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
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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