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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2017)
JULY 19, 2017 Portland and Seattle Volume XXXIX No. 42 25 CENTS News .............................. 3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 Inequality in Schools ......8 Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW PHOTO BY MELANIE SEVCENKO THE BIG FLOAT Shafia M. Monroe speaks at the Midwives, Others and Mothers Alliance (MOMA) Against Police Violence press conference. By Melanie Sevcenko Of The Skanner News B irth workers, mothers and com- munity members convened in Northeast Portland last Friday to address the incidents of abuse against pregnant and postpartum wom- en of color at the hand of police. Under the recently formed initiative, Midwives, Others, and Mothers Alli- ance, the press conference was orga- nized by African American midwife and activist Shafia M. Monroe in re- sponse to the killing of Charleena Lyles by Seattle police last month. AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI See MIDWIVES on page 3 In this July 7 file photo, President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Trump had a second, previously undisclosed conversation with Putin at the summit it Germany. World News Briefs page 10 Hundreds of people participated in the Big Float July 15 on the Willamette River. The annual fundraiser for the Human Access Project featured a parade and “Portland’s Grandest Beach Party,” which included a music barge, live music, food carts, a beer/wine garden, sponsor booths and an activities area for the kids. State Reduces Drug Possession Offenses New law addresses racial disparities in drug enforcement, incarceration By Melanie Sevcenko Of The Skanner News O regon legislatures passed a landmark bill this week that reclassifies small scale posses- sion of illegal drugs – heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and oth- ers – from a felony to a misdemeanor. The reclassification is part of a broader trend to “defelonization,” with 18 states having already defelo- nized small possession of drugs. “Oregon’s victory is a significant part of the national shift towards smarter justice. We’ll see more and more states moving in this direc- tion,” said Emily Kaltenbach, senior director of Criminal Justice Reform Strategy at Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy group. As the law stands now in Oregon, small possession is a Class B or C felony — punishable by up to 10 or Rally to end the War on Drugs, MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, Nov. 3, 2011. According to the Drug Policy Al- liance, U.S. law enforcement makes at least 1.2 million arrests on drug possession every year. On any given night, at least 133,000 people are be- hind bars in U.S. prisons and jails for See POSSESSION on page 3 Proposed Policy Revives and Extends 48-Hour Rule Wheeler asks DA’s office to consider alternatives to last week’s ruling The Skanner News Staff Read the Library Book Before You See the Movie page 7 20 years in prison and $250,000 or $375,000 in fines. The new legislation knocks down small possession to a Class A misde- meanor, which could result in one year in jail and/or a $6,250 fine. Last March, the ACLU of Oregon conducted a poll which found that 73 percent of state voters overwhelm- ing favored changing small scale possession charges from a felon to a misdemeanor. It seems the state legislature felt the same way. Passing such a bill is an attempt to addresses mass incarceration, as well as racial disparities, connected to life-damaging drug charges. “Drug sentences, felonies in partic- ular, end up being life time sentenc- es in our society, not just short term ‘debts paid to society,’” said Sen. Lew Frederick, who has vocally support- ed the bill. PHOTO: NIKKI DAVID / NEON TOMMY Black women and girls account for 33 percent of all women killed by police PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Midwives Meet on Police Violence L ast week the Portland Police Bureau pro- posed a policy change that could delay po- lice interviews of officers involved in deadly force — possibly by weeks. Mayor Ted Wheeler is pushing back, but has declined ac- tivists’ request for a hear- ing on the matter. The union contract be- tween the Portland Police Association and the city last fall did away with the “48-hour rule” — a clause allowing officers to wait two days before giv- ing a statement after be- ing involved in deadly use of force cases. Wheeler had promised to do away with the rule during his campaign. PPB’s proposed change is based on Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill’s citation of an Oregon Supreme Court ruling that he says requires internal investigators to wait until after a criminal investigation and grand jury review have been completed before they can compel a statement from officers. He’s said he won’t See 48-HOUR on page 3
