as a re g io n a l paper w ith a large cir c u la tio n . the O re g o n ia n must its to have something tot everyone, and not cover o n lv m in o tilv news as som e sm a ll papers d o He liste d several recent tones about Southeast Asians in response to c ritic is m a b o u t covet age o l that group " Y o u 'v e got to watch for it on an a lm o st d a ily b a s is ," he said a b o u t I actlitv I be fo r u m was one o t a senes organized bv the O re g o n ia n to hear c ritic is m and to ga ther suggestions from readeis I ou tlee ii executives and editors responded to questions fielded bv O regonian publisher I led Shekel Mans questions fro m the 8 ' people- present d e a lt w ith the O re g o n ia n 's coverage o f p r o s titu tio n , d ru g s , crime, and specifically, whv the paper c o u ld n 't p u b lis h the nam es o f p r o s titu te s ’ cu sto m e rs arre ste d bv police, as a deterrent to p ro s titu tio n No I A ll I R1 IO A ( T Rev John Jackson, one of the handful of Blue ks ttiat attended the m eeting, i ntici/es the O re g o n ia n on the way Blacks are covered in the newspa|x>r (P h o to R ic h a rd J B ro w n ) nul indu died in the S lanaeem eni H o w e v e r, a h k r tv area this t r a d ii " tin te no am ouni wai lu te d in th i\ ealegort i tra ffickin g " W e w a nt to kno w w h o these people ate d riv in g ten tim es a ro u n d die b lock, w atching our d a u g h te rs ," said H e len S to ll, a m em ber of the H o lly w o o d N e ig h b o r h o o d A s s o c ia tio n and the H o lly w o o d Boosters " Y o u mav p u b lis h the nam es of some of your own staff, and have egg on y o u r f a c e ," said D ic k S a u te r, owner ot the John Palmer House on N Mississippi Ave Ix e c u tiv e I d ito r W illia m H illia rd resp on ded th a t the O re g o n ia n had p u b lish e d the names o f " j o h n s ” in the p a st, b u t s to p p e d on m o ra l grounds " W e 'r e not here to shame people, th a t’ s not our jo b , ” H illia rd said. Robert P hillips, a ffirm a tiv e action o ffic e r to r M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty , praised the O re g o n ia n fo r w h at he said was responsible coverage of the I shirt incident, but he criticized lack ot minority coverage "P a rt o f the reason the C ivil Rights m inority coverage He adm itted. "W e are not always aware o t tilin g s that people th in k we o u g h t Io be coset mg " I urge sou to contact us, use the phone num bers that ate listed there, w rite le tt e r s . " said M e tr o p o lita n I d it o r Bob ( aldwell "W hat is vou r a ffirm a tiv e a ctio n record ’ " asked Rev lo lin lackson, pastor ot M t O livet Baptist ( hu tch and co fo u n d e r o t the Black U n ite d fro n t H illia r d answered hv saving tha t out ot 104 news e d ito ria l employees at the O re g o n ia n . there are lo u t Blacks, lo u r Asians, three Hispanics, "a n d a lot o l whites " He outlined a series of Oregonian a ffirm ative action efforts including summer internships, college re c ru itm e n t, and a minority jo u rn a lis m conference at the H ilto n Hotel sponsored by the paper “ We d o m ake an e ffo r t to b rin g m in o ritie s in to the n e w s ro o m ," H illia r d said A ssistant M a n a g in g I d ito r Judson Randall is the man to talk Io about m in o rity recruitm ent at the paper, he said. Jackso n said lie co m p a re d e d ito ria ls on South A fric a fro m the O regonian and fro m southern papers fo u n d those fr o m the S o u th m ore e n lig h te n e d H e a lso c r itic iz e d the O re g o n ia n lo r c o v e rin g m o re " s m ilin g B lack c h ild r e n " Ilia n "g ro w n up Blacks Bob Nelson, chairm an ol the Not theasl C o a litio n o f N e ig h b o rh o o d s, said the O regonian coverage o l crim e in Northeast was giving the aiea a bad name and the media were holding the com m unity hostage But ( h.irles l o rd , c o o rd in a to r of tlie K in g N e ig h b o rh o o d f a c il it y , ca lle d to t m o re c rim e coverage "W ith the kind ot activdies going on right now it can't c o n tin u e .” fie said I ord praised the paper lo t holding the fo ru m and expressed hope th a t it c o u ld be an a n n u a l o ccu rre n ce " I tiope there can be sonic kin d of lo t mat w lie te citizens can com e to you and voice their concerns," I ord said O th e r teaders w a n te d m o re and better coverage o l a n im a l rig h ts groups, n a tu ra l b irth c o n tro l, ab ot lio n , eastern O regon, cam ping, I ’M , d ru n k duvets, and positive police as Hons. Sevetal c ritic iz e d O re g o n ia n headlines and others said then letters were being edited out o f context Publisher Shekel said that each o f the fo ru m s was taped, and the tapes w ill be c u lle d fo r sug ge stion s He c a u tio n e d th a t it mav be a ve.ir ot m ore b e fo re im p ro v e m e n ts art- w o rke d in to the paper, but he also said the O re g o n ia n is c a p a b le o l change " J u s t lo o k at a pa pe i liv e years ago c o m p a re d to to d a y . " lie- sard Statement by Commissioner Bogle on Stevenson settlement I he Unreal! o f Risk Managem ent and o u r attornevs h a te rei ornm ended that this lawsuit h i’ settled and that a p o rtio n o t the settlement prm evils should he used to make im m ediate cash pavments o l S24R.46 < tgl to I lo sd Stevenson s wife. Susanna Stevenson, and iH l.tg g l.tg ) to his m other, Mars lla rs e s I ties fu rth e r recom m end th a t a p o rtio n o f the settlem ent espendilures sho uld he Z used to fiu ri base to r 5426,824 fJP an annutts fro m a lile insurance < om punv Io provide fu tu re henetds over a num ber o f sears lo r Susanna Slesenson and her , hildren these henehts w ill p ro v id e a m o n th ly im orrte to r Susana Slesenson and her < hildre n these henetds still p ro v id e a m on lh ls mt ome fo r Susanna Slesenson Io raise her . hildren and Io p ro vid e edui a tio n a l henetds to r eas h o t the i hildren I he am ount o f the fu tu re pasm ent henehts to the larnils tar. tar exceeds the cost o j theannuds I re< ogziici' that no thin g the ( its does w ill ever replace this valuable life lost However, 7 teel this settlement represents the best possible t oris lu sio n to tins tragic incident tons Slesenson iv gone a n il no m o rta l ean bring him Inn A However, we lu re on I nuns il can provide to r 7onv ‘s dream his < hildren 'v fu tu re I his settlement st il l pro vid e fo r their needs through earls a d u lth o o d their ! if basts needs grossing up and their education are being provided to r t personalis hope and p ra v thes w ill seize upon this o p p o rtu n ilv to gross and flourish and I also hope w ithout bitterness after a recent trip to the South, and tie 1
