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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 26, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner January 25, 2017 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Opinion It’s Time to Sunset Portland’s 48-Hour Rule Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor T Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 his week Mayor Ted Wheeler will ask Port- land City Commissioners to end the hated 48-hour rule. For anyone who still doesn’t know how it works, the rule means police officers who kill do not have to explain what happened until 48 hours lat- er. Former Mayor Hales nego- tiated with the police associ- ation to end the rule in a new contract that included a sub- stantial pay raise for officers. But after Multnomah Coun- “ The mayor is right to do ev- erything pos- sible to end the 48-hour rule ty DA Rod Underhill and the Oregon Department of Justice expressed fears that dropping the rule would make it impos- sible to prosecute police who misused their powers, they are considering reinstating and possibly extending the rule beyond 48 hours. DA Underhill and the Bernie Foster Publisher The Skanner DOJ based their opinion on 1980s-era case law. But the Lawyers Guild and others disagree. Meanwhile, Wheel- er says a new ordinance that walls off internal from crim- inal investigations has a good chance of succeeding in court. His plan is to test the new law immediately. The mayor is right to do ev- erything possible to end the 48-hour rule. We, the citizens of Portland, give police officers the right to use deadly force when nec- essary. That right comes with a responsibility to be trans- parent and accountable about how those decisions are made. And that means being ready to answer for their actions — immediately — not days after the facts have begun to blur. We train our police officers, pay them a decent wage with a substantial pension, and provide them with the right equipment for the job. We try to foster a police culture that works with our communities VIDEO STILL Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Charleston police officer Michael Slager checks Walter Scott for pulse after the officer shot him five times in the back. to keep everyone safe. What we cannot do is legis- late the courage and the char- acter it takes to police our streets without fear or prej- udice. That’s up to individual officers. And if an officer can- not do that, perhaps he or she would do better in another line of work. We would never allow a suspect extra time to think through their story before making them tell us what hap- pened. We don’t say they need time to process the trauma of having shot someone. That would be ridiculous and it’s the same with our public ser- vants. The Skanner News applauds the mayor and we urge the other commissioners to back his plan. It’s time to sunset the 48- hour rule for good. We want to hear from you. What do you think? Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS F ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n y d ay ! • L i ke u s o n • to ac it Updated daily at TheSkanner.com Welcoming Immigrants Keeps America Great P resident Donald Trump was elected on his pledge to make America great again. Yet, for all of his rhetoric, he seems to have forgotten the men and wom- en, from every corner of the globe, who have worked so hard to build the great coun- try we see today. President Trump leads a na- tion of immigrants, yet part of his plan involves suspending our country’s refugee pro- gram and barring immigrants from six predominantly Mus- lim countries. “ It’s a policy that is not only unsafe; it’s unlawful, uninformed, and un-Amer- ican It’s a policy that is not only unsafe; it’s unlawful, unin- formed, and un-American. Many of the most shameful periods in our nation’s his- tory were those in which we permitted hatred and fear of the “Other” to shape our pub- lic policy. Beginning with slav- ery — which took a civil war to overcome — to the denial of entry to Jews fleeing Nazism, or the internment of Japanese Rep. André Carson D-Ind. Americans, today these mo- ments are correctly judged as shameful departures from our core values. Right now, we face one of those moments. President Trump’s ban is affecting millions; mothers with young children, family members trying to reach their loved ones who are already here, and those desperately fleeing for their lives. These people look to America as a land of hope and opportuni- ty, where they can build new lives away from the violence and persecution they face in their home countries. To turn them away at our doorstep is cruel. This policy degrades our alliances with countries we rely on in the war against ISIS — most of which are majority Muslim. We cannot ask for their assistance while simul- taneously insulting their re- ligion and questioning their reliability. This policy, born out of fear rather than a se- curity strategy, threatens our friendships, fuels terrorist propaganda, and supports the false narrative that the West is waging a war against Islam. It makes us a target for terrorism rather than keep- ing us safe. As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I know better than most the “ This policy degrades our alliances with countries we rely on in the war against ISIS—most of which are ma- jority Muslim wide array of threats our country faces every day. We cannot ignore them. But forc- ing an entire population to shoulder the blame is unjust and does nothing but divide us further. This ban is not an effective way to protect Americans. Instead, we should be invest- ing in our intelligence pro- fessionals, who can analyze information and develop calculated responses in re- al-time. Additionally, we can further strengthen our im- migrant vetting processes to better weed out any legiti- mate threats without categor- ically denying a safe haven for those who need our help the most. We should be focus- ing on real tools to keep our country safe, relying on facts and analysis instead of unin- formed biases. Since our founding, our country has struggled with discrimination and inequali- ty. But experience has shown us that those pushing fear and hatred have been proven wrong time after time. And with each challenge we have overcome, it has become in- creasingly clear that our country is stronger when we embrace diversity of all types. Today, immigrants from all parts of the world and people of all faiths have been central to our economic success, vi- brant democratic discourse, and cultural richness. We must keep America great by embracing immigrants and refugees, not turning them away. Rep. André Carson rep- resents the 7th District of Indi- ana. He is First Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Cau- cus and one of two Muslims in Congress. Rep. Carson sits on the House Intelligence Com- mittee and the House Trans- portation and Infrastructure Committee. Follow Rep. Carson on Twitter @RepAndreCarson. nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve
