November 14, 2007
Page A4
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
Police Brutality Settlement was Justified
But serious
concerns continue
A lejandro Q ueral
The NorthwestConstitutional Rights
Center is pleased with the city’s deci
sion to settle a lawsuit filed by the
family of Raymond Gwerder who was
killed in cold blood by Officer Leo
Besner in 2005.
The rights center remains deeply
concerned however, about the contin
ued pattern of excessive use of force
and the city’s inability to conduct im
partial and effective investigations of
allegations of excessive force and
by
constitutional rights violations by some
police officers.
We call on Police Chief Rosie Sizer
and Mayor Tom Potter to fully and
impartially evaluate the fitness of Of
ficer Besner to continue serving our
community.
As described by Portland attorney
Tom Steenson, there appears to be a
significant pattern of abuse by Officer
Besner that cannot be overlooked.
We are confident Chief Sizer will
make every effort to ensure the con
tinued integrity of the Police Bureau.
We also call on the Independent
Police Review division to conduct an
evaluation of every officer in the Bu
reau who has been the subject of two
or more complaints of excessive force
within the last two years to be pre
sented as soon as possible to Mayor
Potter and Chief Sizer for their evalu
ation in order to prevent future tragic
incidents.
These measures are necessary in
order to have a police department that
is more effective and trustworthy
within the community.
Until the community feels like indi
vidual officers who engage in this type
of abuse will be held accountable for
their actions, lawsuits like these will
continue to plague the police bureau
and cost the city millions of dollars.
The rights center also applauds the
work o f Portland attorney Tom
Steenson, whose zealous representa
tion of the Gwerder family has brought
to light the importance of having a
system of accountability that will pro
tect the rights of citizens while at the
same time make the police bureau an
institution that is respected and recog
nized as a national model for other law
enforcem ent departments when it
comes to protecting the civil rights of
individuals.
The need for a truly independent
and impartial police oversight system
is imperative in light of this and other
recent cases of misconduct by police
in order to prevent such tragedies
from occurring again and again.
Police already have a very diffi
cult and dangerous job. Community
support of law enforcement will in
crease when the comm unity is se
cure in knowing that an effective
mechanism is in place to deal with
patterns o f abuse before they be
come tragic incidents.
Alejandro Queral is the execu
tive director o f the Northwest Con
stitutional Rights Center, founded
in 2004 to safeguard the rights o f
people o f color, immigrants, politi
cal dissenters and other vulnerable
individuals from government abuse.
Justice Department’s Record of Failure
On Friday, Nov. 16 hundreds of
thousands of African Americans will
join the nation's civil-rights leaders
in W ashington, D.C. to say
'enough is enough’ and to de
mand that the U.S. Depart
ment of Justice make imm e
diate changes. A national pro
test day is in needed to show
th is g o v e rn m e n t th at we
refuse to take this neglect
any longer.
The hangman’s noose has been in
the news a lot lately, showing up on a
high school campus in Jena, La. and
college campuses in New York and
Enough is enough
J udge G reg M athis
O ver the last several
months, a number of inci
dents have occurred in this
country, sending waves of
shock, concern and fear
through African-American
communities.
The common denomina
tor in all of these is the
federal government which has done
little, if anything, to assure the black
community that it cares about our ci vil
rights and our safety.
by
Maryland. Parents fear for the safety
and emotionally well-being of their
children while community leaders de
mand that those guilty of this act of
violence and terrorism - be charged
with hate crimes.
But the Justice department hasn’t
been listening. The department pros
ecuted just 22 people with hate crimes
last year, a 71 percent decline from 10
years ago.
Hate-crime prosecution is not the
only area where the Justice Depart
ment has failed African Americans.
John Tanner, who heads the Justice
D epartm ent’s voting section, re
War is Not Normal
M. L inda J aramillo
Several years ago, 1
watched a television se
ries entitled “Violence: An
American Tradition.” The
series looked back into his
tory and provided insight
intoall the international and
domestic conflicts in which this
relatively young nation has been
involved.
It made me realize how many
of the last 230 years we have
been involved in some kind of
by
arm ed c o n flict
somewhere in the
world. Generation
after generation of
A m ericans have
come to know war
as normal in their
lifetime. We have
come to expect it and seem
powerless to find another way.
The television series ran dur
ing the time that the United
States was engaged in a war in
Southeast Asia. Thousands of
U.S. troops died or were injured
during the conflict; the intent of
which we were told was to stop
the spread of communism. We
will never know the actual num
ber of Southeast Asian lives lost
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Stop this American tradition
or disrupted forever. T hou
sands spoke out in opposition
to this war; they were highly
criticized and labeled unpatri
otic. Many others said nothing
because they felt powerless
What began as an action against
Iraq to stop the reign o f terror
became the massive destruction o f
an entire society.
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cently made several racist comments the human and civil-rights gains made
in defense of the law that would by blacks have taken a hit. Without a
require m inorities to have a photo ID mass demonstration, the government
may not realize just how committed
in order to vote.
Tanner suggested, among other we are to ending these assaults against
things, that black people would al our very rights.
This is a crucial moment in history;
ready have an ID, because they use it
when they go to check-cashing stores. the human and civil rights of African
Tanner’s comments undermine the Americans are being threatened. The
generations of work the Justice De Nov. 16 march is key to putting the
partment has done to protect the civil Justice Department on notice.
Judge Greg M athis is national
rights of African Americans. Any
vice
president o f Rainbow PUSH
thing short o f his full dismissal isaslap
in the face of the legacy of the civil- and a national board member o f the
Southern Christian Leadership Con
rights movement.
Under this current administration, feren ce.
Call today for
estimate or
consultation
to find another way.
During that same era, a num-
berof Central and South Ameri
can governments were being
taken over by military dictator
ships. United States warplanes
and helicopters were deployed
to areas in support of those dic
tators, under the guise of stop
ping the spread of rebellious
actions.
Some of these countries had
democratic societies that were
governed by electoral processes,
so I wonder whose side we
were on — the people or the
powerful. We will never know
how many lives were lost in
places like Chile, El Salvador,
G uatem ala, and Nicaragua.
Thousands in the United States
provided sanctuary and found
ways to oppose our nation’s
actions. Others said nothing
because there seemed no way
to stop it.
Today, we are engaged in a
war that is centered in Iraq, but
it spans throughout the entire
region. We are now in the fifth
year of a war that we were told
was to end the oppressive gov
ernment led by dictator Sadam
Hussein and locate weapons of
mass destruction that were
stockpiled there. The weapons
were never found.
What began as an action
against Iraq to stop the reign of
terror became the massive de
struction of an entire society.
Iraqi parents are now afraid to
send their children to school.
They are afraid to leave their
homes even to go to the doctor
or to the grocery store.
Thousands around the world
have joined in the protest against
the initial launching of this war
anditscontinuedescalation. We
now must do more than simply
pull our troops out of Iraq, we
must find another way to end
this deadly conflict and rebuild a
society that has been destroyed.
Our democratic principles pro
tect our right to speak out, but it
seems that we have chosen to
be silent rather than be labeled
unpatriotic. I believe the most
patriotic thing to do is exercise
our freedom of speech.
We must use our voices in
nonviolent protest and action that
shows that there is another way.
We must find a way to be heard
in this nation that seems to view
war as a normal part of life.
The violence of war is not
normal and must stop being an
American tradition.
M. Linda Jaramillo is the
executive minister fo r justice
m in istrie s in the U nited
Church o f Christ.
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Most people in Portland have watched, heard
or read the ongoing saga of Interstate Avenue.
Some people in the Latino community want to
change the name of the street to honor national
community activist and labor leader Cesar E.
Chavez.
Portland’s political leaders are up the air and
jockeying for what they hope will be a compro
mise to what has been a flawed process in
naming the street. Well hoidon to your seat belts,
here is the solution that everyone should be
happy.
Rename the north portion o f W aterfront
Park to Cesar E. Chavez, W aterfront Park.
What a great testament. The other part of the
park would continue to honor the late G over
nor Tom McCall and is bordered by South
west Natio Parkway. Talk about being cultur
ally inclusive.
Here is an opportunity for everyone to buy
into this. It will not impact businesses; nobody
will have to change letterhead, business card or
any brochures.
Many years ago, the citizens asked to have
Union Avenue changed to honor Martin Luther
King Jr. Today, politics and bureaucracy have
simply reduced the memory of this great leader
to nothing more than “MLK" Blvd. Even young
African-American kids are not really sure what
it means.
Latinos are in a good position to make sure
that the memory of Cesar Chevez is kept alive
since Cinco deMayo, Rose Festival, The Bite,
Blues Festival, Beer Fest and many other events
will help propel the name of Chevez.
This is just a suggestion, but it is up to the city
leaders and the Latino community as to what
they want to do. I believe my suggestion would
serve all.
Roy Jay, president o f the African Ameri
can Chamber o f Commerce and Oregon Busi
ness Network