lir a ir a n c r s S chaan-N ospeper Boca
U n iv e r s ity o f Oregon L ib ra r y
Oreran 97403
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Volum e XVII, Number 21
A pril 1, 1987
olice Brutality, Accident, O
__Hospital Negligence?/
by Jerry Garner
Solon Sanders, a 47 year old Black man, died March 31st
Once the police had both W illiam s and Sanders in custody,
Ave. Sanders was treated and released. He was taken to Bess
from head injuries he received during an altercation w ith Port
it was determ ined that Sanders was the husband of Vernon
Kaiser a second time that same day, because W illiam s said the
land police officers
Mae Sanders, and that the car wa
bleeding from his cut w ould not stop
Sanders was declared brain dead by doc
tors at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital.
registered in both of their
Sanders' fam ily gave the
Sanders was again treated and released from Kaiser
hospital permission to discontinue all life support systems
The next day, March 25, 1987, Sanders lapsed into uncon
According to the police, on M afch 20 they ret eived a report
sciousness at Ms. W illiam s' residence and was taken, once
of a stolen car from Vernon Mae Sanders, Age 43, Sanders
estranged w ife.
more, to Bess Kaiser.
The police said Ms. Sanders did not list any
He was subsequently transferred to
Kaiser Sunnyside where eventually he was declared brain
suspects when reporting the theft
dead.
On March 24, 1987, at approxim ately 12 35 a m , a Portland
A lthough the police alleged that Sanders was taken to the
police officer on patrol observed the reported stolen vehicle
ground because fie refused to com ply w ith the o ffice r's in
traveling eastbound on N. Lombard in the St Johns area
The
structions and because he made several m otions as if reaching
vehicle was operated by Margaret Ann W illiam s, age 37 an
for som ething inside his clothing, Williams said that w asn't the
acquaintance of Sanders. Sanders was in the passenger seat
case.
A fter confirm ing that the vehicle was still listed as stolen, the
officer requested additional police units
"Sanders did exactly what the police officers instructed him
As these units i losed
to do
He had trouble keeping his hands up, he was nervous
in, the vehicle was stopped near N W oolsey and Lom bard
because they had those guns pointed at h im ,” said W illiam s.
The police, perform ing a felony stop, used the police car's p.a
"H e w.is shaking as he was m oving from the car, his hands
system to instruct the driver and passenger on what to do.
went dow n, then tw o police officers slammed him to the
The police report said W illiam s follow ed instruction and was
taken into custody w ith o u t incident.
ground, handcuffed him, lifted him up and threw him into the
However, the police
claimed that Sanders refused to com ply w ith the o ffice r's in
car,' added Ms Williams
A spokesperson from Bess Kaiser said tha t the hospital
They said Sanders made several m otions, as if
S o lo n S a n d e rs in h o s p ita l b e d p r io r to life s u p p o r t s y s te m b e in g un
p lu g g e d
P h o to c o u r ts e y o f f a m ily
w ould not release any statem ents pending the com pletion of
reaching for som ething inside his clothing. An officer grabbed
names. Sanders anti W illiam s were then released and retained
the medical exam iner's report.
him and took him to the ground; Sanders struck his head on
possession of the vehicle.
structions.
the pavement causing a cut above his left eye
An ambulance
was called to the scene, but Sanders refused assistance
Besides his w ife, Vernon Mae, Sanders is survived fry three
A lthough Sanders refused medical treatm ent at the scene,
Ms W illiam s later took him to Bess Kaiser Hospital on Greeley
children
daughter, Veronica Sanders; and sons, Solon San
tiers III and A ntonio Sanders
Private Industry Council to Provide Job Training
by Je rry Garner
The n e w ly fo rm e d Private In d u stry C o un cil is p la n n in g on p ro v id in g vot a
tio n a l skills tra in in g , basic skills tra in in g , cu sto m ize d tra in in g on the |«b
tra in in g , and pre e m p lo y m e n t and jo b search tra in in g for a p p ro xim a te ly
3,000 y o u th and ad u lts w h o face sig n ific a n t barriers to e m p lo ym e n t
The tra in in g plan w as c o n ta in e d in a d ra ft s u b m itte d by the PIC to the
S tate o f O regon J o b T rain ing P artnership A d m in is tra tio n
The new PIC is
a u th o rize d to de ve lo p and ad m in ister Federal J o b T rain ing P artnership A ct
(J T P A l tra in in g pro g ra m s for residents of the C ity o f P o rtla n d M u ltn o m a h
C o u n ty and W a s h in g to n C o u n ty, be g in n in g J u ly 1 , 9 8 / th ro u g h Jun e 30
,988 F unding fo r th e tra in in g w ill to ta l $5 404 1,0
tio n s in to one and crea te a single serve e delivery a re a < otnpr.sed o f M ult
rio m ah and W a s h in g to n C ounties and the C ity o f P ortla nd on the re tu rn
m e n d a tio n o f a jo in t c o m m itte e c o n sistin g o f m em bers fro m b o th boards
The c o m m itte e gave the fo llo w in g reasons for < o n so lid a tin g tfie corpora
tio n s They are as fo llo w s
• G reatly sxpandnd training an I employment opport
sid en ts o f b o th co u n tie s and P ortland
• A . |k effe trve sppi lech to employers with concentration on service
and w ith o u t the h in d ra n ce o f ju risdn t io n.il bo un da ries
• A
strengthened resources base a potential for additional ITPA and
The PIC said in th e 62 page d ra ft tha t its pu rpo se is to p ro vid e yo u th and
a d u lts w ith skills needed as de fin e d by em ployers, to o b ta in lo n g term
no n JT P A fu n d in g
• M on- politic .ii
e m p lo ym e n t and e co n o m ic self su ffic ie n c y
Last year th e M u ltn o m a h W a s h in g to n P rivate In d u stry Count il and the
s u ffic ie n c y o f m ore a p p lica n ts
P o rtla n d Private In d u stry C o un cil decided to co n so lid a te the tw o corp ora
capabilities;
i
lo u t to effe i 1 i
I
hangs to improve the potential for seif
• Redoi tioo of administrative duplication and expanding administrative
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Under th e n e w co n so lid a te d PIC. e ligible ap plican ts seeking PIC services
w ill tiave at cess to .ill services p ro vid e d in the service de live ry area, regard
less of w h e re the y in itia lly entered th e system In the past, a p p lic a n ts c o u ld
o n ly a tta in serve es w ith in their ju ris d ic tio n s
In a d d itio n the jo in t co m m itte e reco m m e n d e d th a t th e PIC have a board
c o n sistin g o f 26 m em bers, w ith 16 co m in g fro m th e priva te sector and ,0
pu bln sei tor re p re se n ta tive s
The p riv a te se cto r a p p o in tm e n ts w ill tie
m ade a cco rd in g to the p o p u la tio n o f eai h ju ris d ic a tio ri Tfie p u b lic se cto r
w ill be a p p o in te d jo in tly by tfie lot al elec ted o ffic ia ls o f tfie ttire e ju risd ic
tio n s
PIC o ffic ia ls said the n e w PIC w ill be better eq u ip p e d to serve as a cata
lyst for ch a n g e in O re g o n 's e co n o m y facin g up to the p ro b le m s o f jo b
lessness, illitera cy, school d ro p o u t rates, teenage pa ren ts, w e lfa re reci
pients, and o th e r critic a l issues th a t c o n fro n t tfie O rego n er o n o rn ic w e ll
being.
M arie Brooks has her blood pressure checked during the Urban League's A dult and Senior Services H ealth
Screening last w e e k The screening w as p erform ed I v H ealthlink for citizens 60 years and over
Photo by Richard J Brown
ifA
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it dies for the re
• ( ¡re a lly e n h a rii ed m a rk e tin g to e m p lo y e rs in m a rk e tin g
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Eight m o nth old A ntonio Tardy enjoys M arch's sunny exit at Peninsular Park w ith his m o th e r A ng elia
Tardy
P hoto by R ichard J. B ro w n
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