March IO, 2010
il!v Portiani» (Dhsrrner
Page 5
Call for Police Reforms
The Albina Ministerial Alliance, a coalition o f churches in
north and northeast Portland, held a rally at Emmanuel
Temple Church in north Portland Friday to press the case that
City Hall and the Legislature needed to act to prevent the
death o f another person at the hands o f police.
The rally comes a month after the death o f Aaron Campbell,
an unarmed man who was shot by police outside a Northeast
Sandy Boulevard apartment complex
during a mental health crisis brought
on by the death o f his brother from
natural causes earlier in the day.
Campbell’s mother Marva Davis
attended Friday’s call to action.
The ministers’ justice coalition is
calling for a stronger and more inde­
pendent oversight o f the police. Spe­
cifically it wants the Independent Po­
Marva Davis
lice Review Division and the Citizen
Review Committee, two bodies charged with overseeing the
police, to be given more teeth and the power to compel officer
testimony.
The panel also wants a full review by the City Council and
Police Chief Rosie Sizer o f the bureau’s use o f force and
deadly force policies; and more police training with the
involvement o f a diverse group o f citizens.
The AMA group also wants the state Legislature to
reform laws that govern how officers can use force; and for
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Shrunk to estab­
lish a special prosecutor for incidents where police use
excessive or deadly force.
Going Miles for Smiles
National Guard soldiers from a military unit based in Tigard recently delivered more than 400 bags of paper,
pencils and scissors to students in Iraq - school supplies donated by friends and families in Oregon. The
soldiers of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 162 Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, distrib­
uted the school supplies from the TD Foundation, an organization whose purpose is to help needy families
and children nationally and internationally with basic needs, and supporting friends and families back
home, said Sgt. Julie Cavinee of Creswell, Ore., the human resources non-commissioned officer with A
Company. The Oregon soldiers have made 10 goodwill missions out to Iraqi villages for various reasons.
"The kids get really excited. They said we are the first Americans they have seen in a long time," said Capt.
Charles Ellis, the commander of A Company. "They know my face."
PDC supports the Baker Fam ily's C ancer
Awareness C a m p a ig n for e a riy detection
o f co lo re cta l cancer.
w
»
in June 2008, the Baker family lo s t^ ^ ir husband and fatliei
to colon cancer. Steve Baker was only 56 years old and hac
1ft
complained about intestinal pain for years, but no doc
tor had ordered a colonoscopy at the recommended age
* of 50. Steve Baker's illness and death highlights issues
around health care and disparities. Studies show doctors
are less likely to give additional tests to black patients and
that black males are the most likely of all groups to die
from cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Steve's family is not standing idly by after observing
what happened to him. They have formed the non-profi
Steve Baker Colorectal Cancer Alliance to advocate the
importance of early detection and prevention of colorec
tai cancer through proper screening.
For more information, go to www.sbcca.org.
The Steve Baker family - Marsha, for left, works for PDC.
PDC
PORTLAND
DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION
COLORECTAL CANCER:
PREVENTABLE. TREATABLE. BEATABLE.
GET SCREENED!
Coming in August: Portland's Inaugural "Get Your Rear in Gear" 5k Run/Walk.
222 N W Fifth Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
503.823.3200 | www.pdc.us
Steve Baker Colorectal Cancer Alliance