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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2014)
Page 2 jtJortlanh (Obsertier December 24, 2014 Lost to Gun Violence Community gathers to remember victims O livia O livia T he P ortland O bserver by A row of mothers stand next to each other with photos of their chil dren framed in handcrafted orna ments. They are reminiscing on their loss - each of them, having lost a son or daughter to gun violence in Portland. They write the names above the pictures, sometimes the year of death, and place the orna ment on a holiday tree. Perlia Bell holds up a picture of herdaughter Asia Bell. Lucy Mashia rounds up her son’s life - he was bom in 1976 and killed on 82nd avenue on June 6, 2011 while just getting off work. A father of three children, his name was Leonard J. Irving Jr. The Office of Youth Violence Prevention hosted Friday’s gather ing for the benefit of everyone who has lost a loved one due to gang or gun violence. Antoinette Edwards, director of the office, welcomed the families, many who still struggle with the grief and helplessness of random gun violence. Earlier the same day, Mayor Charlie Hales arrived to show solidarity with the lives of those lost by also hanging an ornament. Marci Jackson, the Portland Po lice Bureau’ s Crisis Response Team program coordinator, praised the strength of the black community in recent years. “I know it’s not easy, but this c o m m u n ity has alw ays been strong,” she says. The night ended up with several visitors attending a Kwanzaa din ner across the street at the Blazer Boys and Girls Club, where the spiri photo by O livia O livia /T he P ortland O bserver tual solidarity of the community Lucy Mashia (left) and Perlia Bell, both mothers of gun violence victims, hang ornaments in memory united with their hope for an end to o f their lost loved ones, during a gathering of community members at the Office of Youth Violence gun violence in Portland. Prevention in northeast Portland. Cold Case Murder Arrests Vinson White, Adrian Three men in prison on other charges Stafford and were indicted for murder last week follow Selwyn ing a 1995 cold case murder investigation Stafford are by Portland Police. charged in a Adrian Cavett Stafford, 45, SelwynTerris 1995 cold Stafford, 43 and Vinson Louis White, 51, are case murder charged in the death of Darrin Ezell, a 24- investiga year-old man who was killed the morning of tion. Dec. 20,1985 while sleeping in his own home in southeast Portland. Two children were also inside the home but were not harmed. Authorities said few details about the homicide can be released at this time as the case is still an active investigation. Portland’s Cold Case Homicide Unit has solved more than 40 of the city’s 250 un solved murders that have come to them since their inception in 2004. Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC TLWeek in The Revjew Zchon R. Jones, DC 333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212 Boxing Great in Hospital (503) 284-7838 Truly making a difference in the lives o f A uto Accident victims and Injured W orkers for nearly 20 years. If you or someone you know has been in an accident, call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838 We are located on the corner o f MLK and Russell Street, on the second floor above the coffee shop. C H 1 R 0 P R A C T I C OT IÍHAB 5X p Purkin« Aiea O JN E Ru«iell »200 Russell St. S 2 5“ C. matic relations with Cuba. The change comes after more than five decades o f Cold War acrimony with the communist island nation and follows secret talks in Canada that included representatives o f the Vatican. Boxing great Muhammad Ali was hospitalized Saturday with a mild case o f pneumonia that was caught Officer Walks Free early and should result in a short The Milwaukie County District At torney stated Monday that a local hospital stay, an police officer who was fired after A li sp o k esm an fatally shooting a mentally ill black said. The three man in April will not face criminal time world heavy charges because it was self-de weight champion, fense. It was at least the third who is battling white police officer to avoid Parkinson's dis charges in the past month after a e ase , is b ein g confrontation with a black a man tre a te d by his that resulted in the black m an’s team of doctors and is in stable death. condition, said his spokesman. Gunman Hated Police The gunman who fatally ambushed two New York City police officers in their squad car Saturday had a long criminal record, a hatred for police and the government and an appar ent history of mental instability, authorities said Sunday. Ismaaiyl Brinsley was black; the slain offic ers were Asian and Hispanic. Diplomacy with Cuba President Obama announced last week that he was normalizing diplo- Naked Man Arrested A naked man reported to be ex posing h im self to children in Holladay Park in Northeast Port land M onday got into a physical struggle with a Portland police officer who .was able to rem ove the cartridge from her Taser be fore the man fully took it from her. He was then taken into custody by back up officers on charges of assaulting a public safety officer, indecent exposure, and theft.
