B ri Frances Schocn-!.'enspaper Roo«
U n iv e rs ity of Oregon L ib ra ry
tugene, Oregon 97403
PORTLAND OBSERNER
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Volume XVII, Number 15
February 18, 1987
25$
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Public Have Wrong Impression of_________
PI I ACrs Authority______________________
by Je rry Garner
C itizens firs t began to p a rticip a te in p o lic in g d u rin g the I9 6 0 w h e n the
St Louis. M isso uri p o lice im p le m e n te d a c o m m u n ity relatu
pro gra m
The plan m et little resistance fro m the rank and file o ffic e rs . I • ,iuse these
p ro g ra m s w e re im age b u ild in g endeavors for the pol >• in t at c o m m u n ity
relatio ns p ro g ia m s w e re a "o n e w ay selling jo b n w h ich po lice organiza
tio n s tried to ed uca te the p u blic ab ou t their a g en cy and im p ro ve their
im age H o w eve r, due to the tiehavior o f police o ffic e rs against m in o ritie s
and civil rig ht , pro te ste rs du rin g the c iv il rig h ts revo itio n o f the 60 s the
de m an d for greater citize n in volve m en t in p o licin g be im e a p o litica l is s ie ’
C ivil rig h ts o rg a n iz a tio n s , m in o rity leaders and th e general p u b lic b e g . in
to call for th e cre a tio n o f citize n review boards These boards, w h ile solely
ad visory in nature, nonetheless raised fu n d a m e n ta l issues ab ou t the nature
o f po lice a u th o rity and their behavior in p u b lic espe< tally w h e n they inter
acted w ith m in o ritie s
C itizens' cries fo r review boards have m et sharp re stance fro m police
organizations, p a rticu la rly fro m po lice un io ns A classic exam ple o f po lice
disfavor to w a rd citize n s' p a rticip a tio n in th e internal a ffa irs o f p o lice can tie
seen in the P ortla nd Police Bureau resistance and c o n flic ts w ith the Police
Internal In ve stig a tio n A u d itin g C o m m itte e IP IIA C ) PIIAC w a s established
by the vote rs o f P ortla nd in N ovem ber. 1982 after m u c h de bate and con
troversy, the a fte rm a th o f tw o serious in cid e n ts w h ic h . aused d istru st and
d issa tisfa ctio n w ith the P ortla nd Police Bureau
The d u tie s o f PIIAC are to
• M o n ito r th e Internal In v e s tig a tio n D ivision HID) process o f resolving
alleg atio ns o f po lice o ffic e rs ' m is c o n d u c t to ensure tha t such in ve stig a tio n s
are e ffe c tiv e ly co m p le te d in an e ffic ie n t, fair, th o ro u g h and tim ely m anner
sh o w in g egual co n ce rn fo r the rig h ts o f b o th citize ns and po lice o ffic e rs
• A ssist th e Bureau in regaining and m a in ta in in g < (im m u n ity c re d ib ility
in its IID process by re p o rtin g its fin d in g s, co n clu sio n s and reco m m en da
tion s ab o u t such processes in w ritin g to the com m ission er in charge and or
the C o un cil; m a kin g such rep orts available to the p u b lic, as w ell, for review
• Provide an appeal process for eith er o ffic e r's o f citize n s co m p la in ts
w h o are dissatisfied w ith IID in ve stig a tio n s or related decisions
Past and present PIIAC m em bers have accused the Police Bureau and
in d ivid u a l o ffic e rs o f try in g to circu m ve n t the P IIAC s m an da te
They ve
also alleged th a t Ballot M easure 51, the m easure tha t w as passed cre a tin g
P IIAC , is m isleading Dr. A n n e tte John, fo rm e r c h a ir o f the P IIAC PANEL.
S A ID T H IS A B O U T PIIAC
"The A u d it C o m m itte e (P IIA C ) w as p o rtra ye d
as a panel o f citize ns w h o w o u ld decide w h e th e r an o ffic e r had a cte d ap pro
puately or in a p p ro p ria te ly in a given en co u n te r w ith a citizen C itizens w h o
had failed to get s a tisfa ctio n fro m the p o lice in ve stig a tio n o f their c o m p la in t
were given th e im pression th a t the y c o u ld b ring the ir co m p la in t to the citi
zens' pa ne l, w h ic h w o u ld fu lly re in v e s tig a te the m a tte r and arrive at its
o w n d e cisio ns regard ing the o ffic e r s behavior
S an dy H erm an, P IIA C ’s first and on ly fu ll tim e s ta ff person, can a ttest to
the m is c o n c e p tio n s the citize ns seem to have regard ing the P IIAC S h o rtly
after H erm an set up the PIIAC o ffic e , she realized the need to ed u ca te the
p u blic re g ard ing P IIA C ’s a u th o rity
"C a lls to the PIIAC o ffic e req ue sting assistance are usually fro m citizens
w h o th in k th a t a fu ll b lo w n 'citize n review b o ard ' exists They th in k tha t we
can take a c o m p la in t, c o n d u c t an in ve stig a tio n , and give th e m som e re
suits. PIIA C can n o t do t h a t, " H erm an said
S ince H e rm an's o ffic e receives so m an y requests fo r assistance, she has
set up a reco rd keeping system tha t id e n tifie s the reasons citize ns m ake
c o n ta c t w ith th e PIIAC o ffic e , also n o tin g referrals
One exam ple o f calls for a c itize n 's in ve stig a tio n w as the Lloyd " T o n y "
S teve nson in c id e n t
S teve nson died A p ril 20, 1985, after p o lice o ffic e rs
ap plied a c a ro tid artery or "sleekier h o ld " to him A lth o u g h an inquest |ury
ruled th a t S te v e n s o n ’s de ath w as the result o , negligence, a gra n d |ury de
d in e d to b rin g charges against the po lice m en H erm an said after Steven
so n 's de ath, her o ffic e received 37 requests fro m citize ns callin g tor an in
ve stig a tio n o f his death
" I referred each o f the 37 citize ns to the Police B ure au 's Internal Inve sti
Yet in th is case, a review o f
the Intern al In ve stig a tio n records notes th a t there w e re no c itize n 's com
p la in ts file d and no internal in v e stig a tio n , recalls Herm an
g a llo n s U n it to have the m atter in ve stig a te d
W h a t d id o ccu r a fte r S te v e n s o n 's de ath w as a p u b lic in q u e st w h ic h
m ade ce rta in fin d in g s, and a G rand J u ry w h ic h m ade d iffe rin g fin d in g s
a b o u l th e o ffic e rs alleged crim in a l m isco n d u ct This resu lted in th e o ffic e rs
lie m g cleared o f any w ro n g d o in g The citizens g ro u p th a t co n ve n e d to con
sider th e in c id e n t only addressed the B ureau's "U s e o f F o rc e " policies To
th is day, no one has addressed the alleg atio n o f racism and the role it was
alleged to have played in w h a t occu rre d on that day and the other allega
tio n s o f m is c o n d u c t th a t w ere considered non crim in a l in na ture
For
P IIAC . w h a t this m eans is th a t the re is n o th in g fro m th .it tra g ic in c id e n t
w h ic h com es under its a u th o rity, because there w as no
n le rn a l in vesti
gat io n ."
A lth o u g h it som etim es seem s th a t the PIIAC is a one person o p e ra tio n ,
H erm an is qu ick to g ve . redit to 20 citizen volunteer m em b ers w h o have
served on the P IIAC since ,982
She especially speaks h ig h ly o f P IIA C s
lu s t chair . Dr A n n e tte John. the late Rev Jo h n G a rlin g to n P IIA C 's second
chair and < u rie n t chair and vice chair Jo h n S Ransom and Vassar Jean
Vessup
She expressed sadness at the re, ent de pa rtu re o f m em ber Susan M an di
berg
M a n d ib e rg re ce n tly resigned out of fru s tra tio n , d e cla ring that the
PIIAC w as n o th in g m ore than an illusion o f citizen review
H etm an said
the h isto ry o f the PIIAC has been for m any m em bers to depart after exper
le n cin g very sim ilar fru s tra tio n s "S o m e ( house to never look back, oth ers
are qu ick to say tha t they w ill be a resource w hen the tim e com es for the
P IIAC to establish its purpose and a u th o rity
J o h n Ransom and Vassar Jean Vessup am very fam iliar w ith the fru s tra
lio n M a n diberg cites
Ransom , a pro m ine nt P ortla nd a tto rn e y and Ves
sup. a d illig e n t civil rig h ts investigate)' re< ognize tho im p o rta n c e o f the
PIIA C and have cho sen to ta ckle the problem s tha t it has been plagued
w ith b e lie v in g th a t th e P IIA C O rde u< e does c o n ta in la n g u a g e w h ic h
gives the m em b ers the po w e r to review Bureau d e cisio n s in cases on ap
l>eal
That c o m m itm e n t is s h o w n by the PIIAC s recent a n n o u n ce m e n t
th a t it plans to go to c o u rt to seek e n fo n em ent o f subpoenas
In 1985
three P ortla nd jio lic e o ffic e rs w ere subpoenaed to te s tify b e fore the P IIAC
and refused to do so
S o m e h o w H erm an also rem ains i o m m itte d a lth o u g h , in four years, she
has seen 23 p o licy re co m m e n d a tio n s for i hange m ade to the Police Com
m issioncr and C hief m eet w ith little response Of these ,8 w ere n o t im ple
m erite d, 8 have o n ly been p a rtia lly im p lem e nted and o n ly 2 w ere respond
ed to
Her reco rds also in d ica te th.rt alm ost half of PIIAC appeals were
referred back to th e Bureau for fu rth e r in ve stig a tio n w ith tw e n ty fo u r per
cen t resu ltin g in a d e te rm in a tio n that the in ve stig a tio n w as in ad equ ate and
were referred to th e Chief for review , and the rem a ining appeals w ere w ith
d ra w n or failed to be filed w ith in PIIAC s tim e lim it
H erm an said people w h o seek the help of th e P IIAC also experience a
groat deal o f fru s tra tio n
She said
For m an y o f th e m it m eans p u rsu in g
so m e th in g for tw o or m ore years w ith very little in the w ay o f results
S om e tim es it's am azing th a t people fin d the tim e and energy to pu rsue
the m atter given all the ob stacle s W h e n I see that sort o f c o m m itm e n t, I
get e n thuse d by p e o p le 's inner stre n g th and m o tiv a tio n to seek the tru th
and have th a t tru th a c k n o w le d g e d
She recalls m a n y m e e tin g s w h e n th e o u tc o m e s w e re le ss tha n som e o f
the m em bers had called fo r, saying th a t she fin d s c o n s o la tio n in a state
S ta ff Assistant
Photo by R ichard J Brow n
m e n t m ade by Dr John w h ic h she h o ld s ve ry close to her " I t is a ph on o
m en on th a t w e exist, and by existing , w e have an e ffo rt " A n o th e r fo rm e r
P IIA C m em b er, A n d re w Hay, reinforce s th e need fo r th e P IIA C by ha vin g
C o n t on Page 5
City Charged With Not
Following Guidelines in
Regards to Federal Funds
by Je rry Garner
S om e S abin n e ig h b o rh o o d residents have c h a rg e d c ity o ffic ia ls w ith not
fo llo w in g g u id e lin e s and re g u la tio n s in re g a rd to c itiz e n s p a rtic ip a tio n in
the w a y federal fu n d s are used for n e ig h b o rh o o d d e v e lo p m e n t
Ray Hansen. V ice President of S abin C o m m u n ity N e ig h b o rh o o d A ssn
e la tio n , cha rge d th a t Sabin residents w e re never p ro v id e d w ith s u ffic ie n t
in fo rm a tio n , asked for in p u t, or in v ite d to any m e e tin g s by the c ity
Inter
agency Task Force w h ile it planned the Beech S h e e t p ro po sal
Hansen,
w h o is fa cin g a recall e le ctio n tha t w as starter! by som e Sabin bo a rd m em
bers, called th e o m issio n "d e lib e ra te "
H a nse n's vie w s are shared by Jam es Hall, P resident of S abin C o m m u n ity
A sso cia tio n In a le tte r to W illia m H u n te r, E xecu tive D ire cto r o f th e H o us
ing A u th o rity o f P ortla nd , da to d Ja n u a ry 29, 1987, H all said, " T o m y k n o w
lodge, an o ffic ia l re la tio n sh ip be tw ee n H o u sin g A u th o rity o f P o rtla n d (H A P )
and the Sabin C o m m u n ity A sso cia tio n has never been e sta blished
As
1987 P resident o f S C A , I do no t, th e re fo re , reco gn ize you r B eech S tree t
D esign R e view C o m m itte e ' as le g itim a te
I have e sta blished a n e w S C A
c o m m itte e called 'H o u sin g and E conom ic D e v e lo p m e n t' and a p p o in te d Ray
Hansen chan
This c o m m itte e w ill re vie w th e Beech S t P roject Hansen
w ill serve as liaison be tw ee n S C A and H A P
O nce a p p ro v e d , th e reco m
m e n d a tio n s w ill be sent to H A P I here by request H A P to s to p im p le m e n
ta tio n o f th e Beech S tree t Project u n til an o ffic ia l re la tio n s h ip can be esta
blished b e tw e e n S C A and H A P "
In his le tte r to H u n te r, Hall liste d co n ce rn s he rece ive d fro m th e c o m m u
n ity
C hief a m o n g th e m w ere lack o f citiz e n p a rtic ip a tio n on th e plan
th ro u g h S C A ; lack o f c o n s u lta tio n w ith S C A on z o n in g an d la n d use issues,
IL R) Randy Winston, Mako Cons Co . John Brown. Brofam; James
Hall. Pres . Sabin Neighbor Association, and Ray Hanson. Vice
Pres , Sabin Neighbor Association, discuss what they view as in­
equities in the process used in letting contracts to rebuild at the
N E 10th Ave ft Beech St location. Homes at the site were de
stroyed or damaged by the Jan. 1, 1986 explosion that killed one per
• on
Photo by Richard J. Brown
in c lu d in g e xp lo ra tio n o f alte rn a tive uses fo r th e land, and use o f 5 0 ’ x 50' lo t
size, and th e re su lta n t c o n g e stio n , to na m e a fe w
H all said H u n te r never
resp on ded to his letter
H u n te r w as reached by th e O bserver to a n sw e r th e c ritic is m
He said
the reason he h a s n 't resp on ded to H a ll's le tte r at th is tim e is because he
Con’t on Page 6