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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2012)
September 19. 2012___________________________ ^ o rtlattì> ©bscrUcr__________________________ Page 9 ‘I Love This City’ continued from fron t One way to increase equity within Portland would be to increase job opportunities and technical train ing for youth, he said. “We need skilled workers.” The equity agenda also needs to go all the way to the top, said Hales. “But if the equity agenda is going to have real clout, it needs to be right at the m ayor’s side.” Hales also emphasized his goal to catalyze more diversity amongst city leaders. While at City Hall, he sees himself as a mentor to develop new leaders of color for positions in the city, he said. “We can do that deliberately.” This includes more people of color within the Police Bureau. He said police recruitment is falling short on looking for local hires. Although some officers truly be lieve in community policing, Hales said there are not enough of them, which consequently divides the house. “But if we set expectations, we will be a community agency,” he said. One goal would be to change how the bureau deals and partners with the community, by increasing the number of officers who live within Charlie Hales their working neighborhoods. He added, while he respects the work of Chief of Police Mike Reese, he said officers within Portland need a mayor and command structure they respect, and a police bureau that will connect with the commu nity. When addressing the current fis cal state o f the city , he said Portland’s city budget is wounded, but not in a dire condition. He said, however, there is too much funding in overhead and administration, and the current city council, he believes, ■HMMM has run up too much debt. “This will be a challenge,” he said. “We have two blinking yellow lights. There is too much overhead and too much debt.” He also said he is opposed to coal going through north and northeast Portland neighborhoods, and he plans to put pressure wherever it’s needed, even though he realizes the fight might not be an easy one. But Hales said he is optimistic positive changes can and will be made if he is elected mayor. “I wouldn’t want the job if I thought I would be presiding over the decline of Portland,” he said. Although he is proud of the work he did as a commissioner of the city, this time around, he said there will be many differences in how he con nects to the local community. “I’m going to have the discipline of get ting out of the building and talking to people and not just rely on staff,” he said. “Count on me to be acces sible.” Hales also would like to have city council meetings at night and out in the various communities occasion ally, perhaps monthly, in an effort to increase the voices within Portland neighborhoods. “We have got to have leadership,” he said. WOMBS ■M M M Showdogs Showdogs is a full service salon. We do baths, all over hair cuts, tooth brushing , nail trims, soft claws, flea treatments, mud baths, and ear cleaning. We also have health care and grooming products to keep your pet clean in between visits. Show DogS Grooming Salon & Boutique 926 N. Lombard Portland, OR 97217 • 503-283-1177 TXiesday-Saturday 9am-7pm Monday 10am-4pm Yo dawg is gonna look like a show dawg and your kitty will be pretty. Police Use Excessive Force ■ To Place Your Classified Advertisement c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3 attle officials recently reached a deal with the DOJ, agreeing to court oversight and independent moni toring of the city's police depart ment. Portland police have been criti cized for years over how they deal with mentally ill suspects. The DOJ announced its Portland investigation in the aftermath of the death of Aaron Campbell, an un armed black man who was fatally shot by officers who responded to a call that he was threatening sui cide. His death was not the only recent high-profile case, a public outcry followed the 2006 death of James Chasse Jr., a mentally ill man who died after he was chased and tack led by officers after he was said to have urinated in public. Five years before that, the police shooting of Jose Mejia Poot at a psychiatric hospital drew calls for change in the way police handle the mentally ill. The federal investigation said Thursday that most police uses of force were constitutional, but that officers sometimes use too much, including situations involving mi nor offenses. "Fundamentally, we have to treat people in mental health crisis with compassion and empathy," Reese said. "We can't treat them the same police officer has gotten even Contact: way we do somebody that's com tougher." Phone: 503-288-0033 Fax: 503-288-0015 mitted a bank robber." The Associated Press contrib e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com The investigation singled out uted to this report. stun gun use, saying officers fre quently discharged them without justification or used them too many times on a given suspect. InJuly 2011, forexample, officers responded to the home of a men tally ill man who had allegedly as saulted his mother and had a sword. Though the man's hands were vis ible and he had no weapon, one Truly making a difference in the lives of officer shocked him with a stun gun Auto Accident victims and Injured Workers for nearly 20 years. and another shot with a beanbag If you or someone you know has been in an accident, round. call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838 F e d eral o ffic ia ls also said Oregon's statewide mental health system has "gaps in services" that We are located on the often make the police the first re com er o f MLK and Russell sponders when people are in a men tal health crisis. In this, Oregon is Street, on the second floor not alone, Perez said. above the coffee shop. "In com m unities across this country, the largest mental health facility is the jail," he said. "That’s wrong, and we need to change that." The report noted that Oregon 5* c has one of the highest rates of H l a 1 homelessness in the U.S., and many Parking Area E R M 0 people in that population have seri P 3 R ous mental illness. A "Given our anemic community- C T based mental health system," said 1 C Mayor Sam Adams, "I appreciate Russell St. that the findings note that the al s ready tough job of being a Portland Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC Zchon R. Jones, DC 333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212 (503) 284-7838 a 1 »
