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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2002)
December 18, 2002 ÌElje ^0artlanh (Observer Page A 2 P olice C ro ss B u r n in g as F ree S p eech B e fo r e H ig h C o u r t Former* Vancouver Chief Gets Job in LA Stan Reeves to head security for California transit system Stan Reeves R eeves has spent 24 years in law enforcem ent, including ser vice w ith police departm ents in V ancouver and Eugene, as w ell as three years as public safety d irec tor at the U niversity o f O regon. Reeves, 52, resigned one day before the W ashington State P a trol began investigating alleg a tions that he prevented his g irl friend from being arrested by one o f his officers in M ay 2001. T he State Patrol decided the w om an w ould have been cited for drunken driving or negligent driv ing if R eeves h a d n ’t arrived. Brian M oran, the sta te ’s ch ie f crim inal prosecutor, concluded there w asn ’t probable cause to charge Reeves, m uch less suffi cient evidence to w in a ju ry co n viction. (A P ) — Stan R eeves, w ho re signed as police c h ie f last M ay am id allegations that he helped a friend avoid a drunken driving arrest, has been hired as head o f security for the Los A ngeles tran sit system . R eeves’ new jo b w ith the Los A n g ele s C o u n ty M etro p o litan T ran sp o rtatio n A uthority pays $ 140,000, the Colum bian reported. H e m ade $ 107,532 as V ancouver police chief. In L os A ngeles, a transit sy s tem official said his agency w as aw are o f the controversy. “T hey did con sid er that no charges were ever filed,” said Marc Littman, transit system deputy ex- ecutivedirectorforpublic relations. “T hey thought he w as the best m an for the jo b .” Police Dog Dies On Duty T he dog w as a 7-year-old G erm an S hepherd and K.-9 partnerofofficer Bert Combs. Lex w as also one o f tw o K.-9 ’ s trained as a m em ber o f the SER T team . O fficer C om bs is a “M as ter Trainer” o f police dogs in the State o f O regon. T he P ortland Police B u reau is h o n o rin g a w orking com panion w ho helped cap ture 126 suspects d u ring a six-year police career. “L ex,” a m em ber o f the K- 9 unit, died o f an apparent heart attack D ec. 10 w hile tracking a suspect. Symbol’s link to racial violence attacked in opening debate (A P ) — A case that questions w hether cross burning is illegal in tim idation o r constitutionally pro tected free speech produced sharp debate am ong S uprem e C ourt ju s tices during opening argum ents last w eek, w ith m ost appearing very troubled by the sy m b o l’s link to racial violence. Justices are considering how far states can go to discourage the Ku K lux K ian and others from burning crosses. A t issue is an anti-cross burning V irginia law passed 50 years ago in reaction to K ian intim i dation o f blacks. Justice C larence T hom as, the court ’ s only black m em ber and who rarely speaks in argum ents, said crosses w ere part o f “ 100 years o f lynching in the S outh.” “T his w as a reign o f terror, and the cross w as a sign o f that,” said T hom as, w ho w as raised in segre gated Georgia. “It is unlike any sym bol in o u r society. It w as intended to cause fear, terrorize.” C ourt Backs Photo R adar • (A P )— T he cam era w ill rem ain on P ortland drivers after the O r egon C ourt o f A ppeals rejected a It is unlike any symbol in our society. It was intended to cause fear, terrorize. — C h ie f Justice C la re n c e T ho m as T he ju stice s interrupted each other during the lively argum ent, com paring crosses to sem iauto m atic w eapons and discussing the history o f cross burning. “T he cross has acquired a po tency that is at least equal to that o f a g u n ,” Justice D avid H. Souter said. T he ju stices historically have been protective o f the free-speech rights o f the m ost controversial o f g ro u p s, in c lu d in g flag -b u rn ers, adult entertainers and people w ho display sw astikas. In th e c r o s s - b u r n in g c a s e , th ey ’re debating now w hether three w hite m en w ere w rongly pros ecuted, in separate cases, for light ing crosses during a K ian rally and in the y ard o f a black fam ily. The Virginia Supreme Court over turned the convictions o f the men, ruling the burnings w ere sym bolic speech. c o n stitu tio n a l ch a lle n g e to th e sta te ’s photo radar law. The case arose w hen a w om an w ho got a citation m ailed to her argued that the law required her to prove she w as not the driver, basi cally forcing her to prove her inno cence. Such a requirem ent w ould be unconstitutional in a crim inal case, but the C ourt o f A ppeals said it was allow able under the p hoto radar law because traffic tickets do not result in incarceration. Portland and Beaverton have been using photo radar since 1996. Police look up the registered owner ofth e car and mail aticket. U nder the law, the registered owner is presumed to be the driver unless he or she can prove otherwise. RIME ( 5 0 3 ) 823-HELP 111 S.W. 2nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 Reward Offered in Sex Crimes Case fled . In v e s tig a to rs T h e C la c k a m a s C o u n ty have been looking for S h eriff's O ffice, in cooperation him ever since and w ith C rim e Stoppers, is asking for speculate he m ay be y o u r help in locating and appre h id in g o u t in th e hending G erald Shaw n Espinoza. Bend/Redm ond area. In A pril 2001, a C lackam as E spinoza is a 37- C o u n ty G ra n d Ju ry in d ic te d y e a r o ld H is p a n ic 1 E spinoza on felony sex related m ale, w ith a date o f crim es involving a fem ale ju v e nile family member. Gerald Shawn Espinoza b ir th o f O c t.il, 1965. He is 5 feet, 10 inches Police said w hen the w arrants and w eighs approxim ately 205 pounds cam e out, Espinoza, w ho lived in the w ith brow n eyes and black hair. M i 1 w auk ie area at the tim e, packed up and Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward ofup to SI,000fo r information, reported to Crime Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in this case, or any unsolved felony crime, any you need not give your name. Call Crime Stoppers at 503-R23-HELP. Radical Guilty in Log Truck Arsons Just think: Vbur son is brigh t, healthy a n d h e a d e d fo r college one day Vbu love the direction your career has taken. Vbu're doing a lot of the things you planned and even a few you didn’t Living life to the fullest is easy when you have family behind you. American Family Mutual Insurance Call and talk to one of our helpful friendly agents. You'll find out why wete consistently rated A+ (Superior) by AM . Best the insurance rating authority Then, go on. Dream. Plan. What you do next is up to you and we'll be here to help you. u have family behind you. AU Your Protection Under One Roof. Aimrtaan F « n *y Mutual Mteurance Company and Ms SubaMaries. Madison, Wl 53783-0001 wwwsmtem.oom H .......... . A 4 (A P )— An Earth Liberation Frontsabo- teur w ho faced 40 years in prison for torch ing three logging trucks pleaded guilty in U.S. D istrict C ourt in ex change for a re duced sentence. Jacob D.B. S herm an, a 20-year-old Portlander, signed a plea agreem ent last that w ould allow him to serve 41 m onths in federal custody. Form al sentencing w as set for Feb. 20. Sherm an is one o f four people charged w ith taking part in the June 2001 arson o f logging trucks near Estacada to protest the contested Eagle C reek tim ber sale. He and fellow activist M ichael J. Scarpitti — a radical environm entalist better know n as T re A rrow — also stand accused o f the April 2001 arson o f three cem ent trucks at P o rtland’s Ross Island Sand and G ravel. Scarpitti rem ains a fugitive. A ndrew Bates, S h erm an’s law yer, d e clined com m ent on b e h a lf o f his client and fam ily. But he issued a statem ent saying Sherm an deeply regretted his actions. “ He never intended to place anyone in harm ’s way and was only trying to protect our old growth forests and the earth,” Bates wrote. “He realizes that, while the protection o fo u r environm ent is aju st cause, his partici pation in setting these fires was an unaccept able and counterproductive m eans o f pro tests. The end cannot justify the m eans." Information Defends Against Identity Theft T he Portland Police Bureau and U.S. Bank have partnered to create a brochure that arm s Portland residents with inform a tion to protect them selves from identity theft. T he brochures are available at all P ort land Police B ureau precincts, the O ffice o f N eighborhood Involvem ent and all U.S. Banks branches in the Portland area. “W e ’re proud o f the public and private A sector collaboration that brought this bro chure together for us to present to the p ublic,” said Police C h ief M ark K roeker. “C rim es o f this nature are unsettling and disturbing to the individual citizen, and the dam age caused can take m onths and som e tim es years to correct. Identity theft is the fastest grow ing type o f fraud today, “ said T ina Foster, region m anagers for U.S. Bank on Portland. I
