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'Jllortlanh (©bserurr
lune 22.2005
L aw <& J ustice
Chief Foxworth Presents Heroism Award
Principal honored
for breaking up
violent gang fight
her school by instructing a staff
member to call 9-1-1 and to initiate
lockout procedures.
Barker and Richard Smith, a
fourth grade teacher, then ran out
When Kate Barker came across to help two juveniles who were
a vicious gang fight involving a being assaulted by several sus­
stabbing at her school, she didn’t pects. As Barker approached the
flee in fear. She heroically stepped scene, she began yelling at the
in, stopped the fighting and stood suspects, but they ignored her and
by the victims, despite the possible continued to kick the victims in the
danger she faced.
head and body. When she got close,
Portland Police Chief Derrick some of the suspects ran away while
Foxworth presented Barker, the others remained circled around her.
principal of Mill Park Elementary,
Police said Barker assessed the
with a heroism medal for her actions injuries to discover that one of the
during a Friday ceremony at her victims was bleeding profusely from K ate Barker
Southeast 117th Avenue school.
a stab wound in the back, and the
Police said when she saw the other had serious head trauma from direct pressure on a stab wound.
When she heard police sirens
fight last November, she took all being kicked repeatedly. She be­
closing
in. Barker realized the sus­
steps necessary to ensure the gan first aid and instructed an al­
pects
who
ran away were now run­
safety of the students and staff of leged gang member how to apply
Shooting Suspect At Large
The Portland Police, in coopera­ on the porch, possibly with other
tion with Crime Stoppers, need help people, at the time of the shooting.
solving a homicide.
Multiple shots were fired from a
On Jan. 21, 2005 at about 7:15 vehicle driving by the house. No­
p.m. police responded to a shoot­ body else reported being injured.
ing at a house in the 5900 block of
Detectives are looking for infor­
Northeast 9lh Avenue. When they mation about a vehicle seen leav­
arrived, they found 25-year-old ing the area. It was described as a
Tameka Renee Hartley on the porch small to medium sized dark colored
o f her house suffering from a gun­ sedan with tinted windows.
shot wound to her chest. She was
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash
transported to a hospital, but died reward of up to $ 1,000 for informa­
later that night.
tion. Calls may remain anonymous
Detectives believe Hartley was at 503-823-4357.
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Barker refused to retreat and
stood by the fallen victims. ...
Her quick and selfless actions
quite possibly saved the life o f the
stabbing victim.
ning back toward her in an attempt
Barker refused to retreat and
to elude capture. She found herself stood by the fallen victims. Once
in a perilous situation: protecting officers arrived, she provided ac­
two injured juveniles with a small curate, timely, and detailed descrip­
group of suspects — probably still tions of the suspects, which ulti­
armed with stabbing weapons — mately ledtotheirarrest. Herquick
running toward her. Barker was and selfless actions quite possibly
surrounded by a group o f agitated saved the life of the stabbing victim
participants who became more ner­ and definitely prevented further and
vous as the alleged rival gang mem­ more serious injury, if not death, to
bers and police quickly got closer. both victims.
Women Caught in Drug Law Net
or in the child welfare system, where they’re at
increased risk of physical or sexual abuse.”
Panelists said that without meaningful informa­
tion to trade with prosecutors for more lenient
sentences, these minimally involved girlfriends
You’re in apartment with your boyfriend. He’s and wives often suffer some of the longest and
dealing drugs, you’re not. You’re raided by the harshest prison sentences under current drug sen­
police, and you both get arrested.
tencing laws.
Several formerly incarcerated women, a child of
The ACLU noted that women are now the
an incarcerated woman and national experts on fastest growing population in the federal prison
s e n te n c in g
system. More
policy - in ­
than 70 per­
c lu d in g the
cent o f incar-
A m e ric a n
c e r a t e d
Civil Liberties
w o m en
in
Union - in­
state prisons
form ed law ­
are also the
m ak ers re ­
primary care­
cently about
J e sse ly n McCurdy, ACLU Legislative C ounsel
takers o f at
the negative
least tw o m i­
e ffe c ts th at
nors, displac­
drug sentencing laws have on women and families ing millions o f children into foster care or other
and urged reform.
unstable situations, according to Bureau o f Jus­
Under current drug laws, even those with little tice Statistics.
involvement in drug trafficking operations - often
Panelists at the briefing urged lawmakers to
women in relationships with men involved in drug- oppose legislation that would expand or create
related activities - are held liable for the entire new mandatory minimums drug sentences, which
quantity of drugs charged in connection with the fuel the alarming rate of increase in w om en’s
conspiracy.
incarceration.
This little known side effect is often called the
Panelists also urged Congress to m aintain and
“girlfriend problem” - the propensity o f arrest and expand sentencing procedures such as the so-
prosecution of low-level, minimally or unknowi ngly called “safety valve,” a federal sentencing guide­
involved individuals for crimes associated with line provision that allows for reduced sentences
drug trafficking operations.
for low-level, first time drug offenders. Judges
“In the war on drugs, an unintended causality are have frequently applied this provision in cases
women and their families,” said Jesselyn McCurdy, involving wives or girlfriends who minimally as­
an ACLU Legislative Counsel. “Current laws dis­ sisted a husband or boyfriend’s drug dealing,
proportionately hurt those whose only crime was to such as by answering the phone or passing pack­
be in the wrong place at the wrong time - mainly ages o f drugs to customers.
women. The 1.5 million children they’ve leftbehind
For more information about the “Girlfriend Prob­
so far are left with overburdened friends and family lem, visit www.fairlaws4families.org.
Many families hurt by
mandatory sentences
Current laws disproportionately
hurt those whose only crime was to
be in the wrong place at the wrong
time - mainly women.
Burglary, Assault
and Kidnapping
Suspect Sought
The Portland Police, in coopera­
tion with Crime Stoppers, need help
in locating and apprehending a man
wanted for robbery and kidnap­
ping.
Luke Duane Mitchell, 50, along
with three other suspects, are ac­
cused of a March 20 armed robbery
in which they bound, gagged and
assaulted residents of a home in the
7900 block of Southwest 19th Av­
enue around midnight.
Mitchell is wanted in Multnomah
County for robbery, burglary, kid­
napping and assault, with bail set at
$1.21 million.
Detectives believe the robbery
was drug related. Mitchell should
not be approached as he is danger­
ous and may be armed, police said.
He is about 5 feet, 9 inches tall
and weighs about 160 pounds. He
has medium length brown hair, a
brown and gray mustache, and blue
eyes.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash
reward of up to $ 1,000 for informa­
tion that leads to an arrest in this
case, or any unsolved felony. Calls
can remain anonymous at 503-823-
4357.
Reporting Crime
Goes Online
in Vancouver
V ancouver residents can now
report low level crim es online, 24
h o u r s a d a y , a t w w w .van
police.org .
O fficials said the goal is to
im prove tim ely access to police
services for citizens and to make
use o f police resources in a more
effective and efficient manner.
O nline reporting allow s c iti­
zens with access to the internet
the option o f reporting crim es
such as theft or m alicious m is­
c h ie f (in v o lv in g d am a g e s o f
The Tulsa, O klahom a race riot $1,500 or less), vehicle prow ls
began May 31, 1921, when A fri­ and lost property at a tim e that is
can Americans and whites clashed convenient for them , utilizing
outside a courthouse w here a technology that they may have
black man accused o f assaulting access to at their hom e or w ork­
a white fem ale elevator operator place.
It also provides the V ancouver
was jailed. Police deputized a
Police
D epartm ent an autom ated
white mob which torched homes
way
to
inform the person making
and businesses in T ulsa’s thriv­
the
report
the status o f their re ­
ing Black business district. The
port
as
soon
as inform ation b e­
violence kilied 300 African Ameri­
com
es
available.
cans, left 8,000 T ulsa residents
hom eless and burned 42 square
blocks.
\ilvertis. with diver dty in
The briefing allow ed Congress
to create a record to support fu­
ture legislative relief.
“W e are approaching a critical
moment for historical civil rights
litigation, where we fadee the loss
of our eye w itnesses,” said Rep.
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John Conyers, D-Mich.
Race Riot Survivors Recount Violence
Challenges to repair past explored
Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race
Riots gave a first-hand account of
their stories to members of the Con­
gressional Black Caucus during a
recent briefing on Capitol Hill.
The session examined the chal­
lenges survivors face in their pur­
suit of legal redress, as well as ex­
plored approaches and strategies to
secure justice for the victims, some
over 100 years old. Survivors were
joined by prominent civil rights his­
torians, attorneys and activists.
“This briefing was particularly
important, because it allowed survi­
vors to give a first-hand account of
one of this nation's worst incidents
of racial violence,” said Rep. Mel
Watt, D-N.C..CBC chair.
After being silenced for more than
half a century, survivors Otis Clark,
Dr. Olivia Hooker and Wess Young
recounted how the race riots impacted
their lives and the African American
community in Tulsa.
“Being able to give a public ac­
count of what happened to our com ­
munity in May of 1921 is critical,”
said Dr. Hooker, who was 6 years old
when the riots occurred. “Children
today have no idea of what we went
through and how it disillusions you.
I believed every word of the Consti­
tution, but after the riots happened
I realized that the Constitution did
not include me.”
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King Louie and Sweet Baby James
with the Original Cats
Friday, June 24th
6:00pm-8:30pm
£
At The URBAN
LEAGUE
Multicultural Senior Center
5325 NE MLK
(503) 988-5470
$5.00 Admission includes Light Refreshm ents