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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