March 31. 2010
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Page 3
IN S ID E
Pressure Mounts
for Police Reforms
H ousing
page 4-5
Monday sees rowdy protests and
second visit from Rev. Jesse Jackson
J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
by
A pril C alendar
H ealth M atters
page 6
page 9
Activists mounted rowdy pro
tests and the Rev. Jesse Jackson
returned to Portland Monday af
ter another shooting death at the
hands of Portland police.
Jack Dale Collins, a 58-year-
old white transient, died March
22 in a confrontation with a police
officer at Hoyt Arboretum in
southwest Portland. The officer
encountered Collins after he
emerged from a bathroom cov
ered in blood and wielding what
police described as a “razor knife.”
According to the officer’s ac
count, Collins continued to ad
vance toward him, ignoring his
commands to drop the knife.
The
incident
follow ed
F eb ru ary ’s death o f A aron
Campbell, a distraught and un
armed African-American man
who was shot by the police after
a tense standoff in outer north
east Portland.
The most recent shooting has
triggered protests tinged with
some violence. During a demon
stration last week in southeast
Portland, a group of about 50
mostly white activists marched
to a police training building on
Burnside Street and a protestor
hurled a bike at a police officer,
National civil rights leader, Rev. Jesse Jackson.
and is now facing some hefty
charges.
by better training and efforts to time. Sgt. Anthony Passadore said
On Monday, a larger protest of ensure that law enforcement is that he understood that there were
again, mostly white protestors more representative of the com- people in Portland who felt they
erupted downtown. The demon- munity it serves,
were unduly the object of suspi
stration, which lasted several
He noted that the poverty and cion.
hours, ended with a window lack of opportunity faced by many
“Well, I’d like to submit to you
smashed at Bank of America black citizens leads to confronta- that I belong to one of those
branch and eight people charged tions with the police, some of communities,” he said.
with crimes including Disorderly which end in tragedy.
Assistant Chief Brian Martinek
Conduct, Criminal Mischief and
During his previous visit, Feb. expressed concern that the ordi-
Riot; and three officers injured.
16, Jackson met with the mayor nance would undermine the inde-
Earlier in the day, Rev. Jesse and police commissioner, and pendence of the review division
Jackson, a national civil rights called the shooting of Campbell and would only encumber the
leader, was meeting with local an “execution.”
Police Bureau,
leaders and community members
City Com m issioner Randy
Kathleen Saadat, a member of
for the second time in the last few Leonard has since introduced an the committee, said what was
weeks confronting police ac- ordinance that would give the happening was a clash of cultures
countability issues.
Independent Police Review Divi- between the Police Bureau and
“We want them to have to stop sion a broader scope in investi- the citizenry,
the excessive use of force, but gating allegations of police mis-
“Your culture has a gun on its
also we want a fair share of po- conduct and give it a greater hip. I don’t have one. And that
lice: men, women, black, white, role in imposing discipline of of- makes a big difference when we
and brown to represent the city,” fleers.
try to talk,” she said.
I
page 10-13
O pinion
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C lassifieds
F ood
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page 16-17
he told KATU news.
Jackson also discussed setting
up a Portland office for his PUSH/
Rainbow Coalition as part of an
effort to establish a greater pres-
ence in the Pacific Northwest.
He said that the more recent
shooting reflects a larger trend
with the police, both nationally
and locally, that can be remedied
A vote on the ordinance was
delayed last week over objections
by Commissioner Amanda Fritz
that Police C hief Rosie Sizer
should have an opportunity to
weigh in on it, as well as the city’s
Human Rights Commission’s Po-
lice Community Relations Corn-
mittee.
During the meeting, several po-
lice officers expressed concern
about the ordinance, finding it
unnecessary and unsettling that it
was introduced at such a tense