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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2018)
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2018 NEWS Police Facebook post highlights social media challenges By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER The Stanfield Police Department received plenty of praise for its Facebook post accusing two sus- pects of breaking into cars and stealing cash and cell- phones. But the posting also drew accusations of taking an unprofessional and harsh tone. The small town police department dropped the fol- lowing post on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. The Hermiston Herald has not edited or altered the post: “THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW reached out and grabbed him! Travis Landon (age 25) and his Hooligan accomplice decided to do some illegal shopping this weekend. (Also known as a vehicle prowl) After getting into several cars, and taking cash and cell phones, this dynamic duo headed out of town. Lit- tle did they know the long arm of the “Stanfield Police Department” does reach into Hermiston! Travis was cap- tured AND ARRESTED while parked in Hermiston sitting in his car by our very own Officer Marcum. And if you’re reading this, Travis’s little buddy, feel free to take advan- tage of the Turn Yourself In Tuesday special our depart- ment is having today. Free ride to Pendleton with room and board included for your visit! No need to call for res- ervations! Just stop in.” The police department’s post prompted more than 200 shares to other Face- book pages and more than 400 comments. Landon, during a phone interview Thursday, said the Facebook post caught him off guard. Yes, Landon said, officer Cody Marcum arrested him, but the officer was profes- sional throughout, processed him at the Stanfield Police Department and released him. Landon said Marcum even gave him a ride back into Hermiston. Then came the police department’s post, along with a jail house mug- shot from four years ago. “I just don’t think it’s right,” Landon said. “I feel like it’s OK for police to use social media to search for information, but to publicly shame someone — I feel it just isn’t right.” Landon said he did not “I just don’t think it’s right. I feel like it’s OK for police to use social media to search for information, but to publicly shame someone — I feel it just isn’t right.” Travis Landon, subject of Stanfield Police Department’s controversial Facebook post want to talk much about the criminal accusations. He said he gave a ride to some- one and did not know the person stashed stolen goods in his car. “I basically had nothing to do with it,” he said. In spite of friends tell- ing him to not read the Face- book comments, Landon said he does and feels com- pelled to defend himself — which he did on the Stan- field Police post. But he said he has no answer for how to deal with the social media storm, and it now it is affect- ing and embarrassing his family. Stanfield is such a small town, he said, and living there as a gay man was hard enough. The Facebook post has only made life more dif- ficult, so he said he recently took off for a fresh start in Portland. Besides, Landon said, he long wanted to live in a bigger city. State court records show he has yet to face any charges stemming from this arrest, but the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor charge Thursday accusing Landon of possessing heroin on Tuesday. He has to appear in court there Monday for the arraignment. Landon said the charge is bunk and based on a police finding foil he had previously used for smoking drugs. “I’m on day six of being clean,” he said. Around 60 percent of the comments expressed sup- port for the Stanfield Police Department, Marcum’s arrest of Landon or the post itself. Bruce Lewis’ post reflected the majority view: “Landed Landon, fantas- tic. Now grab that Hooligan. None of us enjoy evil doers shopping in our vehicles. Well done SPD. Woo Hoo!” Tiffany Lynn summed up a lot of the concerns of the minority: “While fun- ny...I believe public humil- iation, like the Puritans used, falls under cruel and unusual punishment. And I agree with the previous comment that it is unprofes- sional. Also whatever hap- pen to innocent until proven guilty? Bigger mistakes have been made. And I seri- ously doubt everyone com- menting is perfect, let alone has a perfect record.” Stanfield police offi- cer Joyce Wright published the post. She said the com- menters supporting the department tend to be from Stanfield and Echo, where Stanfield police provide services, while the nega- tive posts are coming from outsiders, even from other states. Creating Facebook posts are collaborative efforts in the department, she said. Typically an officer drafts a post then two more staff check it for obvious errors and to make sure it makes sense. Wright said Face- book allows the depart- ment to show its good work, ranging from visiting local classrooms to arresting sus- pected criminals. She said the department only posts arrests of adults and only posts public information. And sometimes officers try to add some humor, she said, but “we don’t do it with the intent of publicly shaming anyone.” Social media also can help solve crimes. She said people view posts and pro- vide tips to police, which is happening in this case. Stanfield police, however, have yet to arrest the person Landon was with. Wright also said the department’s social media guidelines follow those of the Hermiston Police Department, which has used ironic humor in its Facebook posts. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said social media can be a good tool or a slippery slope when police get too cute. “I’ll openly admit I pushed the envelope over the years in news releases,” he said, recounting in 2012 when he described a suspect as a “scourge to society.” That phrase landed the story in the Daily Mail newspaper. So in January, when he had the department roll out its more aggressive use of Facebook, he said he built in some firewalls. Edmis- ton is not an administrator of the page. He said he is not yet comfortable enough with social media, so those duties fall to the lieutenant and two captains. They also ask Edmiston to weigh in before posting statements that could cause a stir. Before wading deeper into the social media stream, Edmiston said he checked to see what other departments did, particularly police in Kennewick and Pasco. Hermiston also looked at case law for what it can and can not do on social media. Banning comments or commenters, for exam- ple, is generally a no-go for a public body’s social media presence. Hermiston often posts about arrests made and cases it’s working, but Edmiston said the department does not seek to ridicule or humil- iate anyone. The depart- ment includes mug shots of suspects. Edmiston said that helps cut down public records requests for the pho- tos. News agencies instead can just take the image from the post. And the language in those posts matters. “We have to be aware that in court, it comes down to guilty beyond a reason- able doubt, and people are innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “It’s import- ant to say yes, even though we arrested this person, they are alleged to have commit- ted the crime.” Stanfield City Manager Blair Larsen said he was “amazed at the response” the police post drew. And negative comments aside, he said “it’s really hard for me at least to find anything wrong with it.” Larsen conceded it could be seen as public shaming, but the information is public and nothing in the post states Landon or the other person is guilty of any crime. “We’re not saying they’re criminals,” he said. “We’re just saying this is the fact of what happened.” Larsen also defended the tone of the post. Police work is hard, often unrewarding and requires dealing with some of the worst parts of society, he said. Officers should take moments to lighten up. Larsen added he does not see anything wrong with encouraging a suspect to turn themselves in. Local defense attor- ney Kara Davis said police should be cautious about what they post on social media. Their statements can run the risk of contaminating potential jurors. But often by the time even a well-publi- cized case gets to trial, jurors don’t remember Facebook comments. WORSHIP COMMUNITY First United Methodist Church Hermiston 191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002 Nursery available • Check us out on Face Book Worship Livestream at herfumc.com Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor First Christian Church “Proclaiming the Message of Hope, Living the Gospel of Love” Worship Gathering 10:00 am Children’s Church 10:00 am 567-3013 Re-zone clears way for housing on Diagonal Road By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER The stretch of Diago- nal Road leading toward Sandstone Middle School in Hermiston could some- day include apartments or a restaurant after the city council approved a re-zone. The 52-acre triangle between Northeast Eighth and 10th streets was previ- ously zoned for light indus- trial use, but will now be a mixture of commercial and multi-family residential zones. It is mostly undevel- oped besides the restoration business O So Kleen, a shop and a couple of former onion sheds. Clint Spencer, the city planner, said the industrial zoning made more sense when it was put in place in the 1950s because Diago- nal Road was a major truck route and the surrounding properties did not yet have housing on them. Now, how- ever, he said it seemed like uses such as an auto-wreck- ing yard were not compati- ble with the neighborhood. “Our opinion as staff is it probably isn’t the high- est and best use of the prop- erty,” he said. Spencer said the planning commission unanimously recommended the change as part of the city’s efforts to encourage more develop- ment of affordable housing in Hermiston. He said the city has a more than 40-year supply of industrial land, according to a recent anal- ysis, but shortage of viable places to develop housing. “What we have is too much employment land and not enough residential land,” he said. The new zoning, which the city council unani- mously approved, would allow for offices, retail, restaurants or gas stations along Diagonal Road and various types of housing behind them. Spencer said if housing were developed Jennie Road would likely be pushed through from its cur- rent stopping point to North- east 10th Street and extra roads added. During its May 29 meet- ing the city council also made some adjustments to the city’s garage sale ordi- nance, which previously did Ultimate Hawaii Save up to $ Tour with Pearl Harbor Experience per couple 900 13 days from TM * 1,799 NEED SHADE? SHADE We’ve Got YOU Covered! days. “We’re hoping to do a lot of education,” Smith said. Police Chief Jason Edmiston said the city is looking into creating some sort of kiosk in one of the parks where people could post garage sale signs and shoppers could have a one- stop shop to look at. It would be wiped clean every Mon- day. He said the city could also promote a Facebook page as an alternative to posting signs around town. City councilors said they didn’t want to dis- courage people from sell- ing unwanted items and being able to make a little extra money, but it was also important to keep the city looking nice. Doug Primmer said he would like to see the city sponsor a location for a city-wide yard sale where people could come together to sell items in one spot. Smith said Al Davis, the new general manager for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, has been working on creating some- thing along those lines in the form of a flea market at EOTEC. Sun/Solar PaƟo Shades Pergolas · PaƟo Covers Awnings · Sunrooms Screens & More! 541-720-0772 Departs weekly year-round $ not allow any signs advertis- ing garage sales in the pub- lic right of way, including on sidewalks, utility poles and street signs. Under the new rules, people can place signs on vehicles that are legally parked and not obstructing views of traffic. However, the city tightened the time- line for enforcement, allow- ing the code enforcement officer to take action on ille- gally placed signs after four hours instead of 96. City Manager Byron Smith said people often place signs illegally on card- board boxes or utility poles on street corners, then leave the signs to blow away or clutter the street corner. By working hard to edu- cate the public that they are now allowed to place signs on their vehicles, he said the hope is that they will go that route and then remove the sign after the weekend is over. For people who persist in placing signs where they are not supposed to be, the code enforcement officer will now be able to give peo- ple four hours to remove the signs instead of waiting four Promo code N7017 1-866-881-0353 *Prices are per person based on double occupancy plus $ 299 taxes & fees. Single supplement and seasonal surcharges may apply. Add-on airfare available. Offers apply to new bookings only, made by 7/31/18. Other terms and conditions may apply. Ask your Travel Consultant for details. Proudly Serving Eastern Oregon FREE ESTIMATES!! With Quality Outdoor Living Products Since 2009 ! www. mybackyardbydesignor.com Rather than the jury, Davis said the bigger issue is whether social media pressures someone with a good defense into taking a plea deal. Some defendants might see negative com- ments on Facebook, con- sider their case a lost cause and take an offer when they should not. Larsen said government can interact with the public in so many ways, but no one reads a budget document by choice. The police department’s social media post is a way for government to con- nect with citizens. Larsen also said he would talk with anyone who felt “truly offended” or wanted to hold conversations on improv- ing the department’s use of social media. Wright said Stanfield police have been on Face- book since November, and with anything new, there’s plenty to learn. That includes the realization that Facebook means local situ- ations can become global in no time. 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston The Full Gospel Home Church 235 SW 3rd Phone 567-7678 Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker Sunday: Sunday School........10:00 am Worship...................11:00 am Evening Service........7:00 pm Wednesday Service..7:00 pm “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Pet. 5:7 NEW BEGINNINGS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Worship Service 10:30 AM Sunday School 9:00 AM Pastor J.C. Barnett Children’s Church & Nursery Available 700 West Orchard Avenue P.O. Box 933 Hermiston, Oregon 541-567-8441 Seventh-day Adventist Church Saturdays Sabbath School........9:30 a.m. Worship Service......11:00 a.m. English & Spanish Services 567-8241 855 W. Highland • Hermiston Grace Baptist Church 555 SW 11th, Hermiston 567-9497 Nursery provided for all services Sunday School - 9:30 AM Worship - 10:45 AM 6:00 PM Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM “Proclaiming God’s word, growing in God’s grace” 1520 W ORCHARD AVE Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE, SERVING PEOPLE www.hermistonnazarene.org LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH 125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232 Pastor David Dever Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm www.hermistonlmbc.com St. Johns Episcopal Church Join Us On Our Journey With Jesus. Scripture, Tradition and Reason Family service 9am Sunday N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston t. PH: 567-6672 We are an all inclusive Church who welcomes all. Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church 565 W. HERMISTON AVE. DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday ...............................English 7:00 am Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm ...............................Spanish 7:00 pm SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am ..........................Bilingual 11:00 am ..............................Spanish 1:00 pm Offi ce..............................567-5812 To share your worship times call 541-278-2678 License #188965
