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L aw & J ustice
Foxworth Wanted McCollister Fired
Records in
Kendra James
death opened
(A P ) — A s an assistant police
c h ie f tw o y e a rs a g o , D e rric k
F oxw orth voted to fire the officer
w ho fatally shot an unarm ed black
m otorist during a traffic stop, po­
lice records show.
Foxw orth was the only one o f
three assistant chiefs to recom m end
that O fficer Scott M cC ollister lose
his jo b for unsatisfactory perfor­
m ance, according to the records
obtained by T he O regonian. The
other assistants suggested a sus­
pension.
Former Police ChiefM ark Kroeker
su sp en d ed M c C o lliste r w ithout
pay for 5 m onths after concluding
Chief Derrick Foxworth
that M cC ollister’s actions leading
to the M ay 5, 2003, shooting w ere
tactically unsound.
T hen-M ayo r V era K atz soon
fo rc e d K ro e k e r ’s r e s ig n a tio n ,
largely over the handling o f the
p o lic e s h o o tin g , an d e le v a te d
Foxw orth to chief.
A c c o rd in g to th e r e c o rd s ,
Foxw orth found that M cC ollister’s
use o f deadly force fell within bu­
reau policy but recom m ended that
the officer be fired for unsatisfac­
tory perform ance.
M cCollister, 29, returned to work
in February 2(X)4. He is chai lenging
his suspension.
A federal ju ry last w eek cleared
M cC ollister o f w rongdoing in the
fatal shooting o f K endra Jam es, a
21-year-old w om an w hose death
angered m any P ortland residents.
M cC ollister told investigators
that m ost o f his body w as in the car
when he tried to extract Jam es from
the driv er’s seat during a traffic
stop. W hen she put the car into
drive, he instinctively fired to save
his life, he testified.
In an after-action report dated
June 3 ,2003, N orth Precinct Cmdr.
B re t S m ith d e te r m in e d th a t
M cC ollister’s actions fell within
bureau policies and training, but he
identified problem s in officer tac­
tics that preceded the shooting.
S m ith ’s
rep o rt
fa u lte d
M cC ollister for entering the car,
restricting his ability to control
Jam es and putting h im self at a tac­
tical disadvantage from w hich he
co uldn’t retreat.
M o r e o v e r, S m ith fa u lte d
McCollister, and Officers Rick Bean
and K enneth Reynolds, w ho were
also at the scene, for failing to talk
to each other and develop a plan to
rem ove James.
Sm ith cited the inexperience o f
each officer. M cC ollister had ju st
more than two years w ith the bu­
r e a u ; B e a n , 18 m o n th s ; an d
Reynolds, less than three years.
Lil Kim Does Time for Perjury
Female rapper gets 366 days in prison
Lit' Kim whose real name is Kimberly Jones
exits Manhattan federal court following her
sentencing, Wednesday, July 5, in New
York. (AP Photo)
(A P) - R apper L il’ K im ' s raunchy lyrics and
revealing outfits helped her becom e one o f
hardcore ra p ’s first fem ale stars. N ow sh e’s
poised to break another barrier: becom ing the
first big-nam e fem ale rapper to go to prison.
The G ram m y w inner was sentenced July 6 to
one year and one day for perjury and co n ­
spiracy - a term far less than the three years and
seven m onths sought by prosecutors.
Kim escaped a stiffer sentence after telling
a ju d g e she was a “G od-fearing good person"
w ho regretted lying to a federal grand jury
about a 2001 shootout outside a M anhattan
radio station.
U.S. D istrict Judge G erard Lynch said he
had w eighed the idea o f sending a young black
entertainer to prison far longer than M artha
Stew art, w ho spent five m onths behind bars
after a false statem ents conviction.
Lynch suggested L il’ Kim - h erreal nam e is
Kim berly Jones - deserved m ore tim e because
she had lied about a violent crim e, not a white-
collar schem e.
But the ju d g e also credited L il’ Kim with
returning to court and adm itting she had lied all
along to protect m em bers o f her entourage.
L il’ Kim said she w anted to "take com plete
blam e" for the actionsofherassistant, M onique
Dopw ell, w ho’s aw aiting sentencing for the
sam e crimes.
The form er sidekick and m istress o f the late
N otorious B.I.G., she has becom e know n for
her revealing outfits and suggestive lyrics.
She won aG ram m y in 2001 for herpart in the hit
rem ake o f “Lady M arm alade.”
The peijury case stemmed from a gun battle
that erupted outside W QHT-FM , known as Hot
97, when L il’ K im ’s entourage crossed paths
with a rival rap group, Capone-N-Noreaga.
Before the grand ju ry and at the trial, the
rapper claim ed she did not notice tw o o f her
close friends at the scene o f the shootout - her
m anager, D am ion Butler, and S uif Jackson.
Both have pleaded guilty to gun charges.
Jurors at Lil’ K im ’s trial saw radio station
security photos that depicted Butler opening a
door for the rap star, and two witnesses said they
saw her at the station with Butler and Jackson.
The late Notorious B.I.G., at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards.
Mistrial in Rapper’s Wrongful Death Case
( A P) - A m istrial in the N otori­
ous B.I.G. w rongful death case
m eans the rap star’s fam ily w o n ’t
get im m ediate answ ers about his
slaying, but they can file a new
lawsuit seeking to link his un­
solved 1997 k illin g to a L o s A n g e­
les Police D epartm ent corruption
scandal.
U.S. D istrict Judge Florence-
M arie C ooper declared a mistrial
July 6 after she expressed concern
at a hearing T uesday that the
LA PD had deliberately w ithheld
i evidence.
The trial w as interrupted when
: an anonym ous tip led to the dis­
covery o f large n u m b erso f LA PD
l d o c u m e n ts th a t h a d n ’t b ee n
turned o v er to fam ily attorneys.
B.I.G., bom Christopher Wallace,
w as 24 when he w as gunned dow n
in 1997 w hile leaving a crow ded
late-night party at a Los A ngeles
museum. The New York rapper also
know n as Biggie Sm alls w as on e o f
the m ost influential hip-hop artists
o f the 1990s. His album s "R eady T o
D ie” and the p o sth u m o u sly re­
leased "L ife A fter D eath” are reg u ­
larly listed am ong the best in the
genre.
Fam ily attorneys, w ho had re­
quested either a m istrial o r default,
plan to refile the suit w ith new alle­
g atio n s ag a in st th e L A P D and
M ack ’s one-tim e partn er Rafael
Perez.
C O RPO R A TIO N
On the job tor Oregon
SAIF Corporation, Oregon’s leading w orkers' compensation
insurance company, is recruiting for the following positions:
CLAIMS SUPERVISORS (S alem )
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR (S a le m )
NURSE CONSULTANT (S a le m )
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT (S a le m )
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Apply online today and learn more about SAIF at
www.saif.com
or call 503-373-8047
An Equal Opportunity Employe:
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Quality Training
Great Wages
Superb Benefits
photo by
M ark W ash , ngton /T he P ortland O bserver
Headstones line the Rose City Cemetery, where a former employee was accused o f disrespectful
language in the workplace.
R est1,1 Peace?
co n tin u ed
fro m F ront
T he board is the state agency
responsible for licensing and regu­
lating the funeral service industry
in O regon. R ecently, they su s­
pended the funeral service license
o f O rcutt for using the n-w ord with
other em ployees and in the pres­
ence o f an A frican-A m erican cu s­
tom er in February.
A ccording to the notice released
by the board, O rcutt w as also sus­
pended for using inappropriate lan­
guage about an obese corpse.
“T he co n d u c t d e sc rib e d , taken
in d iv id u ally o r c o lle c tiv e ly , fails
to m eet the m inim um accep ted
sta n d a rd s o f the d eath c a re in ­
d u stry and ... is th erefo re g rounds
fo r d isc ip lin a ry a c tio n ," the n o ­
tice said.
I
That kind of
behavior is
offensive and
reprehensible.
— State Sen. Avel Gordly
“T hat kind o f behavior is o ffen­
sive and reprehensible, and there­
fore I believe the M ortuary and
C em etery Board has taken appro­
priate action for now ," said G ordly,
an African-American lawmaker who
represents the Rose City area. “O ur
office will continue to m onitor the
situation.”
The suspension, m ade on June
29, is only set for 30 days. U nder
state adm inistrative rules. O rcutt
may request a form al hearing b e­
fore the board.
Bryan G uard, public relations
representative for the cem etery, said
O rcutt was not the person to use
the n-word. It w as another e m ­
ployee. he said, but the behavior is
still view ed as inappropriate.
“John ju s, really view s this as an
unfortunate and sad event. He has
had good relationships with the
A frican-A m erican com m unity and
values them ,” G uard said.
"A , no tim e do w e condone inap­
propriate language by our staff.
We dem and the highest level o f
respect for our clients, and will co n ­
tinue to do so,” said Rose C ity
M anager Jon O llerenshaw .
I
The NECA-IBEW Local 48 Electrical Training
Center is accepting applications for the Inside
Electrician Apprenticeship Program:
When:
Where:
July 11 - ISth and July 18 - 22nd
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Orientations 9 a.m. - 10 a.in.
NECA-IBEW Local 48
Electrical Training Center
16021 NE Airport Way
Portland, OR 97230
NEC a V 7 > M W
'
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• •
E L E C T R IC A L
T R A IN IN G
CENTER
x
For more inform ation visit
www.nietc.org
or call 503-262-9991