Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 04, 1998, Page 2, Image 2

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Page A2
FEB. 4,
(The P o rtla n d ^Misinranrr
1998
Senator Wydens Public Statement
on the President’s State o f the Union address
Portland Police
Officers Shot
2612 SE 111th Avenue
On Tuesday, January 27,
1998, at 1 1:54 A M , three Port­
land Police O ffice rs were shot
w hile contacting the resident o f
a house at 2612 SE I I Ith A v ­
enue. One o ffic e r dies as the
result o f her injuries, a second
o ffic e r is in c ritic a l condition,
and a th ird o ffic e r was shot in
the hand. The suspect was later
placed into custody and is re­
covering from wounds at a local
hospital.
O ffic e r Colleen A. W aibel,
44 years o f age, a 17 year mem­
ber o f the Portland Police B u­
reau, and a 6 year police o ffic e r
died as the result o f gunshot
wounds suffered during the in ­
cident. O ffic e r W aibel was as­
signed to East Precinct.
O ffic e r Kim M. Keist, 39
years o f age, a 15 year Portland
P olice o ffic e r and form er St
Helens Police o ffic e r is in c r iti­
cal condition at a local hospital.
O ffic e r Keist is assigned to the
Drug and Vice D ivision.
Sergeant James Hudson, 42
years o f age, a 20 year Portland
Police o ffic e r, was treated and
released fo r a gunshot wound to
the hand. Sergeant Hudson is as­
signed to the Drug and V ice D i­
vision.
O fficers from the Drug and
Vice D ivisio n , along w ith uni­
form officers contacted the home
o f Steven Douglas Dons, white
male, DOB May 17, I960. The
o ffice rs were at the location as
part o f an ongoing investigation
in v o lv in g the house at 2612 SE
I 1 I th Avenue. W hile at the loca­
tion, exigent circumstances d i­
rected officers to force entry into
the house. Inside the location,
Steven Dons fired several gun­
shot rounds at the three officers.
Sergeant Hudson was able to
return fire w hich allow ed cover
officers to remove the fallen
officers. Once officers were out­
side the location, a perimeter
was set up and the SERT Team
called.
A t 2:24 PM, SERT members
placed Dons into custody. Dons had
exited the front of the location, but
refused to comply further to offic­
ers’ directions and was shot with a
less lethal round. An arrest team
placed him into custody and he was
transported to a local hospital for
treatment. Dons is in police custody
recovering from his injuries.
Portland’s Marijuana Task Force
(MTF), A Deadly Mistake
O ffic e r Colleen W aibel has
paid the ultim ate price for adult
marijuana prohibition, she gave
her life. F o lly becomes trag­
edy. But now it's tim e fo r o th ­
ers to pay as w ell
By our reckoning that buck
stops at M ayor Vera Katz, Po­
lice C h ie f Charles Moose and
M ultnom ah C ounty D is tric t
Attorney M ichael Schrunk. A ll
3 big supporters o f the M T F ’ s
infam ous ‘ knock and ta lk '
p o lic y w h ic h lead to last
Tuesday’ s deadly shooting.
As we’ ve been saying for
years; scrap the M TF.
“ This is outrageous conduct
on behalf o f our so-called lead­
ers,” said League director Floyd
Landrail) addressing a Wednes­
day night meeting o f local ac­
tivists and M TF victim s. “ How
many more people w ill die in
this fu tile ’ w ar’ over a harm­
less, even beneficial, plant?
“ Suspect Steven Dons may
have pulled the trigger, but only
af ter prohibitionists like Katz and
Moose loaded the gun,” Landrath
said making an obvious refer­
ence to the M ayor's and M oose’ s
blatant - albeit p o litic a lly cor­
rect - attempt to hide behind “ gun
c o n tro l.”
Blam ing the right to keep and
bear arms for W aibel’ s death is
m orally and in te lle ctu a lly bank­
rupt. Like her crocodile-tears, the
M a yo r’ s words ring hollow and
the C h ie fs grief, insincere.
There arc unanswered ques­
tions about Tuesday's M T F f i ­
asco. But in the end they are
meaningless w ithout a more ba­
sic exam ination o f drug laws that
sim ply do not work and make
police work even more danger­
ous than it already is. So that
O ffic e r W a ib e l’ s tragic death
may not be in vain, let us hope
and pray it w ill become a cata­
lyst fo r such an exam ination o f
adult m arijuana/drug p ro h ib i­
tion in the firs t place. Let those
who are w i l l f u l l y b lin d be
thrown up the scrap heap o f his
tory, again.
On F riday, January 30, at
10a.m. representatives o f Port
land N O R M L, Oregon Cannabis
fax A ct and the League Held
held a press conference at the
Phantom G a lle ry , 3125 SE
Belm ont Street in Portland and
at which time several past ’ v ic ­
tim s' of the M T F were also
present. We are united w ith all
who jo in w ith us in ca llin g for
the immediate dissolution o f the
Police Bureau’ s M arijuanaTask
Force.
Editors note: These are not
the views o f the Portland O b­
server N ew spaper.
Statement By Mayor Vera Katz
Mayor Vera Katz released the
fo llo w in g statement regarding
the shooting o f three Portland
Police o ffic e rs in Southeast
Portland.
“ This is a dark day for Port­
land.”
“ We have lost a friend, a c o l­
league, a dedicated police o f­
ficer. I know I speak for the
entire C ity C ouncil and each
citizen o f this city when I o ffe r
the fam ilies, colleagues, and
friends of this o ffic e r my deep­
est sympathy and condolences.”
"W e are all saddened w ith the
knowledge that she w ill never
return to her husband and two
sons, or see her parents who live
nearby in H illsboro.
To honor the memory o f her
life , and her long service to the
citizens o f this comm unity, I have
asked all Hags to be lowered to
h a lf-sta ff until after the funeral
service.
I w ill also postpone my annual
State ol the C ity Address, sched­
uled for Friday, January 30, 1998,
in honor o f her duty and sacrifice
to the c ity ."
“ On behalf o f the C ity fa m ily,
I also want to extend my best
wishes and sympathies to the
other officers who were wounded
— one seriously, and one who
suffered less severe injuries and
stayed at the scene to help his co­
w orkers."
“ I w ould also like to person­
a lly thank all the other members
o f the bureau who, despite their
feelings o f loss, stuck to their
posts and showed us the true
meaning of duty and courage.”
Portland Police Association
The Portland Police Associa­
lie v in g that a boost in their rat­
tion would like to express its
ings was more im portant than the
outrage at the actions o f the
lives o f P ortland’ s Police O ffic ­
news media in recent c ritic a l
ers.
incidents in v o lv in g Portland
We share C h ie f Moose's an­
Police officers.
ger at the irresponsible behavior
Those actions have not only
of the television stations. We
exposed police officers to need­
believe that it is time that jour­
less danger, but have seriously
nalists understand that their ac­
invaded the privacy o f police
tions can expose police officers
officers It is time for the media
to danger, and that they could
to begin acting responsibly in
w ell be the cause o f a police
the way it reports matters con­
o ffic e r’ s death.
cerning the police.
Just as irresponsible were the
Tuesday, as the SERT team
actions of a reporter who appar­
was surrounding the perim eter
ently went through a phone book
ol the house occupied by Steven
ca llin g individuals w ith the same
Dons, who had just allegedly
last name as one o f the officers
shot three police officers, h e li­
who had been shot.
copters from local television
This reporter eventually con­
sta tio n s hovered o verhead ,
tacted a relative o f one o f the
sending live pictures o f the
o ffice rs, who in turn called the
scene to televisions throughout
spouse o f the office r.
the Portland area.
U n til that moment, the spouse
A ll the suspect had to do to
had not heard that the o ffic e r had
know where police officers were
been shot.
positioned would have been to
So, in the interests o f live m in ­
have turned on the television.
utes o f fame hopefu lly produced
The television stations re­
by some sort o f instant reaction,
jected repeated requests from
the privacy o f the o ffic e r’ s fam ­
the Police Bureau to stop the
ily was h o rrib ly invaded. T
transmissions, apparently be­
he men and women o f the Port­
land Police Association urge the
media to do some serious soul-
searching.
Even one addition al paper
sold or one additional rating
point is not w orth jeopardizing
the lives o f P ortland’ s Police
O fficers nor is it worth invad­
ing the privacy o f their homes.
We hope you w ill reevaluate
the tactics used to gather news
footage.
We know that you have a
duty to keep the general public
inform ed of local news events
but we believe your viewers and
the other citizens o f Portland
would be w illin g to w ait for
sound stories that do not jeop­
ardize the safety of the com m u­
nity.
The men and women o f the
P ortland P olice A ssociation
also have a duty to protect this
com m unity and the m edia’ s be­
havior lately is jeopardizing our
a b ility to perform this sworn
duty.
Leo F. Painton
President
Portland Police Association
" By focusing on Social Security' reform, educational quality, and
health care reform, the President zeroed in on the key issues 1 heard
Oregonians talking about in my twelve Town Meetings this month. ”
Congressman Earl Blumenauer
on the President Clinton’s State o f the Union Address:
/ was especially heartened by the President's strong commitment to
education, which couldn t come at a better time fo r Oregon public
schools. With more teachers in the classroom, smaller classes, and help
with the cost o f school construction, Oregon schools will be in a much
stronger position to guarantee quality public education fo r all our
children. The President tonight helped pave the way, and my hope is that
Congress can act quickly to bring these initiatives to life, ” Congress­
man Blumenauer said.
Helping the family is first priority for Springfield
Tom and M a rcy A d d is o f
S pringfield feel that one o f the
nicest things about w inning the
$2.5 m illio n jackpot in the Jan
I 7, Megabucks draw ing is being
able to help others.
Helping their fa m ily is the first
p rio rity for Tom and M arcy, who
claimed their prize at Lottery
headquarters in Salem on Jan.
21.
“ This is just w onderful,” said
M arcy, “ it feels so good to know
w e’ ll be able to help the kids.”
The A d d is ’ s used the "Q uick
P ick” method to select their num­
bers, and matched all six num­
bers drawn to w in the big prize.
The A d d is’ s are the Oregon
L o tte ry ’ s firs t Megabucks ja c k ­
pot winners for the new year, and
the games 149th m illio n a ire s
since the first Megabucks tickets
went on sale Nov. 20, 1985.
Counting shared jackpots, there
have been 183 Megabucks ja c k ­
pot winners.
Happy Birthday Jacquelyn
N. Palmer
From all your family &
friends Best Wishes
presents its
1998 A nnual L ecture
featuring
I he H onorable G lenda A . H atchett
Georgia's First African American
Chief Presiding State Court Judge
discussing
’’T oday ’ s Y outh : T omorrow ’ s C apital ”
The Emerging Majority
T hursday , F ebruary 1 2 ,1 9 9 8
6:00 PM. - 7:30 P.M.
N orthwest N atural G as B uilding
220 N.W. 2 nd A venue
4 th F loor H ospitality R oom
P ortland , O regon
P rice : $20.00
For advance tickets, please call (503) 641-4553, ext. 700
Tickets also available at the door.
This event is made possible by the generous sponsorship o f M ontgom ery Watson Engineering
Hon. Glenda A. Hatchett
Judge Glenda Hatchett, a graduate o f Mount Holyoke College and Emory
University School o f Law, is Georgia’s first African-American chief presiding
judge o f a state court, and the department head o f one o f the largest juvenile
court systems in the country, which includes Atlanta and nine other municipali­
ties. Prior to joining the bench on March 1, 1991, Judge Hatchett was a senior
attorney and national and international spokesperson for Delta Air Lines
She has been highlighted in Ebony Magazine as one o f the 100 Best and
Brightest Women in Corporate America, and is a past recipient o f the Bronze
Woman of the Year Award.
Recognized nationally as a authority on juvenile and social issues, Judge
Hatchett is a frequent speaker and lecturer throughout the country. She has
appeared on Nightline, Good Morning America , MacNeil/Lehrer, CNN and
numerous other television and radio programs. She has testified before both
houses o f Congress, and has chaired the National Forum on Youth Violence for
the US Departmen t o f Justice.
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