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A p ril 12. 2006
Community Support for Police Chief
Motives behind
allegations
questioned
by S arah B i . o in t
T iu P ortland O bserver
Supporters o f P o lite C hief D er­
rick Foxworth gathered in north­
east Portland Friday for a rally to
counterbalance the brew ing scan­
dal that threatens F oxw orth's cred­
ibility and career.
Foxworth is under investigation
for alleged sexual im propriety with
A ngela Oswalt, a police department
desk clerk, when he was com mander
o f the Northeast Precinct six years
ago.
O sw alt's lawyer filed a claim for
unspecified financial dam ages with
the City of Portland last week, charg­
ing sexual discrim ination and un­
la w fu l w o rk p la c e p ra c tic e s .
Foxworth adm itted to a "brief but
intense” relationship with Oswalt,
but says he did not supervise the
Rev. Robert Richardson (from left) Charles Ford and Joe Bean Keller address a community rally in support of Police Chief Derrick Foxworth at Reflections Coffee, next
door to the Northeast Police Precinct.
Chief Foxworth's mother
Maggie Wright
em ployee at the tim e nor did he
violate any city rules or regula­
tions.
The energy at Reflections C of­
fee, the site for the Foxworth rally,
approached fervor as a crow d ft 1 led
the room. M any o f those present
have joined several tim es over the
years to protest police brutality,
racial profiling and even tragic
Joseph, was shot and killed by a tecostal Church.
deaths at the hands o f police.
“ It’s not a black and w hite thing,
F riday’s gathering show ed a Portland police officer in 1996.
For
m any
P o r tla n d e r s , w e’re making this a right thing.”
weary but strong group, facing the
Many speakers questioned the
potential dow nfall o f a man they F oxw orth’s appointm ent to c h ief in
call their chief, advocate, neighbor 2003 was adoorw ay toeam ing their true m otives o f the accusations.
M aybe h e 's doing too good o f a
and family. It was clear they will trust, follow ing the volatile leader­
ship o f form er ch ief M ark Kroeker. job, speculated Erma Plumber. “We
stand by Foxworth.
The general attitude was that should make sure we find out why
Joe Bean Keller organized the
rally, inviting several com m unity O sw alt’s claim shouldn’t be a race she w aited until now to bring this
members to speak their mind against issue, and shouldn’t be much o f an against him .”
There is still far more specula­
the overpow ering m edia perspec­ issue at all until the facts surface.
tion
than fact, but the purpose o f
“The b u ll’s eye could have been
tive.
this
rally
was to focus on Foxworth’s
on
any
o
f
us,”
said
Rev.
Robert
He acknow ledged his legitim ate
personal
character. M any testified
R
ichardson,
church
eld
er
from
reasons not to trust the police de­
to
his
honor
and objectivity.
Emmanuel
Temple
Full
Gospel
Pen­
partm ent; K eller’s son, Deontae
“Look at his track record,” Rev.
Richardson said. “ H e’d arrest m e if
I was out o f line. There are no gray
areas.”
W oody Broadnax stixxl at the
podium and illustrated that point
perfectly.
“ He arrested me about seven
years ago and sent me to the peni­
tentiary,” Broadnax said. “ He did
for me what I co uldn’t do for m y­
self.”
M ag g ie W rig h t, F o x w o rth ’s
mother, said the ordeal has been
very hard for her, but held her head
high and said this too will pass. She
praised her son as a man o f integrity
and dedication.
W right thanked the crow d for
their support, and said sh e's pray­
ing for O sw alt.
“ H e’s going to continue being
chief,” she said to an uproar o f
applause.
A fter the rally, K eller said there
will probably be another one, and
possibly a march.
“So far this has been one-sided,”
he said. “W e’ll continue to show
our support and another side.”
Foxworth Put on Leave
Potter names
interim chief
Police C hief Derrick Foxworth
was placed on paid adm inistra­
tive leave by M ayor Tom Potter
Tuesday pending an investiga­
tion o f a c o m p la in t b ro u g h t
against him by a w om an who
claim s sexual im propriety and
police m isconduct.
Potter nam ed Southeast C om ­
mander Rosie S izer as i nteri m ch ief
Chief Derrick Foxworth
effective im m ediately. Sizer is the
form er com m ander o f the dow n­
tow n Central precinct.
F oxw orth has denied the a lle­
g atio n s by A ngela O sw alt, a
form er desk clerk w ho claim s he
co ercered h er into a clan d e stin e
sexual relatio n sh ip w hen he was
co m m an d e r o f the N o rth ea st
P recin ct six y ears ago. He a c ­
k n o w led g ed h aving had a p e r­
s o n a l “ r e l a t i o n s h i p ” w ith
O sw alt, b u t d en ies any w ro n g ­
d o in g .
Input on Jefferson Shared
Local ‘governance’
of school explored
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A* your proiacfton u n d tr on» n o t*
A team of community leaders is inviting area
residents to a meeting to discuss a ‘governance
model” for Jefferson High School.
The Jefferson High School Community Gov­
erning Board Project Core Team will host the
session on Saturday, April 15from 9a.m .to I p.m.
in the Jefferson cafeteria. R efreshm ents,
childcare, and Spanish language interpretation
will be available.
The comm unity is asked to attend to learn
more about what school community gover­
nance is, and weigh in on whether or not this
type of model would be advantageous for
Jefferson High School.
A governing board, made up of parents, teach­
ers, students, and community representatives,
would have full responsibility and authority for
Jefferson, including hiring of the school’s princi­
pal, input on school improvement plans, and over­
all direction of the school.
“Given all that is going on with Jefferson
Black Bag
Series at
PSU
I
right now, this is a
critical time to make
sure the com m unity’s
voice is heard regard­
ing the future direc­
tion o f Je ffe rs o n .”
said Tony Hopson,
president and chief
executive officer of
S e lf E nhancem ent,
Inc. “ Most of the is­
su e s s u rro u n d in g
Jefferson right now
would not be as acute
if there was a way for
the community to not only be engaged, but to
have an authoritative voice in what direction
Jefferson should go.”
In April 2005, Self Enhancement announced
that they received a $35,000 Parent. Family,
and Community Involvement Grant from the
Portland Schools Foundation to study the po­
tential of a community “governance” model for
Jefferson High School. The project is a part­
nership between SEI and Jefferson High
School.
The Black Studies D epartment
at Portland State Unviersity will
sponsor an issues sem inar on “ Po­
lice Brutality and G entrification in
Portland" with Rev. Dr. T. Allen
Bethel and Pastor Donald Frazier,
as part o f its Black Bag Speakers
scries.
Bethel will speak on the issues
facing Portland police and Frazier
will discuss gentrification along
N ortheast A lberta Street.
T h e e v e n t is sc h e d u le d for
W ednesday, April 19 from nix>n to
1:30 p.m. in Rtx»m 228 o f the PSU
M ulticultural C enter in the Smith
Memorial Student Union, 1825 S.W.
Broadway.