May 10, 2017
Page 5
A new billboard campaign in Portland asks the community for possible leads in several unsolved murders.
Billboards Plea for Help
The Portland Police Bureau’s
Cold Case Homicide Unit is fea-
turing 25 unsolved homicide cases
on five billboards throughout the
Portland area thanks to Pacific
Outdoor Advertising who helped
develop the signage and identify
good locations for maximum ex-
posure.
Under the slogan “We don’t
give up. We never give up,” the
Cold Case unit reviews unsolved
murders in the Portland area and,
since its inception in 2004, has re-
viewed approximately 250 homi-
cide cases and solved more than
40.
Information about all cold case
homicides is available for review
by visiting portlandoregon.gov/
police/35696. Crime Stoppers of
Oregon offers cash rewards for
information, reported to Crime
Stoppers, that leads to an arrest
in any unsolved homicide and
tipsters can remain anonymous.
Information about any unsolved
homicide is eligible for a cash
reward of up to $2,500. Call 503-
823-HELP (4357).
Workers Prove Racial Harassment
Two black maintenance work-
ers won a jury award of $1 mil-
lion in a racial harassment lawsuit
against Portland Public Schools
Thursday.
Charles Morgan and Jason Wil-
liams say they filed the suit be-
cause the district didn’t address the
serious nature of the intimidation
Police Not
Compliant
with Law
Portland’s Independent Police
Review board has concluded a
two year investigation revealing
that the Portland Police Bureau is
not compliant with a federal law
to turn over evidence in prosecu-
tions that may be favorable to the
person charged.
The board, which is under the
City Auditor’s office, determined
that the Portland Police Bureau
has no written policy to comply
with the landmark 1963 Brady
vs. Maryland Supreme Court rul-
ing requiring law enforcement to
give all evidence to the courts that
might find a defendant innocent.
The review panel found that
Portland police aren’t being
trained on which evidence to turn
over. In addition, officer discipline
records aren’t being given to either
prosecutors or defense attorneys.
Officials said the Police Bureau
was less than cooperative with
the review board, but after the re-
port was issued last month, Police
Chief Marshman promised to issue
a written policy within 90 days.
against them after they were called
the N-word and found a noose
hanging in their workplace. They
argued in court that the district does
not promptly respond to claims of
racial harassment and intentionally
drags out investigations.
When school officials first in-
vestigated the complaints, they re-
ferred to the workers’ experiences
as “microaggressions” rather than
discrimination.
PPS Interim Superintendent
Bob McKean issued a statement
saying that the district is respectful
of the jury’s decision, and hopes to
create a more welcoming work en-
vironment moving forward.