January 14, 2015
M ARTIN L UTHER K ING J R .
2015 special edition
Hits Movie Screen
The arrest and subsequent death of James Chase at the hands of Portland police is
documented in the new film ‘Arresting Power.’ Chase’s death led to reforms in the
way Portland law enforcement interact with people suffering from mental illness.
The police placed Stevenson in a
choke hold which resulted in his
death by strangulation. This case
was eerily similar to the recent Eric
Garner chokehold case in New York.
As both men lay dying, the police
refused to provide medical assis-
tance.
The Portland case is unique, and
perhaps even more upsetting, be-
cause at the time there was an ambu-
lance company across the street
from the 7-11, and when the para-
medics, who saw the events tran-
Portland resident and activist Kent Ford is
interviewed for the film ‘Arresting Power.’
spire, went to do their jobs, Portland
Police officers waved them off. To
add insult to injury, the day of
Stevenson’s funeral, the commu-
nity was outraged when some offic-
ers created commemorative T-
Shirts, saying “Don’t Choke ‘em,
Smoke em.”
Arresting Power covers this
outrageous, seemingly stranger
than fiction, turn of events in de-
tail. Whether it is Stevenson’s
killing or Otis’ 25 years later in
2010—there is no shortage of ex-
Page 9
amples of police brutality that
make this exposé relevant and
necessary.
Another infamous incident,
which often shocks Portlanders who
are not familiar with the city’s check-
ered past, is the Burger Barn inci-
dent. Two off -duty officers who
apparently had nothing better to
do, loaded up a car with dead pos-
sums, and tossed them onto the
front of the Burger Barn, a local
black owned restaurant. Those in-
volved said the hateful act was an
attempt at police unity. The officers
were never fired.
Filmmaker Jodi Darby told me
that creating Arresting Power has
been a challenge due to Oregon not
having a lot of funding for the arts
in general, and as a result, she and
her co-producers, have had to hold
down full time jobs while making the
film.
Being a long-time Portland resi-
dent who has learned quite a bit
more about the history of the Port-
land Police Bureau and race rela-
tions in the city, I am thrilled that this
film got made.
The filmmakers set up a
Kickstarter campaign to success-
fully crowd source $20,000 in fund-
ing for post-production of the movie.
The film will premiere on Thursday,
Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Whitsell
Auditorium at the Portland Art
Museum. Tickets are $9 general
admission and $8 for students and
seniors.