^înrtlanb (Observer N o vem b er 13, 2013 Page 19 Police Power Run Amuck narrates how police w ere required to “o u tg u n ” the group as though he peated arrests o f such a sm all n u m ­ is describing a large guerilla arm y. ber o f people is m ind-boggling. In that final 1985 confrontation, W hile M O V E ’S leader John A f­ in w hich a handful o f M O V E m em ­ rica m ay well have intended to p ro ­ bers including w om en and children voke the escalating confrontations w ere holed up in a row house w hile that follow ed over a period o f 13 p olice unleashed tear gas and fired years, one m arvels at the failure o f 10 thousand rounds o f am m unition city leaders to w onder for even a into the house, the co m m issio n er m om ent about w hat in the life ex p e ­ suggests that children m ight have rience o f these A frican A m ericans fired on police and opines that the w ould m ake the m o v em en t’s p h i­ group w as in an “enviable po sitio n ” losophy so appealing. It’s a stun­ th a t n e c e ssita te d th e p o lic e re ­ ning exam ple o f people in pow er sponse. O ne w onders w h eth er he failing utterly to recognize their ow n w ould have traded places w ith them. roles in creating a com m unity w ith T he film ’s m ost pow erful m o ­ so little to lose. m ents involve B irdie A frica, the one C o n flicts betw een p o lice and child w ho survived the bom bing M O V E culm inated in an exchange o f and w ho w as deposed j n co n n ec­ fire that resulted in a police officer’s tion w ith the inquiry that follow ed. death in 1978. Bafflingly, nine M O V E H e describes his experiences g ro w ­ m em bers w ere convicted o f shooting ing up in the com m une, including that one officer (they insist he was how he rebelled against the g ro u p ’s killed by friendly fire) and received raw food diet and w anted to run long sentences which they are still aw ay so that he could ride bikes and serving. T he rest o f the group set up w atch T V like oth er children. His a ne w headquarters after being evicted plain-spoken description o f how he from their first house, and they pro­ and the other children huddled un­ ceeded to antagonize their m ostly d er w et blankets during the 1985 A fric a n -A m e ric a n n e ig h b o rs by siege and th eir desperate attem pts broadcasting profanity-laced rheto­ to escape stands in co n trast to o f­ ric at all hours, creating sanitation fic e rs’ nonsensical accounts. problem s, and leaving their children B irdie, w ith b u m scars visible on to run wild. The city’s first black his face, is ask ed at the b eginning o f m ayor was elected in 1983, but lacked his d e p o sitio n w h at h a p p en s to eitherthe skill or w isdom todeescalate p eople w ho d o n ’t tell the truth, and the conflict that had been set in m o­ he responds that they w ill be hurt. tion under R izzo’s adm inistration. O ne is struck by the irony o f that In this retelling, the tragedy seem s response as one listens to officers inexorable. A lthough one official deny having shot at M O V E m em ­ com m ends the police for their “ad ­ bers, including children, as they m irable restraint” in the 1978 co n ­ em erged from the house and then frontation, footage had cap tu red ran back inside. W hen an adm irably several officers savagely beating restrain ed m in ister expresses in cre­ one M O V E m em ber. T he particu ­ dulity at the description o f people larly repellant police com m issio n er running back into a burning house, c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 13 "Your Budget is our mission" BUDGET INSURANCE an o ffice r’s response conveys the inhum anity that the governm ent had allow ed itself: “ H ow could you [un­ derstand]? T h e y ’re M O V E m em ­ b e rs.” W ithout voiceover o r co m m en ­ tary beyond lim ited screen d escrip ­ tions o f som e key facts, the film w isely allow s participants in this trag ed y — including B irdie and a sm all handful o f M O V E m em bers, but also police and city officials— to describe w hat happened from th eir perspective. M ost o f the g o v ­ ernm ent w itnesses (not one o f w hom w as ev er crim inally charged for the actions that led to the deaths o f so m any civilians) dam n them selves, p articularly from this 30 y e ars’ d is­ tance. O nly one o fficer took actions protective o f the people inside, and his testim ony is p articularly p o i­ gnant. V isibly agonized, he d e ­ scribes how he w as restrained by a superior officer from assisting Birdie as the boy attem pted to escape the burning house. The officer finally assisted the b oy— and later found his lo ck er decorated w ith the w ords “N -------- L over.” H e eventually left the force suffering from PTSD . F ilm m ak er O sd er’s careful co m ­ pilation o f this history— so recent and yet already so neglected— is an im portant lens on how drastically go v ern m en t p o w er can assum e the ch aracteristics it ascribes to its er­ rant citizens. D a rk e n O rtega is a ju d g e on the O regon C ourt o f A ppeals and the first w om an o f co lo r to serve in that capacity. H er m ovie review colum n O p inionated Judge appears re g u ­ larly in T he P ortland O bserver. Y ou c a n f in d h e r m o v ie b lo g at o p in io n a te d ju d g e.b lo g sp o t.c o m . E N T E R P R IS E S . L L C AUTO HOME DANNY CHAN DURAN BEASLEY At Budget we work with many insurance companies to find the best fit for your needs and to fit your Budget. Call today for a free quote! 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