k
Davis-Clark Episode Common Between
Police Chiefs and Mayors
by Je rry Garner
The d isp u te b e tw e e n fo rm e r P ortland Police C hief Jam e s T Davis and
M ayo r Bud Clark, w h ic h resu lted in Davis' firin g , is c o m m o n a m o n g po lice
ch ie fs and th e n a tio n s m ayo rs There are three m ain reasons fo r such in ci
de nts the p o lice resistance to reform s, the p o litic iz a tio n o f p o licin g , and
the s tru c tu re o f som e c ity g o ve rn m e n ts
It's n o t s u rp risin g th a t Davis w as upset w ith Clark over the M ayor s re
fusa l to increase the po lice b u d g e t so the Bureau c o u ld hire 30 ad d itio n a l
o ffic e rs Clark re a c te d D avis' claim th a t the Bureau needed the new o f f i
cers and s ta te th a t if th e Bureau im p ro ve d its m anagerial pro ced ures, it
c o u ld free 25 p o lice person nel fo r p a tro l du tie s and c o u ld also do a be tte r
jo b o f crim e fig h tin g if it im p ro ve d its sch e d u lin g and te le p h o n e proce
dures.
D avis, as e x p e c te d , to o k e x c e p tio n to th e c ritic is m fo r he like m o st
p o lice sup eriors, resents any fo rm o f criticism d ire cte d at his d e p a rtm e n t
S uch critic is m , w h e n valid, leads to re fo rm s
H isto rica lly the p o lice have
s h o w n gre at dista in to w a rd s re fo rm s The P ortla nd Police B ure au 's resis
ta n ce is w e ll d o c u m e n te d W h e n form er c ity co m m issio n e r Charles Jord an
w as in cha rge o f the Bureau, he tried to im p le m e n t
re fo rm w ith in th e Bureau
w ith lim ite d success,
J o rd a n also tried to im p ro ve the w o rse n in g relatio ns b e tw e e n the Police
Bureau and A fric a n A m erican s, and to m ake in d ivid u a l o ffic e rs a cco u n ta b le
tor th e ir b e h a vio r
S adly th e m a jo rity o f th e rank and file o ffic e rs and
som e upper level m anagers d id n t em brace J o rd a n 's p h ilo s o p h y
W h e n J o rd a n fired tw o w h ite o ffic e rs after the y d u m p e d dead op po s
sum s in fro n t o f a Black o w n e d re sta u ra n t the p o lic e u n io n re s p o n d e d to
the firin g s by sta g in g a m ass p ro te st rally
A n a rb itra to r later reinstated
the tw o o ffic e rs The rank and file o f th e Bureau also fo u g h t th e cre a tio n
o f th e Police In te rn a l In ve stig a tio n A u d it C o m m itte e IP IIA C I
The PIIAC w a s a p pro ved by vo te rs in 1982 Its cha rge is to m o n ito r the
in te rna l in v e s tig a tio n process o f civilia n c o m p la in ts against in d ivid u a l o ffi
cers and the B iifb n u Jo rd a n su p p o rte d the fo rm a tio n o f th e P IIAC
M ayo r C lark's p ro b le m s w ith the Bureau w ere p re d ic ta b le fro m the start
of his a d m in is tra tio n Form er C hief Ron S till kn e w th a t Clark w o u ld im ple
m erit som e re fo rm s in the Bureau and retire d b e fore Clark to o k o ffic e
W h e n Clark nam ed form er C hief Penny H a rrin g to n as his ch ie f, he im m e
diately received the rap o f m an y in the Bureau th e p o lice u n io n and upper
level c o m m a n d e rs d id n 't resp ect H a rrin g to n 's leadership, rese nted her dia
logue w ith Black c o m m u n ity leaders and w e re o p e n ly c ritic a l o f past a ctio n
she in itia te d against police o ffic e rs vio la tin g citize n s' rig h ts
Clark and H a rrin g to n a lien ated the rank and file fu rth e r w h e n H a rrin g to n
fired the tw o o ffic e rs in vo lve d in the D o n 't C hoke 'Em . S m o ke 'E m ' T
shirt in cid e n t
She ord ere d P ortla nd Police A sso cia tio n pre sid ent Stan
Peters back to w o rk after it w as revealed th a t he w as re ce ivin g a salary fro m
the c ity w ith o u t p e rfo rm in g w o rk
S e co n d ly, d u rin g the last de cad e or so. p o lic in g has been used as a
p o w e r m e ch a n ism by the p o lice
The p o lice are aw are o f the pu blic pre
o c i u p a tio n re g a rd in g crim e in the ir c o m m u n itie s
T hey use th e p u b lic 's
fear o f crim e as a p o litic a l to o l for leverage w ith c ity o ffic ia ls d u rin g bu dget
and labor n e g o tia tio n s , and d iscip lin a ry p ro ce e d in g s
The p o lice are w ell
aw are th a t p o litic ia n s d o n ’t like to be p o rtra y e d as be in g s o ft on crim e In
deed, one c a n n o t fin d a p o litic ia n w h o is seeking p u b lic o ffic e w h o d o e sn 't
have a stro n g a n ti crim e agenda in their p la tfo rm
Tfie rapid p o litic iz a tio n o f th e po lice seem s to rest on three m ain fa cto rs
• A s im p lis tic and apo< a ly p tic ideology The p o lice ge ne rally h o ld a nar
ro w and u n so p h istica te d o u tlo o k
The m a jo rity o , the m e xp la in th e w o rld
in te rm s o f h u m a n in te rtio n a lity
That is. in v id id u a ls act solely o u t of evil
m otive s, not because o f social, p o litica l, or p s ych o lo g ica l fa c to rs Civilian
a u d itin g panels, p ro te sters and civil rig h ts o rg a n iza tio n s, to the po lice , are
run tiy evil in d ivid u a ls
This vie w held by m an y p o lice o ffic e rs , gre atly
shapes the pe rfo rm a n ce and b e ha vior o f the p o lice in d e aling w ith crim e
M a y o r B u d C la rk
a n d f o r m e r C h ie f D a v is d u r in g h a p p ie r tim e s
p o litic ia n s and m in o rity g ro u p s It is n o t sim ply tfi.it ttie y dislike p o litica l
dissenters and A fric a n A m erican s tfie y believe s in h persons are bent on
d e stro yin g the A m e rica n w a y o f life
• I )|.J ,|.'I/,|||||F I
The Jiolitu i/.itio r i o f (min m g h a * been built due III pre
e xistin g org a n iza tio n a l fra m e w o rk th ro u g h w h ic h their a m b itio n s c o u ld tie
rea dily expressed th e p o lu e s u b c u ltu re
Pole e p o lite iz .itio n bet arne a
reality because tfiey s im p ly have tieen able to ad ap t old o rg a n iza tio n s to
new goals and tactics
• Expahanca
The police have learned about their potential political
pow er ttiro u g fi a series o f suci essful b a ttle s tha t have given the m trem en
dous ba rg a in in g p o w e r in de aling w ith i ity o ffic ia ls ttiro u g fi tfib e ir suet ess
fu l labor agreem ents th a t favor th e m and w h ic h has w eakened m anage
m erit c o n tro l over in d iv id u .il offic ers and p o lice bu rea us D u ring these c am
paigns th e po lice ga in ed con sid erab le politic al savvy and m ade c o n ta c t w ith
m any p o te n tia l p o litic a l allies
Finally, c o n flic ts b e tw e e n p o lice i fuefs and m ayo rs o ccu r due to the
s tru c tu re o f som e citie s fo rm o f g o ve rn m e n t
P ortla nd like m a n y o ttie r
citie s gives the M ayo r th e c o n tro l o f the Police Bureau C ritics o f th is fo rm
o f g o ve rn m e n t argue th a t polic e < an e xp lo it the politic al clim ate under such
a stru ctu re , arid tha t a co m m issio n f e r n o f g o ve rn m e n t is weak because
P h o to by R ich ard J B ro w n
it c o n s o lid a te s b o th ttie le g is la tiv e a n d exec u tiv e tu rn lio n s o f g o v e rn m e n t
as th e o ffn i.il r e s p o n s ib ilitie s o f th e s a m e in d iv id u a ls
Davis refused to otie y M ayo r Clark s order to te a se harassing the C ity
A u d ito r Of fit e for i opies o f tfie audit w o rk in g papers th a t d isp u to d Ins claim
for a d d itio n a l o ffic e rs Davis perhaps felt th a t Clark d id n ’t w a n t to a p p o in t
another polic e chief less tha n a year after he fo rce d form er chief H a rrin g to n
to resign and too k tfie M ayor to the lim it, w h ic h resulted in his firin g
In an a tte m p t to prevent tfie police fro m m a n ip u la tin g th e p o litic a l clim a te
d u rin g tim e o f crisis, som e citie s tiave re m o ve d th e p o lic e c h ie f, and in
sortie cases p o lice bureau, fro m the d ire ct sup ervision o f tfie m ayor
In
stead, th e y ve given tfie re sp o n sib ility of sup ervising p o lice d e p a rtm e n ts to
tfie direi tor o f pu blic safe ty o f to a c ity m anager
G iven tfie fa c t th a t tfie p o lic e are n o w a p o w e rfu l politic al force the kind
of d ispu te the c ity I,as |ust w itn esse d b e tw e e n M ayo r Clark and fo rm e r
C hief Davis w ill p ro b a b ly o ccu r again, n o t o n ly in P ortla nd . Iiu t across the
n a tio n
Tfie P ortla nd Police D e p a rtm e n t, like m ost d e p a rtm e n ts, is self
co n scio u s, org an ized rig h t w in g e d p o litic a lly . and sea rching for far reach
m g p o litit al (lo w e r
They re rejectin g their tra d itio n a l role as the enforc ers
o f established p o litic a l and social po licies
Tfiey n o w seek the p o w e r to
de te rm in e these polic ies I fits is a da ng erou s p h e n o m e n o n and sho uld not
go u n n o tice d
Anti-Apartheid Activist Speaks At King Facility
Laurie N athan age 27 an an ti ap arthe id a< tiv is t fro m S ou th Afnc a and
co fo u n d e r o f the End C o n s c rip tio n C am paign (ECC) addressed a i o m m u
m ty m e e tin g last Tuesady at th e K ing N e ig h b o rh o o d Fac ility. ‘1815 N E 7th
N athan w as in P ortla nd as part o f a six week to u r o f the U n ited S tates
sponsored by the W ar R egisters League
D u ring his appeararu e at King
N athan in fo rm e d those w h o g a there d at the m e e tin g ab o u t the pro gre ss of
the ECC m o ve m e n t in S o u th A frica
The ECC is an o rg a n iz a tio n w h ic h a tte m p ts to m o b iliz e yo u n g w h ite
m ales to resist being d ra fte d in to the S o u th A fric a n D efense Force IS A D F )
In S o u th A frica , w h ite s m u st register fo r tfie d ra ft at 16 and can tie drafter)
for a tw o year to u r o f d u ty In a d d itio n , each year, u n til they have served
another tw o years, th e y are required to re tu rn to service in 30 to 90 day
m ilita ry cam ps
N athan has tieen u n d e rg ro u n d a n il h id in g sine e last J u n e 's state o f erner
g e n cy
He is in danger o f b e in g de tain ed im m e d ia te ly u p on re tu rn in g to
S o u th Afric a after this tou r
H ow ever th is d o e s n ’t appear to b o ther Na
ttia n He lia s pubi; , state tfia t tie w ill refuse to serve in tfie S o u th Afric.an
Defense Force
This w o u ld in volve ta kin g up arm s against fe llo w c o u n try
p e op le w h o are s tru g g lin g against an evil system
I w ill never fig h t or serve
in the SADF
I am o n ly w illin g to serve m y c o u n try in a real c o n s tru c tiv e
w ay. o u tsid e o f any cu rre n t g o ve rn m e n ta l stru c tu re in a w ay th a t addres
ses tfie needs o f the m a jo rity o f S o u th A fm a s people "
He said sin ce th e g o v e rn m e n t im p ose d tfie s ta ll' o f e m e rg e n cy, m ore
tha n 25,000 S o u th A fric a n s have tieen d e ta in e d
Of th is a m o u n t, som e
10,000 are c h ild re n under tfie age of 18 He said m an y o , the ch ild re n are
to rtu re d w h ile in d e te n tio n by secu rity forces
N athan said as the v io le n ce in S o u th A fric a escalates, m ore and m ore
w h ite s are re fu sin g to serve in the S A D F
He said last year sortie 7.500
w h ite s refused in d u c tio n fo r m ilita ry services
' S om e avoid tfie d ra ft by
m o vin g a ro u n d the c o u n try w ith o u t n o tify in g the g o ve rn m e n t of their new
addresses O ttie rs leave th e c o u n try e n tire ly ," N a th a n said F urtherm ore,
he said som e 600 S A D F soldiers have a tte m p te d suicide in protest o f the
g o v e rn m e n t's m a n d a to ry m ilita ry p o licy
N athan said ECC m e m b e rs are harassed re g u la rly by the repressive se
c u rity fo rce s in S o u th A fric a
He recalls in cid e n ce s in w h ich m em bers o f
his o rg a n iza tio n hom es and vehicles w e re b o m b e d and m em bers were de
ta in e d In an e ffo r t to w e a k e n the e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f th e ECC, N athan said
A ctivists representing m any Portland organizations listened as
Laurie N athan spoke of the g row ing w h ite resistance to m ilitary
service in South A frica
Photo by R ichard J B row n
N athan calls fo r A m erican pe op le to c o n tin u e their p ro te s t against apar
tfie id in S o u th A fric a He praised 11 Reed C ollege s tu d e n ts w h o o c c u p ie d
an o ffic e to p ro te s t the C o lle ge 's in ve stm e n ts in S o u th A fric a N athan sta
ted tha t such a c tio n s m ake a d iffe re n ce in d is m a n tlin g tfie ap a rth e id regim e
S o u th A fric a n s w h o are fig h tin g against the system o f a p arthe id are aw are
o f your e ffo rts here and g re a tly ap pre ciate it "
k
The ECC leader also voiced his co n ce rn s regard ing th e degree o f racism
the g o v e rn m e n t has passed a law m aking it a c rim e for anyone to speak
ag ainst th e S A D F
U n d e r th e la w if a p e rson is fo u n d g u ilty , he or she
he has exp erience d d u rin g his visit to the U n ite d S tates N athan to ld those
at th e m e e tin g th a t the U S c o u ld do m ore to d ism a n tle a p arthe id in his
c o u n try if th e y do m ore to e lim in a te racism in A m erica
N athan is c u rre n tly w o rk in g on a tx io k a b o u t the h is to ry o f o p p o s itio n to
co u ld be sentences to 10 years in p riso n and fin e d 20,000 S ou th A frica n
rands
c o n s c rip tio n in S o u th A fric a
R elations
He is e m p lo ye d fiy C a th o lic In te rn a tio n a l
‘a
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