WWW . THESKANNER . COM
S EPTEMBER 19, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O .38
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
DOJ on
Portland
Police
LAST THURSDAY
Feds mandate
reforms in use of
force on mentally ill
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY LISA LOVING
A
Department of Justice investigation
has concluded that Portland Police
Bureau has a “pattern or practice” of
using excessive force against people with
mental illness.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas
E. Perez explained the findings of the 14-
month investigation at a Sept. 13 press
conference, flanked by U.S. Attorney
Amanda Marshall, Mayor Sam Adams and
Portland Police Chief Mike Reese.
“…we have concluded that, while most
uses of force were lawful, there is reason-
able cause to believe that PPB is engaged in
a pattern or practice of using excessive force
against people with mental illness, or those
perceived to have mental illness,” Perez
said.
“We found that encounters between PPB
officers and persons living with mental ill-
ness too frequently result in a use of force,
or in a higher level of force than necessary.
“We further found that, when dealing with
people with mental illness, PPB officers use
electronic control weapons, or tasers, in cir-
cumstances where the use of tasers was not
justified, or deploy them more times than
necessary.
“Finally, in situations where PPB officers
arrest people with mental illness for low
level offenses, we found that there is a pat-
tern or practice of using more force than
necessary in these circumstances.”
Former state legislator and longtime
police accountability activist Jo Ann Hard-
esty (formerly Bowman) welcomed the
report, which she said was much worse than
she had expected, even after a decade of
monitoring police issues.
“It was just horrifying reading this report
to see how egregious the behavior is, and
how thug-like some of the Portland police
officers act,” Hardesty said.
“The federal government has confirmed
The monthly Alberta Street arts walk saw controversy last month, when police reported 10 fights among young
people, starting at dusk. However organizers – who will be holding the last Last Thursday on Alberta Street of the
summer next week — have regrouped and are working with businesses and law enforcement to smooth out
difficulties after dark. Here, DJ Prashant teaches Bollywood dance steps in the street in July. The event is looking for
more volunteers; find out how to help and get a free t-shirt at www.lastthursdayonalberta.com.
Report Finds Science Education Lags
Oregon has 1.7 STEM openings for every qualified jobseeker
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
I
f you’re looking for work it
helps to have education and
skills in the STEM subjects:
Science, Technology, Engineer-
ing and Math. “Vital Signs,” a
new report by the Washington
DC-based nonprofit, Change the
Equation, found that on average
there are two open jobs in
STEM fields for every qualified
applicant.
Yet in the Northwest, and
across the country, education in
See POLICE on page 3
INDEX
News ................2,3,8,9
Opinion ..................4,5
A & E ......................6,7
Financial .................12
Bids/Classifieds ........11
STEM subjects still lags. And
an achievement gap leaves
Black, Hispanic and Native
American students at the bottom
of the heap, along with girls of
all races.
“States are undertaking a lot
of really heroic work in STEM
education,” says Linda P. Rose,
Change the Equation’s CEO.
“Vital Signs represents an
incredible opportunity for busi-
ness leaders, educators, and
policymakers to accelerate this
work and identify a path for-
ward in STEM learning, and we
hope that leaders will capitalize
on what they learn from the data
to improve STEM learning in
every state.”
The state-by-state analysis of
STEM education and training
opportunities
found
high
demand for STEM workers in
the Northwest. But not enough
workers have the education and
skills to fill those jobs.
In Oregon, jobseekers out-
number all available jobs by
4.26 to one. But in STEM fields,
for each qualified jobseeker, 1.7
jobs are available. In Washing-
ton, jobseekers outnumber all
available jobs by 3.7 to one. But
in STEM fields, for each quali-
fied jobseeker 2.1 jobs are open.
“Business leaders in Oregon
have sounded an alarm,” the
report says. “They cannot find
the science, technology, engi-
neering
and
mathematics
(STEM) talent they need to stay
competitive. Students’ lagging
performance in K–12 is a criti-
cal reason why.”
The report also looked at how
See STEM on page 3
Fresh Exchange at Farmer’s Markets
SNAP cardholders get financial boost for buying produce
Bruce Poinsette
Of The Skanner News
R
oughly one in five Oregonians
receive Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) bene-
fits, (formerly known as food stamps),
according to Oregon Department of Human
Services.
Putting healthy food on the table is a
struggle for many of these families.
Enter the Portland Farmers Market Fresh
Exchange token matching program.
“It helps whittle away at the two prong
food system,” says Trudy Tolliver. “There
is, in some people’s minds, a theory that
wealthier people can eat fresh food while
less wealthy people eat processed food. This
helps to break that down pretty significant-
ly.”
Since its birth in the King neighborhood
market in 2009, Fresh Exchange has
expanded to other markets and seen a sig-
nificant increase in shoppers.
Originally called Foodshare Fund North-
east, Tolliver says the program sprang from
a meeting between the Northeast Coalition
of Neighborhoods, the Alberta Food Co-op
See FRESH on page 10