Multi-Cultural Fair Celebrates Diversity
First Mississippi Street Fair Draws a Crowd
See story and photos, pape AIO.
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"The City Of Roses"
Volume XXXII
Number 20
Wednesday
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
May 22, 2002
Why Deadly Force?
Walking in shoes of local police brings some answers
She’s the
Survivor!
Portland native,
former Grant
student wins
$1 million prize
Vecepia "Vee " Towery
(A P )- A Portland native and
former Grant High School and
Portland Community College
student, was left as the last one
on the island, making her the
latest millionaire on “Survivor."
Vecepia Towery, a 36-year-
old officer manager who cur
rently resides in southern Cali
fornia, was voted the winner in
the fourth installment o f the re
ality-based TV series Sunday.
Towery beat out Neleh Den
nis o f Utah by one vote during
the final tribal vote.
Towery is the first black per
son to win the show’s $1 million
grand prize.
The competition was taped
during 39 days in the South
Pacific’s Marquesas Islands.
W ith the money, Tow ery
plans to finish work on the home
she and her new husband have
been renovating. She plans to
invest the rest.
Towery said, “I had the feel
ing that God would lead me, and
he did.”
Both she and Dennis were
outspoken in theirChristian faith
during the series, and many fel
low competitors dismissed them
as “Bible-thumpers.”
In contrast to “Survivor”
alumni who sought to prolong
their celebrity, Towery said she
now expects to resume her former
life. But she isn’t shutting the
door to staying in the public eye:
“I’ll be open-minded to what
ever might come my way."
John Richards of the Portland Police Bureau fits KA TU Reporter Corinna Allen with a gun belt and pistol as part of a demonstration
about the use of deadly force.
photo bv D avid P i . echl /T he P ortland O bserver
by D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
M embers o f the local press,
including the Portland Observer,
have abetter understanding about
the use o f deadly force within the
Portland Police Bureau because
o f an educational seminar.
The focus o f last w eek's hands-
on event was to increase media
and public awareness o f police
procedures, during and after inci
dents that involve the deadly use
offirearms.
“There are a lot o f times when
we’rejust not communicating with
each o th e r,” said Sgt. Brian
Schm autz, o f the som etim es-
strained relationship betw een
police and media.
An introduction to the seminar
by Police ChiefKroeker called the
work o f a police officer in today’s
world an “awesome responsibil
ity ”
Journalists were fitted with a
gun belt, bulletproof vest and
briefed in basic handgun use on a
live firing range.
O fficer Cory Roberts spoke at
length o f the decision making pro
cess officers go through when
called to make life and death deci
sions.
“Someone can act quicker to
hurt you before you can react to
hurt them ,” Roberts said.
Officers are authorized to shoot
in defense o f themselves or a third
party when lower levels o f control
have been ruled out.
Media members role played as
cops on the beat, going through
three different scenarios set up by
the department to illustrate the
stress and difficulty o f the jobs
officers face every day.
In one scenario, partners de
fend themselves against a dis
turbed man wielding a handgun.
In another, they were called to
defend a woman whose boyfriend
was threatening her with a knife.
In both situations the participants
had to make shoot or not to shoot
decisions.
After a video scenario that pit
ted journalists in a shoot out with
"bad guys," the often-skeptical
writers and photographers could
many times not recall how many
shots they had fired. In one case,
the photographer o f a local news
paper overestimated the number
o f his shots by 16.
Discussions at the forum cen
tered mainly on the release o f in
formation issues.
Journalists often feel short
changed by police who provide
as little information as possible to
the public in order to protect the
integrity o f their investigations.
One reporter questioned the
possibility o f police cover-ups to
Sgt. Ed Brumfield. He maintained
that such cover-ups would be
unlikely in a system that provides
so many checks and balances.
continued
on page A6
Pilots Lose Bid to Carry Guns
WASHINGTON— The federal government has ruled against allow
ing pilots to have guns in the cockpits of commercial airliners. Pilots
have wanted the weapons as a means of confronting hijackers.
High Court to Weigh in on Sex Offender Registries
W ASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed to consider a con
stitutional challenge to some registries o f known sex offenders, the
second case the court will hear involving lists meant to keep tabs
on potentially dangerous sex criminals.
Lawmakers Want Answers About 9/11 Memo
WASHINGTON — Under fire from angry lawmakers, the White
House defended its decision not to alert Americans to information
before the Sept. 11 attacks that Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network
wanted to hijack U.S. airplanes.
Police Investigate
Local Shooting
Machinery Saved People In WTC
The 16 people who escaped the burning top floors o f the World
Trade Center’s south tower owe their lives to an unlikely hero: a row
o f giant elevator machines that shielded one stairway from destruc
tion. They survived because the machines happened to be on the
81st floor where the je t’s nose hit.
Customer shot while waiting in
line outside liquor store
A man was shot in the arm while waiting in a line outside
the state liquorstore at 3636N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Friday.
The victim, identified as Joseph Bernard Robinson, 29,
suffered a gunshot wound just above his right elbow.
A police sergeant happened to be in the vicinity at the time
o f the shooting and reported hearing four shots ring out.
Robinson told authorities he heard just one gunshot before
realizing a bullet had struck him in the arm.
Police said up to 50 customers were in a line that stretched
outside the store when the shooting occurred just after 9:30
p.m. Neither the victim nor other customers could identify
the shooter or where the gunfire originated
Police said they only have a vague description o f a
suspect vehicle in the area at the time o f the shooting.
All-female Everest Team Turns Back
TACOMA, Wash. — A group o f five American women tackling
Mount Everest was forced to turn back just short o f the summit.
Health problems and weather halted the climbers just 285 feet from
the 29,035-foot summit.
Bishops to Work on Plan for Priests
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop o f Washington, D.C.,
said that the Catholic Church responded too slowly to the crisis o f
clerical sexual abuse, and the heat is on bishops to fix it now. The
U.S. Conference o f Catholic Bishops meets in Dallas next month.
Personal Bankruptcies Jump Over Past Year
W ASHINGTON — Bankruptcy filings by American consumers
jum ped 15.2% to 1,464,961 in the 12 months ended March 31, the
government said. Personal bankruptcies also rose in the first quarter
o f 2002, by 3.5% to 369,237, from the same period a year ago.
Police try to determine what happened outside the
state liquor store at 3636 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. on Friday after a man was shot In the arm.
photo by
Obesity on Rise Among Americans Over 50
D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
H
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I l s s is
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W ASHINGTON— Americans over 50 are living longer, smoking
less and developing fewer disabilities, but increasing obesity could
cancel the health gains, an A ARP report says. Obesity among those
over 50 nearly doubled from 1982 to 1999, to 26.7% o f that population
from 14.4%, the report finds.
World Notes Laura Bush’s Silent Power on Tour
BUDAPEST, Hungary — First lady Laura Bush is using her solo
three-nation overseas tour to be a goodwill ambassador for the
policies and priorities o f her husband. Bush arrived in Hungary and
met with political leaders.