Page A3
July 25. 2007
Dog Fighting Scandal Rings Home
Investigators say schemes
are hard to break up
S arah B i . oiint
T he P ortland O bserver
The underground world o f ille­
gal dog fighting is in the national
spotlight with the federal indict­
ment ofN F L star M ichael Vick. But
Portlanders who were paying at­
tention to former Trail BlazerQyntel
W oods a few years ago w ere prob­
ably already aw are o f this clandes­
tine crime.
W oods was convicted o f stag­
ing dog fights at his house in 2004.
He pled guilty to first-degree ani­
mal abuse and was given com m u­
nity service, ordered to pay $ 10,000
to the O regon H um ane Society and
was soon dropped by the Blazers.
T he hum ane society played an
instrum ental role in W oods' con­
viction when their investigators as­
sisted federal authorities in crim i­
nal investigations involving dog
fighting and other form s o f animal
cruelty.
by
K enneth M iller.
M iller’s body was found on the
sidew alk in front o f Leon S cott's
north Portland home. W hile pursu­
ing her first priority o f investigat­
ing the hom icide, she cam e across
six dogs with visible facial and head
injuries and scars all over their legs
and chests - the u n m istakable
signs o f dog fighting.
Scott now aw aits trial on m urder
and drug charges, and dog fighting
charges due to their accidental dis­
covery.
A sentim ent, echoed by the hu­
m an e so c ie ty an d M u ltn o m ah
County Anim al C ontrol, is that au­
thorities and the general public
d o n ’t know much about dog fight­
ing, and that the cruelty to the ani­
mals is something people really don't
w ant to know too much about.
“If you don’t see it, it’s not there,”
Daul says. "The other aspect is dog
fighters are very secretive about it.
? I f you don’t see it, it's not there. The
other aspect is dog fighters are very
secretive about it. I t’s a small circle.
- Molly Daul, Portland Police homicide detective
Sharon H arm on, the group’s ex­
ecutive director, says the agency is
currently involved in two local dog
fighting in v estigations, but be­
cause dog fighting rings are mostly
conducted underground they are
hard to bust.
"They (dogfighters)are involved
in gambling, drugs and money laun­
dering, and th ey 're good at hiding
it,” Harmon said.
P ortland P olice h om icide d e­
tectiv e M olly D aul received b u ­
reau train in g on dog fighting but
says she w a sn ’t p repared her for
th e s itu a tio n she e n c o u n te re d
last F ebruary, w hen ca lle d in to
in v estig ate the d eath o f Jam es
It’s a small circle.”
T he few cases o f know n dog
fig h ts are rarely p en etrated by
law enforcem ent, Daul explained,
sin ce new s o f the c la n d e stin e
“ m a tc h e s ” are u su a lly sp rea d
through the m ail and th e re ’s no
in fo rm a n t p rese n t to o b ta in a
felony co nviction .
S h e s a y s th o s e w h o a re
p resent are not all g ang m em bers
o r sports celeb rities.
" I t’s u sually an ev en t, w ith
popcorn, hot d ogs, kids and fam ­
ily ,” she said.
D aul say s d o g fig h tin g , in
w h ic h th e a n im a ls a re o fte n
m aim ed and killed, may be repul-
David Lytle o f the
Oregon Humane
Society shelters
Walter, a pit bull
and German
shepherd mix.
Pit bulls are the
most common
breed used in
dog fights, with
the losing dogs
often killed or
abandoned on
the street.
pilo ro
S arah B loint /
T he P ortland
O bserver
sive to m ost peo p le, but because
this b lood "s p o rt” dates back at
le ast a h u n d red y ea rs, fam ily
m em b ers have long en co u rag ed
accep tan ce th ro u g h the g en e ra­
tio n s.
O nly in the past 20 years, she
said, has it been view ed as a crim e,
p ro m p tin g dog fig h ters to retreat
u n d e rg ro u n d .
She b eliev es cases like V ic k ’s,
w hich bring the grisly scen es she
has p erso n ally en co u n te re d into
the n ational co n scio u sn ess, are
long overd u e.
D aul stresses the im p o rtan ce
o f peo p le sp eak in g up w hen they
su sp ect dog fig h tin g activ ity . E s­
p ec ia lly sin ce the lack o f re ­
so u rces lim it how far Portland
P olice o ffic ers can go to help the
do g s they en co u n ter.
"A s far as I'm concerned it’s in
every city in the United States," she
said. “It’s important the public knows
it is still going on and is still popular.”
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Principal Remembered Fondly
Bernard Harvard, principal o f da
Vinci M iddle School and a beloved
northeast Portland educator, died
Saturday,
T h e 41 -year-oldjoined Portland
Public Schools in 2000as a perform­
ing arts-m usic teacher at M adison
High School. He also taught at
Humboldt and Alam eda elementary
schools.
H e le a v e s b e h in d h is w ife
W endy and their five year old son
Gabriel w ho is autistic.
Harvard, a native o f New York
City started perform ing at the age
o f 16. He then w ent on to receive his
b a c h e lo rs a n d m a s te rs fro m
M ansfield U niversity o f Pennsyl­
vania. He was also the lead vocalist
for Portland group Soul Search.
On Sunday, when students and
parents learned about the death of
Harvard, they gathered at A lam eda
playground, where Harvard was the
PORTRAIT
A memorial service will be heldat
3 p.m. Thursday. July 26 at Ever­
green Memorial Gardens. 1101 N.E.
112th Ave., Vancouver; and an in­
formal potluck in Bernard’s memory
will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, July 27 at da Vinci Arts Middle
School, 2508 N.E. Everett St.
The Streets o f Tanasbourne
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Bernard Harvard
form er vice principal.
T he cau se o f death is still u n ­
know n, but acco rd in g to P o rt­
la n d P u b lic S ch o o l o ffic ia ls ,
H arvard had co m p licatio n s fo l­
low ing knee surgery.
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Custodians get $14.5 Million
T he 280 local cu sto d ia n s w ho
w ere laid o ff from P ortland Public
S ch o o ls a fte r th e ir jo b s w ere
o u tso u rce d ,0 a p riv ate c o n tra c ­
to r w ill be co m p en sa ted for the
v io latio n o f state labor laws.
U .S . D i s t r i c t J u d g e J o h n
Je ld erk s signed o ff M onday on
the school d is tric t’s settlem ent
o ffe r o f $14.5 m illion. T he order
f o llo w s th e a g r e e m e n t a n ­
n o unced in A pril, giving each
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In 2002, the school d istrict
v o te d to o u ts o u rc e c u s to d ia l
w ork to save m oney.
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled
in 2005 that the district violated the
law when it hired Portland H abilita­
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union custodians.
More than 100 custodians who
were laid o ff have been hired back.
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