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April 07. 2004
O pinion
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Police Who Don’t Serve the Public
The following is u Portland
Observer editorial:
We would be better served if
officers involved in deadly
shootings would have the cour
age to stand before the commu
nity and explain their actions.
How about an apology when an
unarmed motorist is killed under
the mistaken belief that he was
about to use a weapon he didn't
have.
In both the James Perez and
Kendra James deaths, the of
ficers involved in the killings are
so effectively being sheltered
from public view.
Jason Sery, the North Pre
cinct police officer who shot
and killed Perez March 28 is
going to court to block his testi
mony in a public inquest. Scott
McCollister, the police officer
who shot James May 5 has
never faced the public to ex
plain his actions.
It’s no coincidence that the
victims were black and the of
ficers where white. Racial pro
filing in our community and ag
gression by some police offic
ers to the very people they serve
are facts. Our African-Ameri
A Tragic Loss of Human Life
Ecumenical Ministries of O r
egon is deeply concerned about
the fatal shooting of an un
armed African American man,
James Jahar Perez, on March 28
place over the last couple of years,
including the death o f Kendra
recent police shooting by the
M ultnom ah C o unty D istrict
lames that occurred under similar Attorney’s office. This will be the
. . .
first such inquest in nearly
I lllS incident IS
two decades and has the en
dorsement of Mayor Vera
in north Portland. We regret the especially disturbing in
lossofhum anlifeandacknowl-
r i •
i
f.
Katz, state lawmakers and
edge the pain the Perez family light QJ additional p()llC€
Portland Police Chief Derrick
Foxworth. In addition, EMO
and our community are experi- shootings that have taken
encing. We offer our sincere
is very encouraged by and
condolences to the both the p la te OVCT the nlSt COUple su p p o rtiv e
of
C h ie f
family and the community for
\ea rs
Foxworth's ongoing dialogue
this tragic loss of life.
between the Portland Police
This incident is especially dis- circumstances less than a year ago Department and the local commu-
turbing in light of additional po
EMO joins the many other voices nity in order to respond to the
lice shootings that have taken pleading for a public inquest of the concerns of the entire community.
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can community is rightfully frus
trated by this injustice.
Where are the good cops? In
situations like these, we don’t
feel like we have any.
The uproar over the lack of
police accountability does have
one silver lining. It has galva
nized our community. The rally
downtown on Sunday, like the
rallies for justice in the death of
Kendra James, drew a rainbow
of support and showed that this
deserved uproar is not just a
black issue but a human rights
issue.
We wholeheartedly support
the Portland NAACP in its de
mands for a top and bottom
Justice Department review of
the Police Department while
also supporting Chief Derrick
Foxworth.
Foxw orth has show n bold,
steady leadership w hile a sk
ing for patience to bring all
o f the facts before the pub
lic. He rightfully met with
P erez’ fam ily to update them
on the investigation. He de
serves the chance to im p le
m ent needed changes in the
departm ent.
betters to the (3Lditer.■
Nothing Has Changed
I attended Sunday’s inspiring
rally organized by the Coalition
of Black Men and am outraged
over the unjustifiable killing of
James Jahar Perez. Ten months
ago, it was Kendra James, be
fore that, Jose Santos Mejia
Poot, a Mexican immigrant.
Obviously nothing haschanged.
If you are brown, immigrant
or African American, things
have gotten worse with respect
to police use o f deadly force.
But I believe that things can
improve; which compels me to
speak out and get involved.
We need to defend ourselves
from a police institution that
maims or even kills us because
we are a threat to Portland’s
wealthy. We are a threat be
cause we demand economic and
political justice. Demands such
as a well funded and quality
e d u catio n , a living w age,
healthcare, and that big busi
ness pay up so that we aren’t
taxed to starvation.
We demand not to be racially
profiled every time we drive our
cars. We demand jobs, the right
to organize, the right to repro
ductive choice, and the right to
marry if we are lesbian or gay.
As a socialist feminist, I think
the only kind of system that can
support anything different is a
socialist economy, where hu
man needs and equality, not prof
its are what matter.
The Freedom Socialist Party
has long advocated an indepen
dent elected civilian police re
view board with the authority to
discipline police. This board
should be publicly funded but
not connected to corrupt city
government and big business
interests. In the mean time,
Multnomah County officials
should open the grand jury pro
cess to the public so justice can
be brought to the murderers of
James Jahar Perez.
Eduardo Martinez Zapata,
Freedom Socialist Party o f
north Portland
Cops Killing Citizens Again
The natives are upset and it’s
the Kendra James thing all over
again. As usual it’s two sided,
us versus them. An unarmed
man reaches for his seat belt to
finally comply with an orderand
is riddled with bullets, according
to a woman coming out of the
cleaners.
The cops admit they once
again were not able to secure
the scene before making choices
again to shoot an unarmed man.
The irony is police knew the
man, were curious about the
newer version of car he was
driving(profiling)and pulled him
over with an excuse of not using
his signal 100 feet before a turn.
You’d have to be right on him
from the get-go to know exactly
where that 100 feet started out!
Sounds like profiling to me.
This was a shooting in cold
blood. Why would a cop reach
into the car after you tell them
you have no I.D.? Why would a
police officer try to pull a man
out of a car while he still has his
seat belt on instead of asking the
man to take it off?
Portland police ignored the
requests we made last year out
of the Kendra James review
hearings. We demanded proper
police procedures when dealing
with occupants of a car.
Again the deadly encounter
involved one motorist and two
Portland police officers. Again
two officers were not able to
extract a human being out of a
car without deadly force!
This morning, I happened to
hop off a bus just as three Port
land police officers were trying
to capture three black male sus
pects. As I watched, a black
man approached me and mut
tered something about keeping
an eye on the police, so they
don’t kill another innocent man.
Well, the white cop came un
glued. He tried to use his power
to violate my freedom of listen
ing and responding to what I
saw. He told both of us to back
it up, that we were interfering
and threatened me with arrest.
Ain’t that the way it is with
the guy s with the guns. Tromping
all over the Constitution!
Teresa Teater
Police Shooting Breaks Heart
I woke up with my heart bro
ken again. A nother young
person’s life taken for what rea
son? A young man only 28 years
old had been shot and killed by
Portland Police. To me, it was
another murder uncalled for
because of poor training and no
concerns foryoung black Ameri
cans in the city.
We need to get together
and file a class action lawsuit
against Portland Police for
poor training of officers, es
pecially poor training on traf
fic stops. I believe to many
police officers are trigger-
happy and abuse the power
behind the badge.Even though
the police department is led by
a black chief, it does not
change what is really happen
ing on the street.
When I look back over the
years of policing in Portland,
one of the first things that
comes to mind is when offic
ers tossed a dead possum on a
black business. These men
where still able to keep their
jobs. What a joke.
I am afraid for my sons and
your sons and daughters. It
could happen to anyone. What
a nightmare for any family.
Murder is not something that
just goes away.
L et's get it together Port
land. We as a people need to
make a stand and fight for
better Portland Police.
Reba
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