September 6, 2000
Page A2
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Police News/Vancouver
■ M
Inside-A
Diverse medical
school class.............. 3
Your shortcut to a
better life................. 4
New black Christian
publisher.................. 5
Metro-B
Weather
Today
Through the
weekend
Mostly
cloudy
75°F/24°C
55°F/13°C
Thursday
First domestic registry
in Portland.................. 1
2000 Diversityfest
Community Picnic....2-3
A good summer for
basketball.................... 4
Isolated T-
Storms
73°F/23°C
56°F/13°C
Isolated T-
Storms
72°F/22°C
53°F/12°C
El Observador......... 5
Showers
This Week
71°F/22°C
54°F/12°C
in H istory
On September?, 1940,Nazi Germany
began its initial blitz on London
during W orld W ar II.
On September 8, 1974, President
Ford granted an unconditional
pardon to former President Nixon.
On September 9 , 1976, Communist
Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung died
in Beijing at age 82.
On September 12, 1977, South
African black student leader Steven
Biko died while in police custody,
triggering an international outcry.
Scattered
Showers
73°F/23°C
52°F/12°C
Thought for the week
I f l cry tears let them wash away
your fea rs—make a rainbow o f
love fo r you.
— Thom Klika
Workshop focuses on
historic preservation of
commercial buildings
CONTRIBUTED STORY
The City o f Vancouver, in partnership with the Clark County Historic
Preservation Commission, will sponsor a free workshop titled, “Historic
Commercial Buildings: Preservation is Good for Business” on September 23
from 9 a.m. to noon at the Kiggins Theatre, 1011 Main St. in downtown
Vancouver.
Historic commercial districts have become increasingly important to downtown
economic revitalization efforts nationwide and Vancouver’s commercial core
has its own list o f successes. This workshop will show examples o f the use o f
historic preservation techniques that attract customers as well as visual
turnoffs to avoid.
The workshop will be lead by Sean O ’Skea. O ’Skea has a master’s degree in
historic preservation from Ball State University and extensive experience in the
historic preservation field. He worked as a design consultant for the Main
Street Program o f the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has recently
taught a series o f historic preservation classes through the Portland Parks
Department.
Participants are encouraged to bring sketches, photos, plans and ideas for one-
on-one and group discussion.
To reserve your seat or to get more information, contact Linda Floyd at (360)
696-8171 ext. 8085.
Vancouver Police to conduct
pedestrian safety emphasis
V a n c o u v e r P o lic e S e rv ic e s in
p a rtn e rs h ip w ith th e C ity o f
Vancouver Transportation Services
conducted the first o f a series o f
pedestrian safety emphasis. A plain
clothes officer posed as a pedestrian
using a crosswalk during the emphasis
while officers from traffic and patrol
units will be posted in area to observe
drivers violating pedestrians rights
laws. Officers were issuing warnings
and infractions. Drivers were also
educated about safe driver practices
in areas w h ere th ere are high
concentrations o f pedestrians and
on how drivers should approach
crosswalks that have warning lights.
The City o f V ancouver recently
installed five new lighted crosswalk
w arnings to alert drivers about
pedestrians in the crosswalk. There
have been several pedestrian fatalities
over the past few years in Vancouver
and pedestrian’s safety has become
a to p c o n c e rn in V a n c o u v e r
neighborhoods. While the focus of
this emphasis is on driver education,
pedestrians also need to be aware
that th ere are num erous safety
p ra c tic e s th ey sh o u ld follow
including crossing at a designated
cro ssw alk w earing light and/or
reflective clothing while walking at
night, and obeying all traffic signals.
Reaction to strip-search
exposes division in INS
A ssociated P ress
The immigration officer who strip-
searched a Chinese business traveler
last month was just following the
p ro c e d u re s she learn ed at her
previous post in Hawaii, according to
her union’s representatives.
Inspector Robin Peters made Guo
Liming strip to her underwear on Aug.
19 at Portland International Airport,
believing the businesswoman had an
altered passport.
AfterGuo’s treatment became known,
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service officials re-sent the rules on
body searches to all W estern Points
o f entry. But The Oregonian has
reported that practice o f the searches
appears to vary widely.
In Honolulu, for example, where
Peters, 34, worked as an inspector
irom iv v i tnrougn ivvs, roreigners
bearing phony documents are strip-
searched, said Steven Roberson, who
supervised Honolulu International
Airport inspectors until 1997.
“Up until now they have been as a
matter o f routine,” said Roberson,
who became acting INS port director
in Portland on Friday.
But INS District Director David Beebe
has apologized to 36-year-old Guo,
sa y in g he w as c e rta in the
investigation will show his officers
had “insufficient suspicion” to strip-
search her after a previous pat-down
search.
INS Commissioner Doris Meissner’s
rules for strip -search es require
“reasonable suspicion,” after a less
intrusive search, that a person is
concealing a weapon, contraband or
evidenceofacrim e. Meissner issued
the rules three years ago.
**
Christine Pool, the supervisor who
union officials confirm approved and
witnessed the search at the Portland
airport, explained the practice in
another way. Pool said before the
investigation that inspectors could
choose either to pat down foreigners
or strip-search them.
The INS w on’t allow Pool and Peters
to talk about the matter while the
investigation continues. But union
leaders who have spoken with Peters
defend her actions and charge that an
INS investigator has violated her
rights.
Jim Broz, president o f the American
Federation ofGovemment Employees
Local 40 in Seattle, said he and Peters
fear that INS managers will blame her,
even though she follow ed what
Portland inspectors believe to be
W estern regional policy.
Peters continues to work for the INS,
an agency that also employs her
mother in Vermont, where Peters grew
up.
Jeff Young, president in Vermont o f
Local 2076, the same union that
represents Peters, has spoken with
Peters by phone during the past two
weeks. Her mother approached him
for help, saying her daughter was
upset.
Peters wanted to see whether Guo
was concealing other documents,
Young said, such as her real passport.
“ She said, * I want to strip her and see
if she has any documents,"' Young
said. “The supervisor said, ‘OK, I’ll
help you.’ “
Young said he was astounded by
Peters ’ account. The INS veteran said
he could count on one hand the
n u m b er o f s trip -s e a rc h e s he
conducted during seven years as
supervisory inspector in Miami, where
many foreigners try to enter the
country illegally.
“So I’m saying to her, ‘Why the hell
would you do a strip-search?’" Young
said. “She said, ‘Well, we do it in
Hawaii. W henever we get a bad
passport, we strip-search them .’ “
Still, Young maintains Peters did
nothing wrong. She followed the
practice she’d learned and obtained
permission from a supervisor. Pool,
the supervisor, is a 13-year INS
employee promoted to her position a
year ago.
U nder
M e is s n e r’s
15-page
enforcement standards, inspectors
should use the least-intrusive type o f
b o d y se a rc h n e c e ssa ry . “ T he
immigration officer must be prepared
to testify in a court, setting forth the
specific reasons for conducting the
strip-search,” the policy states.
Y o u n g th in k s P o rtla n d ’s IN S
problems result from inexperience
among airport inspectors who handle
just two arriving overseas flights a
day, in contrast to more than 200 in
Miami.
“In Portland, you’re not going to
have the depth o f experience you
need to handle an international flight
that might have some garbage on it,”
Young said. “Garbage” is INS lingo
for people subject to rejection, he
said.
Young and Broz say the INS Office o f
Internal Audit, which is examining
G uo’s treatment, violated Peters’
rights during the investigation. The
investigator failed to give Peters 48
hours notice o f an interview, denied
her proper representation and told a
union steward present at the interview
to shut up, Young said.
Greg Gagne, an INS spokesman in
W a sh in g to n , D .C ., sa id the
investigation should be completed
w ith in w e e k s, assu m in g the
investigator manages to contact Guo,
who is traveling.
Crime Stoppers
The Portland Police Bureau, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers, is
asking for your help in identifying and apprehending the individuals
responsible for two cases in which elderly victims were bilked out of
thousands o f dollars.
In one case, a 60-year-old man was approached in a restaurant parking
lot at Northeast M artin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Halsey Street, by an
individual speaking with a foreign accent. The suspect claimed to have
a large amount o f cash but didn’t trust banks. Joined by a second
suspect, the victim was tricked into making a large band withdrawal to
prove that banks could be trusted. When he showed the m oney to the
suspects, they took the cash and fled in a white and gray-colored Ford
van.
In another case, an 84-year old man was approached in a parking lot in
the 1200 block o f Northeast 102nd Avenue. The suspect claimed to be
looking for a place to safeguard a large amount o f cash. Again, joined
by a second suspect, the victim was tricked into making a large bank
withdrawal. The suspects placed the money in a bandana, but when
they return it to the victim, he found a switch had been made, and he was
left with nothing but shredded newspaper.
Suspect # 1 is described as a black male in his mid 40’s, 5 ’2” tall, weighing
140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Suspect #2 is described
as a black male in his late 30’s, 6 ’0” tall weighing 180 pounds with black
hair and brown eyes. Investigators would also like to speak with another
person seen in the bank, and caught on surveillance video, as one o f
the victims withdrew the money. This individual is described as a black
male, 6 ’0” tall, weighing 280 pounds with black hair worn in a pony tail
and wearing a green Hawaiian shirt.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward o f up to $ 1,000 for information,
reported to Crime Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in this case or any
unsolved felony crime, and you need not give your name. Call Crime
Stoppers at (503) 823-HELP.
Come visit us on the web
at
www.portlandobserver.com
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Vancouver City Manager Stoner leaves city
City Manager Vemon Stoner’s employment with the City o f
Vancouver ended on August 31,2000. “The separation of
Mr. Stoner from City employment was amicable,” stated
Mayor Pollard.
"W e’ve known for some time that Vernon was seeking
employment elsewhere and it’s been widely reported that he
was a finalist for jobs in several cities and recently turned
down a City Manger position in Oklahoma," added Mayor
Pollard. “The City Council felt it very important to have a
City Manager whose exclusive focus is on our city and that
is why we chose to begin these discussions with Vernon.”
“As I bring to a close my four-plus years with the City, I
do so with a real sense o f accomplishment,” said Stoner.
“When I came here, the City was in the midst o f the largest
annexation in the state’s history, our downtown needed
attention and the demands on services brought about
from unprecedented growth required immediate attention.”
“Today, over $200 million is being invested in our
downtown, the City’s first comprehensive Strategic Plan
is done and being updated, the number o f recognized
neighborhood associations has doubled, crime rates are
down,” stated Stoner. " I am glad that I was able to
contribute to these positive developments.”
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