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June 5 , 199r-The Portland Observer -Page 7
Why do we Need Police Officers that are
Commiting Crimanal Acts
Fundraiser for
Youth
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The Alfred Yaun Youth Care Center
is sponsoring a spaghetti dinner. Funds
raised will be used for renovating the
facility.
The Yaun Youth Care Center has
assisted youth their families through­
out the state of Oregon for over 20
years. In order to continue quality serv­
ice, the agency is upgrading the facility
by installing a new fire alarm system,
recarpeting and painting the dorms.
The “ FUNDRAISING FEAST“
will be Sat., June 15, 6:00 pm - 8:30
pm, located at 5128 NE Rodney Ave.
Entertainment and door prizes will be
available at Jabelle’s Beauty and Bar­
ber Supply and at the door.
For more information or a dona­
tion, please contact Vickie at:281-7564.
LORRAINE HLAVINKA
BY I. VAN WATERS
Like the rest of the nation, I re­
cently viewed in anger a video tape of
an atrocious act perpetrated against a
citizen, Rodney King, by the Los An­
geles Police Department (LAPD). The
video tape vividly captured several
officers brutally beating a defenseless
man while others watched. We also
heard an audio tape of police conversa­
tion regarding the beating which indi­
cated that this was not an uncommon
occurence.
Not only did these officers commit
an unlawful, brutal and inhumane act
against King (who is an African-Ameri­
can), but their behavior seemed to have
been condoned by fellow officers and
the Chief of Police as well. The observ­
ing officers, those that did not partici­
pate in the atrocity, took no affirmative
actions to prevent or otherwise inter­
rupt the criminal act unfolding before
them. Officers of the LAPD, like all
law enforcement personnel in the United
States, are sworn to obey and uphold
the laws for which their Department is
statutorily obligated and under duty to
enforce. The presumption, in essence,
is that the officers’ failure to act in
accordance with their sworn oath may
be appropriately characterized as gross
negligence.
Moreover, one may further pre­
sume that the relationship of the LAPD
and the citizenry of Los Angeles is
contractual in nature. In consideration
of citizenry tax dollars given to the
LAPD, the Department among other
things is contractually obligated to
enforce the provisions of law govern­
ing the citizenry in Los Angeles. En­
forcement includes taking affirmative
steps to prevent the commission of crimes
by any person or persons, in or out of
uniform. Crimes may occur through a
person’s act or failure to act. Child
abuse is one such example. A parent
may abuse a child by corporal punish­
All Types of Auto Plate and Window Glass
Storm Doors and Windows
PDG
4709 N E MLK Jr. Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97211
PORTIAN'Ô
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Phone 249-5886
Woman Owned
COMMIMICTT
J
C o m m issio n M ee tin g
Date: June 12,1991
Place: Portland Building
1120 SW Fifth Ave., llth FI.
Portland, OR
Time- 9:30 a.m.
Coordinated Nation-Wide Rallies for
Health Care Reform
Blue Cross Blue Shield
of Oregon
On June 6th, thousands of people
across the country willspend the noon
hour urging our political leaders to
implement health care reform now! In
Portland, there will be a rally and
march starting at the Portland State
Office Building, at 1400 SW 5th St,
from noon to 1 pm. At the same time,
another rally will occur on the Capitol
Steps, in Salem, and many other cities
across the country.
The Portland rally will feature
statements from victims o f the health
care crisis as well as music, followed
by a march to the Blue Cross/Blue
Shield building on Market Street for
a “ Red Tape” demonstration. Across
the country, private insurance com­
panies are being targeted for their
role in blocking health care reform.
The public is encouraged to attend.
The sponsors of the event here in
Oregon are the Jobs with Justice Coa­
lition and the Oregon Health Action
Campaign. J.W.J. is a nation-wide
coalition of community, labor, and
rel'gious organizationscommitted to
fight for more just treatment for pres­
ent, past, and future workers in the
United States. O.H.A.C. is a state­
wide coalition of senior, community,
labor, religious, and advocacy or­
ganizations working to reform the
health care system to provide both
universal access and quality care.
D ad ’ s O il S ervice
heating oils
Best Cash Prices
104 NE Russel St.
Portland, Or 97212
(503) 282 5111
Speedy
Service
Friendly
Call for Quote!
Commission meetings are open to
the public A complete agenda is
available at PDC. Call 823-3200.
PDC is the City of Portland's urban
renewal, housing and economic
development agency.
We're getting Into the graduation
mode. If you have someone who
has "made it" let them know how
proud we are of them. Education
is a precious tool. Let our young
men and woman know that we
support them in their efforts. At
least say Congratulations!
ment or by simply failing to provide
reasonable care for the child, i.e., the
parent neglects to feed the child.
Representatives of the Department
under contract to act affirmatively in
the circumstance clearly did not do so.
They merely witnessed the heinous and
criminal event. The officers’ ommis-
sion is deplorable and may be deemed
nonfeasant and a breach of duty.
Remember, the officers’ duty obligated
them to act. They did not. The gravity
of an officer’s failure to act at all con-
uasted to that of his/her failure to act
appropriately may produce the same
undesired result. Neither nonfeasance
nor malfeasance is acceptable. Argua­
bly, had the observing officers inter­
ceded on behalf of King, he may not
have been harmed at all, or if so, the
injuries he sustained would have been
far less serious.
I believe that both the ommission
and commission of acts by LAPD offi­
cers that were present renders them
equally responsible and liable for any
personal and property damage sustained
by King. One might ask, “ Why do we
need police officers that are commit­
ting criminal acts behind the badge;
why do we need police officers that
allow co-workers to commit criminal
acts against the citizenry?” I am sure
that you, like I, would conclude that
such a police force is unacceptable.
Quite frankly, a police force of this
kind could not easily be distinguished
from those of Tiananmen Square or of
South Africa.
The failure to act, coupled with the
audio taped conversation of officers
related to the brutal act against King,
further suggest that police brutality is
not unusual. Rather it appears to be an
integral part of “ law enforcement
operations.” Moreover, the unlawful
behavior was clearly motivated by
bigotry as evidenced by the audio tape
and governmental statistics on arrests.
U.S. Bank Offers Mortgage Program
For Low-Income Buyers
Significance
U.S. Bank’s mortgage loan pro­
gram is designed to meet the specific
needs of low-income homebuyers who
often have difficulty qualifying for
conventional or government mortgage
loans. The program confirms U.S. Bank's
commitment to help low-income fami­
lies reach the American dream of home
ownership.
Program Designed To Turn Ren­
ters Into Homebuyers
If you can afford to pay $375 a
month for housing and can raise just
$1700 in cash for a downpayment, you
could qualify to buy a $30,000 home in
Portland.
The program was designed by
United States National Bank of Ore­
gon, through its mortgage lending af­
filiated U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Com
pany (“ U.S. Bank” ), to help families
who have not been able to qualify for a
mortgage loan under conventional
programs. The program will assist
borrowers whose family income is below
the median income for the state. Homep­
artnerS features a two percent downpay­
ment and fully-financed closing costs,
which reduces the up-front cost of get­
ting into a home by over half.
U.S. Bank is offering the program
initially in Portland for houses selling
under $49,000.
In addition to the low up-front costs,
the program provides highly flexible
lending guidelines. For example, bor­
rowers may qualify even if their house
payments would be up to 33 percent of
their income. Credit history can be
established by landlord references rather
than the traditional sources of consumer
credit history.
“ We designed the Homepartner$
program because we are confident that
there are many renters who can handle
the financial responsibility of home
ownership if they can just get their foot
in the door,’ ’ said U.S. Bank of Oregon
president, Kevin Kelly. * ‘This program
eliminates the major obstacles for the
first-time homebuyer.”
For more information about the
U.S. Bank HomepartnerS loan program,
contact any Portland branch of U.S.
Bank.
The HomepartnerS loan program
is being made available through U.S.
Bancorp Mortgage Company, a sub­
sidiary of U.S. Bancorp, the largest
financial services company headquar­
tered in the Pacific Northwest
injuries, complaints of police abuse,
and law suits against the Department
The tape contained casual comments to
the effect that again some officers were
committing a criminal act as well as a
reference to African-Americans as
"gorillas in the mist” .
These comments were not made in
private but in public, with public re­
sources, and by public officials. It is
abundantly clear that the individuals
making the comments exhibi'ed no
inhibitions in boldly doing so. This
verbal display of disrespect for the law,
in conjunction with the unlawful act
against King, strongly imply that the
work environment of the LAPD is in
dire need of repair. The statements
undeniably condoned the criminal act
perpetrated against King and further
exacerbated the matter by coloring it
with a racially derogatory depiction of
the victim.
And what about the reaction of the
Chief of Police for the LAPD, Mr.
Gates? Having been the object o f citi­
zen complaints of police abuse and
brutality in the past, Gates was ordered
by a court of law to personally pay
some $170,000.00 in monetary dam ­
ages in another case. Gates, in defense
of his officers’ criminal act, offered
King’s criminal record. This sanctimo­
nious gesture by the Chief of Police is
incredulous and far reaching. It sug­
gests that there may be room in “ law
enforcement” for common criminals.
The badge would provide a shield against
unlawful activities, and a sanctuary for
ruthless ruffians. In effect, it would
grant them a license to a lawless and
perpetual pursuit of every conceivable
crime against humanity. Noone would
be beyond the reach of such brute force.
In this instance it is an African-Ameri­
can that was victimized. Who will be
next? You? Me? A loved one? It
cannot be just “ their problem” for it
may find its way to your doorstep.
Emanuel Supports
Northeast Community
through Healthcare
Scholarships
Emanuel Hospital & Health Cen­
ter and the Emanuel Medical Founda­
tion have announced the winners of the
second annual Emanuel Healthcare
Scholarship.
Emanuel developed the $1,000,
four-year renewable scholarship to
encourage North/Northeast community
students to pursue medical careers.
Ideally, they will receive the education
they require to return to Emanuel and
serve their neighbors.
This year Emanuel awarded schol­
arships to four high school seniors:
Andrea Debnam of St.Mary’s Acad­
emy, Shurita Thomas-Tate of Benson
High School, Tisha Giesbrecht of Grant
High School, and Nguyet Nguyen of
Roosevelt High School.
Debnam plans to study pediatric
medicine at the University of Oregon,
Thomas-Tate will major in speech pa­
thology and audiology /special educa­
tion at Southern University A+M Ba­
ton RougeUouisiana, Nguyen will major
in science at the University of Oregon,
and Giesbrecht will pursue physical
therapy studies at the University of
Puget Sound.
Emanuel hosted a reception for
and their families on May 22.
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Tri-Met Delivers
Summer Fun For Kids
SAFEWAY
COPYRIGHT 1978, SAFEWAY INC
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Tri-Met delivers summer fun for
kids throughout the metropolitan area
with the third edition of the free ‘ ‘summer
fund for Kids” brochure, presenting
places of interest to youngsters and
families.
The brochure features a systems-
wide map of bus and MAX routes with
places noted by the type of activity
that’s offered: parks and playgrounds,
arts and crafts, sports and fitness, hik­
ing, dance, music and theatres and more.
Each site is highlighted on the map, and
listed with its address and telephone
number for information.
Tri-Met’s “ Summer Fun for Kids”
brochure is now available at all Port­
land Public Schools, the Tri-M et O f­
fice in Pioneer Courthouse Square, and
all Tri-Met vehicles. "W e want kids to
have easy access to the wonderful range
of events and activities available to
young people in Portland, taking pres­
sure off of the family automobile and
relieving the family chauffeur from d a ily
driving duty,’ ’ said Doug Capps execu­
tive director of Tri-M et Public Serv­
ices.
Student discount fares are offered
throughout the school year at Portland
area high schools-ten tickets for $5.50,
a savings of up to $6.50. Monthly youth
passes are available at any time for
$22.00.
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