(Elje sportia nò (©bgeruer
May 05. 2004
Page B3
Jahar Perez Inquest
Perez
Family
Addresses
Inquest
Jury
continued
fro m F ront
seatbelted. It was this mindset which
caused a 25 second encounter to end in
tragedy.
W hich unarm ed m otorist w ho is in ­
toxicated, or otherw ise uncooperative,
will be the next victim of the Portland
police, a police force that we learned is
trained to use deadly force w henever
they rightly or w rongly fear for their
physical safety?
Dr. Lew insky was brought into this
Inquest to tell us about action and
reaction tim es. But he did not tell us
about the im pact o f racial profiling on
police shootings, he did not tell us
why action-reaction training should
take precedence in Portland, Ore. over
good judgm ent. N or did he tell us why
this so-called scientific style o f train ­
ing has resulted in tw o unarm ed A fri­
can A m erican m otorists being shot to
death by Portland police in the last 11
m onths.
The Perez fam ily asks: “How many
unarm ed m inority citizens m ust be
killed by the Portland police before
the city and the police bureau under­
take a com plete reexam ination o f how
the bureau perceives and reacts to
Portland citizen s?” W e are not all
armed killers.
T he P erez fam ily u rg es ev e ry o n e
c o n sid e rin g the q u estio n “ W hat w as
the ca u se o f Ja h ar P e re z ’s d e a th ? ”
to c o n s id e r th at Ja h a r P erez w as
k illed as a re su lt o f a p rete x t sto p o f
an A fric an A m erican by P o rtlan d
p o lice o fficers. T hat Ja h ar Perez was
k illed b ec au se one P o rtlan d p o lice
o f f ic e r b a d ly o v e r-re a c te d to an
u n arm ed m a n 's actio n s, and that this
o v e r-re a c tio n w as ca u se d , in part,
by a p o licy o f tra in in g o ffic e rs to be
afra id an d m istru stfu l o f P o rtlan d
citiz en s.
The Perez fam ily believes consider­
ation o f these questions and prom pt
attention to Ja h ar’s tragic death could
begin the healing process for our fam ­
ily and the city o f Portland.
Attendees are visibly distraught outside the courtroom o f the James Jahar Perez public inquest. State Sen. Avel Gordly is seen in the background.
Officer Jason Sery shows the inquest jury a picture o f his 9 mm handgun,
which he used to shoot unarmed motorist James Jahar Perez.
Kucinich
Pushes
Hard for
Oregon Vote
continued
A deadpan Officer Jason Sery was the most anticipated witness at the
inquest.
Tia Smith said she
was emotionally
shaken by the
commotion she
witnessed between
police and James
Jahar Perez. She
was an eyewitness
to the shooting.
Martin Dennis, an eyewitness to the police encounter with James Jahar Perez,
told the inquest jury, ‘ I can’t believe he shot the guy," when he testified on
Thursday, April 29.
A rrangements from the district attorney allowed one pool phot < x ; rapher inside the M ultnomah
C ounty C ourthouse for the P erez inquest . T he following photos are courtesy of the O regonian .
/
fr o m F ront
party's platform, Kucinich said.
He pledged to keep speaking about
these key issues to increase support for
the party and Kerry when he faces Presi­
dent Bush in November.
Kucinich cites a lifetime o f involve­
ment in human rights and bringing all
citizens to the table of government.
“Strength com es from inclusion,”
Kucinich said. “A Democratic society
should create unity. W e’re divided by
class, and racial problems are as great as
ever.”
As mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, 27 years
ago, Kucinich said he helped bring po­
lice accountability to the city. He made
history by hiring an African-American
public safety official to supervise both
the police and fire departments.
He said his heart com es from the
streets o f Cleveland where he grew up as
the only white family in a minority neigh­
borhood. The oldest o f seven children,
his family needed to move 21 times, from
rental to rental, to keep a roof over their
heads.
“I’m from the streets, not an Ivy
League college," he said. "Voting for me
can make a difference.”