Northini» Observer
May 2, 2012
IN S ID E
The Week ¡n Review
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FredMeyer
What's on your list today?.
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H ealth
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Drawing a Bridge
GENDER. GAP
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O pinion
Jefferson Smith on mayoral race and portland police
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by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
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M ETR O
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ENIEEIAINMENÏ
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C lassifieds
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C alendar
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F ood
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JOYCE WASHINGTON
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ll -S tar
C lassic
B Section
(center insert)
the scene, they are there to solve the problem, he said.
“We would start with the younger police officers in
order to change our focus.”
Smith spoke of the late Rob Ingram, a dedicated
advocate from the African-American community who
worked to reduce youth violence within the city. Smith
said Ingram was a good friend, whom he had met in
high school at Grant.
Mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith is assuring
voters of his liberal credentials to reform the Portland
Police Bureau, saying needed changes in the bureau
won’t be sacrificed because the union representing
police officers recently endorsed his candidacy.
Smith, 38, a northeast Portland Democrat who was
elected to Legislature in 2008, received his degree in
political science from the University of Oregon and
attended Harvard Law. He has been viewed through
out the campaign as the most progressive of the three
leading candidates for Portland mayor, including busi
nesswoman Eileen Brady and former City Commis
sioner Charlie Hales.
Smith said he believes his relationship with police
will be a positive one for the future of the city, where
he hopes to re-build communication and trust between
police officers and the people.
“They (the bureau) trust what I say,” he said. “If you
can still trust me to have the good of the city in mind,
I think we have the opportunity to see something new
that we haven’t seen in the last 20-years.”
According to Smith, even though he was the only
candidate this year who disagreed with the police
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
association on their most public of policy issues, the
Jefferson Smith tackles police issues in his race
union trusts him to tell the truth, which is the most for Portland Mayor.
important attribute in leadership.
“This gives us a chance to come together in a
Like Ingram, Smith said in order to truly tackle the
different way,” he said, adding that there needs to be
rise in gang violence, “we must start early.”
strong leadership from the Mayor next year.
“We need to also try to have more uniformed police
We need a cultural shift witfiin the Police Bureau,
because it makes it easier to have community polic
a city where the people are empowered, problems are
ing,” he said. “And we need a good Gang Task Force.”
solved, and police are accountable for their actions, he
Smith remembers when Julio Marquez was tragi
said, “But I don’t think we can do this by primarily
cally killed several months ago. “He was killed 10
attacking the Police Bureau. We want a safe commu
blocks from my house,” he said. “I pass that spot every
nity, with trust between the people and the police.”
single day.”
Smith hopes his new relationship with the bureau
One way to address youth violence, he said, is
will help bridge this gap if he is elected mayor this year.
continued
on page A18
We need to train the police, so when they arrive on
gWOKMWl
Police Mistake Costs City $250,000
A man who was mistaken by
Portland police as a graffiti tagger
and then hit with a stun gun over
and over has won a $250,000 settle
ment with the Portland City Council.
Dan Halsted was innocently
w alking home in northeast Port
land, when an officer stunned him
five times with a T aser in the back
because he thought he sprayed
some graffiti on a wall nearby in
the Sullivan’s Gulch neighbor
hood.
When a sudden flashlight met
his eyes, Halsted said he immedi
ately stopped, and then heard a
voice say ‘Get Him !’
Dan Halsted (KATU photo)
In the pitch dark night, Halsted
said he thought he was being
jumped, because the officers chas
ing him never identified themselves
as the police.
According to Halsted, the entire
process has left him with a deep
ened distrust in police, especially
after the trial when the city's attor
ney tried to use Halsted's classic
kung fu film collection against him,
saying it proved he was violent.
Halsted is both a film collector
and an employee at the Hollywood
Theater,
The settlement comes not long
after a city audit, which recom
mended police limit the times a
person's stunned.
Most police agencies train offic
ers to stun suspects up to three
times. According to the Police Bu
reau, officers recently completed
refresher training on the use of
Tasers.