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“The Eyes and Ears of the Com m unity’
V o lu m n X X II, N u m b e r 1 9
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250
Civic Leaders Outraged
Civic Leaders Unite With Community
In The Aftermath Of Rodney King Verdict
The Crime... The Victem...
The Accused .. & The Verdict!
As a police professional I was
both angered and embarrassed
by the jury's decision. The actions
of those police officers reflect on
all police. The Rodney King beat
ing will be a landmark for police
in America, and is causing many
communities, including Portland,
to examine police policies, prac
tices, and the overriding issue of
police accountability.
-Chief Potter
No Remorse?
Equal Justice Under Law
Must Be Blind To Race
'Read about
it in
the book*
The King Verdict and the Los Angeles riot expose the Problem O f Racism
System O f Justice. Taken fro m USA Today, M ay 1,1992.
To treat the Rodney King case as an
isolated incident would be a tragedy. It
must be seen as a symptom of an illness
that runs through the nation.
The charge that created the explo
sion in Los Angeles was planted by a
society unable to bridge its racial divi
sion.
That division is econom ic, with
black males earning only 57% as much
as white males. And it includes a vile
system of unequal justice.
A quarter o f black males ages 20-29
are under the supervision of the criminal
justice system. That compares with a
6.2% rate for whites. Why?
It comes down to on whom we
focus our crime Fighting.
Federal studies show whites consti
tute 80% of the U SA ’s drug users; Afri
can-A m ericans, 12%. Y et43% o f those
convicted o f drug trafficking are black.
And not only conviction rates but
penalties differ, too.
In New Y ork in 1989, 92% of
those arrested for drug offenses were
m inorities. Y et w hites, who accounted
for only 7% o f the offenders, took up
47% o f state-funded drug treatm ent
slots.
T h at’s not equal justice under the
law.
N either is it equal justice when a
black w ho m urders a w hite is likely to
g et the death penalty, w hile a black
who m urders a black, or a w hite who
m urders a black, is not.
President Bush prom ises to pur
sue justice in the King beating, possibly
through prosecution of potential civil
rights violations by the officers.
But he must not miss the reality that
a nearly all-white ju ry ’s acquittal of
white police officers represents soft jus
tice for whites vs. harsh justice for blacks.
The nation can put the Los Angeles
riot in perspective by looking at its
system o f justice through the eyes of
blacks.
The president and Congress must
completely review how police, courts
and laws deal with minorities in order to
fix the inequities that so frustrate and
anger minorities.
T hat’s the only way this nation can
ever deliver on its fundamental promise
o f justice for all.
KOON
...Police Bureau recommits itself to
becoming accountable for all itdoes'...
Declined
to comment
As that relationship strength
ens, we are increasing the training
out officers receive in such areas
as cultural sensitivity and respon
sible use of force, including the
use o f tactics that defuse situa
tions and minimize the need to use
force.
C h ie f Potter, M a y o r C lark
-Mayor Clark
If we allow this opportunity to
pass, the entire incident-the beat
ing, the trial, and the bloody after-
math--will only serve to widen the
gulf between African-Americans
and white Americans, not just in
Los Angeles but in Portland and
cities all across America.
-Commissioner Bogle
BRISENO
O ne thing was sure...,w e had cap
tured this racist act o f brutality on
video tape.
C h ie f Potter, C om m issio ne r B ogle and
*1 know
I'm
innocent*
POWELL
W ill the bloody riots change a sick
America?
Too many
feelings*
to express
WIND
Don’t Believe Your Eyes
The Rodney King Travesty
plaints alw ays fell on deaf ears. The
Since Daryl Gates has become Police
BY JIMI JOHNSON
whole world saw what happened to
C
hief
some
14
years
age,
the
city
o
f
Los
On March 3rd, 1991 Rodney King,
Rodney King that night in M arch, and
Angeles
has
paid
out
millions
o
f
dollars
a 25 year old African am erican male
many African Americans were saddened
in
settlem
entclaim
s
for
police
brutality.
was pursued and stopped by the Los
by
the stark reality seen so often in our
The
majority
o
f
this
brutality
has
been
Angeles Police. W hat followed in the
com
m une cities. H ow ever, through
perpetrated
against
people
o
f
color.
aftermath m ade N ational and W orld
Rodney
K ing’s pain and the lens o f a
As
internal
investigations
began
to
wide news.
freelance photographer we had indis
look into the King beating four officers
W hen King stopped his car and got
putable proof o f police brutality. It was
including one sergeant were indicted for
out he was viciously assaulted by sev
obvious to the most ignorant viewers
assault by the Los Angeles Grand Jury.
eral L.A. “Peace” officers. This outra
thatsomehow, somewhere
geous beating was captured
Mr. Kings Civil and Hu
on film by a freelance p ho
*A nation was stunned, and the African American
man
Rights were violated.
to g r a p h e r w ith o u t th e
community was told once again that
The
Rodney King in
knowledge o f the officers
Human Rights are not for you.'
cident brought police bru
adm inistering the beating.
tality against people of
In a matter o f hours this
color to the fore front o f our national
They would later have a trial of their
inhumane beating o f Rodney King was
consciousness, much like the Rosa Parks
“peers” in Semi V alley, California. But
seen around the world.
Montgomery bus incident showed the
if a picture is worth a thousand words,
M any U n ite d S ta te s c itiz e n s
world how racist America was nearly 40
there was really no need for a trial
watched in horror as officers o f the law
years ago when she was arrested for
because the video tape o f the beating
repeatedly beat an unarm ed man with
refusing to give up her seat to a white
showed Rodney King getting hit 56
night sticks and stunned him with elec
man. After 365 days of boycotting buses
times. That Video Tape Is W orth 56
tric “Cattle Prods”. A ccording to re
by African am cricans, people were al
Thousand W ords! The video showed
ports, Rodney King was struck over 50
lowed to sit where ever they pleased.
the world blatant police brutality against
times. He was hospitalized with num er
Many African am cricans became bus
an African am erican by w hite “Peace
ous fractures and lacerations, including
drivers and civil leaders.
O fficers”. A scene repeated far too often
a broken eye socket. Citizens from across
The King incident aroused thecon-
in the United States o f America.
the Nation began asking for the resigna
scicncc of this nation and put the whole
One thing was sure however, we
tion o f Los Angeles Police C hief Daryl
American judicial system on trail as it
had captured this racist act o f brutality
Gates. Gates refused to quit, staling that
pertains to equal protection under the
on video tape. The police officers were
the king beating was an “aberration” not
law.
“busted” in front o f a nation o f eye
the norm in the L.A. Police departm ent.
Many U.S. citizens felt that the trial
witnesses. For years African Americans
However, it is a well docum ented fact
was simply a formality as the video
and other peoples of color have com
that Los Angeles has one o f the most
plained of police brutality but the com-
Continued on Page 3
racist police departm ents in the nation.
C o m m m issio n e r B lu m e n a u e r
Uniformed Savages Acquitted In Televised
Rodney King Beating:
Many Feel Tone was Set in 1988 by Bush Administration’s Willie Horton Election Ploy
BY PROF. MCKINLEY BURT
E ffe c tiv e law en fo rc e m en t in
A merica has been dealt a terrible blow.
The police departments o f this nation
have suffered a major deterioration o f
that m antle o f respect, influence and
authority necessary to the maintenance
o f law and order in a civilized society.
The prim e culprit in this debacle, L.A.
C hief o f Police Darrell G ates, quite
rightly (and deliberately) predicted both
the verdicts o f “not guilty” and the
resulting riots.
As the officials, leaders and politi
cians o f this mortally w ounded city
gather to assess, plan and plain com
miserate (along with the rest o f the
nation), it is o f critical importance that
they realize one salient fact. This in
credible verdict o f acquittal and the
ensuing rage o f the populace that pro
voked m assive civil disorder m ust be
exam ined within a context that encom
passes far more than the immediate
events.
A rational and meaningful inquiry
must take us beyond the fact that the
deliberately orchestrated CHANGE OF
VENUE placed the trial in a suburban
com m unity, Simi V alley, which is
fo ndly known as the RETIREM ENT
VILLAGE FOR LOS ANGELES PO
LICE OFFICERS. It is also known as a
prime direct mail target for scores o f
propagandizing right wing organiza
tions ranging from the John Birch Soci
ety and typical Nazi-leaning groups to
arms dealers, soldiers-of-fortune re
cruiters (South Africa), and the N a
tional Rifle Association.
I am sure that the readers o f the
P ortland Observer remember the a r
ticle I wrote when the Rodney King
beating took place. I described a period,
1954-1964, when I was on the streets
and freew ays of Los Angeles almost
daily, making the rounds of my public
accountant clients. I assure you that the
traumatic social conditions and events
of today are not one bit different than
were experienced at that time. I left just
one year before the W att’s Riots, which
centered in the very same section o f
town as this conflagration. Ironically,
that fierce civil disturbance was also
triggered by renegade police who, again,
assaulted a black m otorist in a barbaric
fashion. Twentieth century lynchings
begin in the fast lane.
I described, too, an incident that
occurred there when I was a m ember o f
Twentieth
century
lynchings
begin the
fast lane.
Prof McKinley Burt
the N A ACP when a black maid at an “E 1
Rcy H otel” on East Sixth Street (dow n
town) alerted several o f us to the suspi
cious occupant o f the third-rate hos
telry. By means not to be noted here,
several of us gained access to this
character’s room while he was on a
business trip-contacting police depart
ments and unions in several outlying
counties. An inspection o f the room and
its paraphernalia proved to be my first
encounter with the despicable Right
W ing purveyors of hate and violence
who prey upon and recruit within the
major police departments o f this coun
try (my last was at Portland State U ni
versity where my offices in the Urban
Studies Department were directly be
neath the classroom s for the Criminal
Justice Programs attended primarily by
Portland Police and Multnomah County
Sheriffs).
This man was a sales representa
tive for several small arms m anufactur
ers, suppl.ers o f handcuffs and other
restraints. But the chilling factors were
the stacks of hate m agazines and sub
scription fo rm s-th e typical Nazi dia
tribes against blacks, Jews, Latinos, and
Asians. There were lists of possible and
vulnerable organizations and instruc
tions on infiltration and recruitment.
These revelations proved not to be o f
much avail when used by citizen groups
and Human Relation groups. Nor have
they since as w itness the recent Rodney
King affair. The system was, and is, too
entrenched. Will the bloody riots change
a sick America?
I m entionedPortlandState Univer
sity Administration of Justice Program
because, interestingly. Dr. Lee Brown,
the forem ost black law enforcement
officer in the country, was chairm an of
the program at the lime (also the Sheriff
o f M ultnomah County, and now, Chief
o f Police for the City of New York). I
doubt if even he could have had any
influence over the white officers with
the prejudiced mind set of several I had
in my class on the Economic E xperi
ence of Urban African Americans. Some
made childish faces, others scrawled
racist insults across their term papers.
The C IV IL IZ E D O N ES had no influ
ence.
I took the time and space to cite this
very serious problem in law enforce-
mcntbccause, as I expected, the nation’s
m edia is not dealing with it at all. It will
have to be faced if the first line purvey
ors o f civil peace and jusuce are to be
enabled to interact effectively with the
c itiz e n ry -if the concept o f CO M M U
NITY TOLICING has any chance of
implementation. There is no doubt that
there is some degree of that type o f overt
racism going on within the Portland
force today—it needs to be dealt with.
The brainwashed elem ent needs to be
rem oved, not reprim anded, and the
UNION cannot be allow ed to interfere.
We should hope, too, that the City
o f Portland and Metro will sec the hand
writing on the wall and deliver us a
functioning, working Human Relation
C o n tin u e d o n p a g e 3