July 19, 2017 The Skanner Page 3
News
Possession
Drug sentences, felonies
in particular, end up being
life time sentences in our
society, not just short term
‘debts paid to society
to treatment programs in
county jails and commu-
nities, instead of to state
prison, which has proved
to be unsuccessful in re-
versing drug use.
The bill reflects recent
progressive policy like
Portland’s Law Enforce-
ment Assisted Diversion
program, which diverts
drug offenders to social
services rather than jail.
Softening drug penal-
ties falls in line with ad-
dressing drug abuse as
a public health concern,
especially as state popu-
lations are facing a spike
in opioid addiction.
Oregon’s
new
bill
echoes the sentiments of
a handful of states that
are looking towards “de-
criminalization,” mean-
ing an end to criminal
penalties for drug pos-
session.
In 2016, Maryland
introduced the first
state-level decriminal-
ization bill, followed by
three
corresponding
bills to reform drug pol-
icy back in January.
Meanwhile, the Drug
Policy Alliance is calling
for an end to the wide-
spread practice of arrest-
ing people on drug use or
possession.
The advocacy group re-
cently released a report,
endorsed by numerous
groups and organiza-
tions, which lays out how
jurisdictions in the U.S.
can make steps towards
ending the criminaliza-
48-Hour
Yet on the federal level,
opinions differ greatly.
Attorney General Jeff
Sessions is attempting
to ramp up the “war on
drugs” by seeking to
undo criminal justice
policies of the Obama
administration,
while
pursuing
mandatory
minimum sentences for
low-level,
nonviolent
drug offenses.
Nevertheless, the Drug
Policy Alliance says Ses-
sions’ stance is largely
against the current trend
of bi-partisan support of
lessening drug charges.
In Oregon, HB 2355 was
favored by both Demo-
crats and Republicans in
the senate vote.
The bill also aims to end
police profiling by man-
dating that all officers in
the state collect data on a
person’s perceived race,
ethnicity, age and sex
when making pedestri-
an and traffic-stops. The
findings would then be
reviewed by the Oregon
Criminal Justice Com-
mission to identify pat-
terns or practices of pro-
filing.
“People of color are dis-
proportionately stopped
by law enforcement, and
yet report after report
shows that they actually
have less contraband on
them than white people,”
said Unite Oregon's Lisa
Loving.
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Community Forum for Shamar Curry
Angie Smith, Shamar Curry’s mother, cries during a community dialogue about her son’s murder July 12 at Rainier Community Center.
Curry was shot multiple times July 9 next to the Rainier Playfield. The meeting gave the community the chance to talk about Shamar
and what he meant to his friends and family and what the community could do to help stop the violence. On Wednesday, the Seattle
Times reported detectives had arrested a man in Puyallup Monday night in connection with Curry’s killing.
Midwives
cont’d from pg 1
Lyles was a 30-year-old preg-
nant Black woman who had suf-
fered from mental health prob-
lems.
After calling the police to re-
port a potential burglary of her
home, she was shot to death on
June 18 while her four children
were present.
She joins a long list of Black
women and girls nationwide —
including Sandra Bland, Aiyana
Jones, and Rekia Boyd — that were
killed by police officers who were
never convicted. Many more,
some of them pregnant, have been
victims of use of force by police.
The organization aims to bring
focus to the issue, as well as ig-
nite policies to help police better
interact with pregnant and post-
partum women, in the hopes of
preventing future killings.
“The whole point is we have
to pay attention. So many Black
women and women of color are
being killed,” said Monroe, ad-
dressing an audience of about 40,
which included midwives, dou-
las, local activists and concerned
citizens. “We have police officers
trained to not value anybody.”
Monroe referred to a disturb-
ing statistic from the African
American Policy Forum: while
Black women and girls make up
13 percent of the U.S. population,
they account for 33 percent of all
women killed by police.
Their children are not much
safer, said Monroe.
“As African American women,
we’re already losing our babies
“
We have police
officers trained
to not value
anybody
with infant mortality — not be-
cause we’re inadequate, not be-
cause we don’t eat right, but be-
cause systemic racism is causing
more stress on Black women,” she
said.
Monroe noted the dark legacy
of African American women who
have lost their children through
force of labor, sale, incarceration
and murder.
Panelist Mikal H. Shabazz, an
imam with the Muslim Commu-
nity Center and president of the
Oregon Islamic Chaplain Organi-
zation, was moved to tears as he
reflected on vulnerable women of
color who end up facing off with
law enforcement.
Shabazz called the shooting of a
pregnant woman “demonic.”
“You can’t do that if you see
(her) as a human being like your-
self,” he said.
NAACP Portland president Jo
Ann Hardesty steered the dis-
cussion back to mentally unsta-
ble victims, like Charleena Lyles.
In the past four years, she said,
most people who have been shot
by Portland police have suffered
from mental health issues — a
statistic backed by Portland Cop-
watch.
Hardesty, who has fought for
police accountability for 20 years
in the Portland metro area, noted
that the systemic problem with
the police force comes down to its
“military operation” training.
“They are trained as if they are
headed off to war,” said Hardesty,
adding that “de-escalation train-
ing should be 50 percent.”
In reality, it accounts for much
less.
The NAACP president also
spoke of former Mayor Charlie
Hales’ elimination of Portland’s
48-hour rule last year which,
when instated, mandated that
officers report when they shoot
a suspect within two days of the
incident.
Read the rest of this story at
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cont’d from pg 1
prosecute officers for offenses related
to deadly force cases if the officer was
compelled to make a statement too ear-
ly.
Underhill cited Oregon v. Soriano, a
1984 Oregon Supreme Court case that
prohibits the use of compelled testimo-
ny in Oregon.
Underhill's interpretation of that Or-
egon v. Soriano is that someone forced
to make a statement by an employer
to receive automatic immunity from
prosecution for a crime related to those
statements.
The Albina Ministerial Alliance Co-
alition, in a July 12 press release co-
signed by Portland Copwatch and the
NAACP Portland Branch, has called on
the city council hearing to conduct a
public hearing before this policy is ad-
opted, saying criminal investigations
“
That criminal in-
vestigation usually
takes at least three
weeks, or ten times
longer than the pre-
viously carved-out
48 hours
can take weeks.
“That criminal investigation usually
takes at least three weeks, or ten times
longer than the previously carved-out
48 hours.
"If the person in question does not
die, it is up to the discretion of the Pro-
fessional Standards Division (PSD)
whether the officer has to file Force re-
port at all,” the release said.
The Oregonian reported Monday
that the National Lawyer’s Guild had
joined the AMAC in criticizing the rul-
ing, and Wheeler’s spokesperson, Mi-
chael Cox, has said the mayor’s office
is talking to city attorneys, the district
attorney and officials from the Ore-
gon and federal justice departments.
Cox said Wheeler’s team is reviewing
whether the DA’s interpretation of the
ruling is accurate.
PHOTO BY ANOTHER BELIEVER (CC BY-SA 3.) WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
“
tion of drug users.
“Defelonization efforts
can’t be an end in them-
selves, but they can serve
as crucial milestones
to drug decriminaliza-
tion,” said Kaltenbach.
“We need to focus our
limited resources on
health-based approaches
instead of criminal ap-
proaches.”
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
this very charge.
Moreover, Black people
comprise just 13 percent
of the U.S. population,
but they make up rough-
ly 35 percent of those in-
carcerated in state pris-
on for drug possession.
When signed, House
Bill 2355 will direct peo-
ple who are found with
small amounts of drugs
cont’d from pg 1
The Portland Police Bureau announced a policy
change last week that would revive and extend the
controversial 48-hour rule killed in its most recent
union contract.
