October 30, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Seaside joins community conversation Law enforcement
Police chiefs, residents
laments pot issues
discuss how to improve
interaction
By Katie Wilson
EO Media Group
The North Coast is far
away from Ferguson, Mis-
souri, where protests shook
the St. Louis suburb last year
following the death of Mi-
chael Brown, an unarmed
black teenager who was shot
and killed by a white police
RI¿FHU
The climate — socially,
culturally, environmentally
— is different here. So is the
history, the landscape and the
economics.
But in light of the Fer-
guson shooting and other
similar incidents that have
shaken the nation, the Lower
Columbia Diversity Project
saw a need to address how
police work intersects with
the community.
“Cops and Community:
A Local Perspective,” a dis-
cussion Thursday, Oct. 15
at the Judge Guy Boyington
Building in Astoria, fea-
tured a panel of local police
chiefs: Cannon Beach’s Ja-
son Schermerhorn, Seaside’s
Dave Ham, Warrenton’s
Matt Workman and Astoria’s
Brad Johnston.
Astoria City Councilor
Drew Herzig moderated the
discussion, asking the chiefs
to talk about “community
policing” and what programs
or policies they’ve imple-
mented to improve interac-
tions with the community.
He asked them to describe
the challenges they face in
their distinct communities.
Though Clatsop Coun-
ty police departments have
not recently been involved
in any racially-charged cas-
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seen elsewhere in the nation,
this summer, a Clatskanie
SROLFH RI¿FHU ¿OHG D FRP-
plaint against Clatskanie
police chief Marvin Hoover
after Hoover allegedly made
racist statements while be-
ing debriefed on the arrest
of woman who had said
she was being discriminat-
ed against. According to the
RI¿FHU +RRYHU ² ZKR KDV
since retired — compared
black people to monkeys,
sang “Dixie” and made
monkey noises.
This incident and other
more distant events reverber-
ated in the questions mem-
bers of the audience asked
Thursday night.
Diversity
Astoria rsidents Andrew
Marshall and Gladys Klin-
german, the only two people
of color present at the talk,
asked about the level of di-
versity at the various police
departments. The chiefs ad-
mitted that none of their de-
partments are particularly di-
verse. In all the departments
combined, there are only a
handful of women, Hispanic
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DQGQREODFNRI¿FHUV
Marshall, who has lived
in the area since the late
1970s, pointed out that the
county’s demographics are
changing rapidly. He and
Klingerman asked about on-
(':$5'675$7721(20(',$*5283
THC-infused knockoffs of popular confectionaries and sodas
include the Krondike Bar, Sour Gummi Bears, Nugtella and
Canna Cola (pictured). Law enforcement officials fear the prod-
ucts are indistinguishable to children from drug-free products.
JOSHUA BESSEX/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Astoria Police Chief Brad Johnston, right, speaks during the Lower Columbia Diversity Proj-
ect’s “Cops and Community: A Local Perspective” discussion. Police on the panel included
Seaside Police Chief Dave Ham, Warrenton Police Chief Matt Workman and Cannon Beach
Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn.
Steve Forrester
EDITOR
R.J. Marx
REPORTER
victims of domestic violence
and sexual abuse, mean ad-
vocates trained to get victims
the legal help and personal
counseling they need are of-
ten present, too.
“In small cities like these,
you really have to rely on
one another and we currently
Community policing do every day of the week,”
Community policing is Schermerhorn said.
Clatsop County law en-
not a new concept on the
coast, said Schermerhorn. forcement is in a good place
It is something all the de- in many ways, the chiefs
partments currently do, and said.
“We do a have these —
have done for some time, to
varying extents. This work decades-long in some plac-
goes beyond simply keeping es — connections with our
the peace. It can look like community,” Johnston said.
But challenges remain.
funding a school resource
RI¿FHUZKRVSHQGVKLVRUKHU All the police departments
time working with students; are small and many struggle
it can look like holding for adequate funding. In re-
community picnics, giving cent years, most have had to
neighborhood residents a drop the school resource of-
chance to voice concerns in ¿FHU SRVLWLRQ ORVLQJ RXW RQ
an informal setting. It often those face-to-face opportuni-
looks like getting out into the ties with kids in the schools.
$OVRRI¿FHUVRIWHQVKRZ
neighborhoods, getting to
know people, being a trusted up in the middle of what
has likely been a long-term
member of the community.
Many times it is about problem. By forging strong
forging partnerships with relationships with commu-
other groups or agencies that nity partners, police can be
are better equipped to deal instrumental in solving some
with the underlying issues of these long-term problems,
like mental illness, substance but ultimately, the chiefs
abuse and family strife, the said, this is the community’s
chiefs said. While local po- work.
These days, Johnston
lice might be the ones who
UHVSRQG ¿UVW WR D GRPHVWLF said, police have to be every-
violence call, strong part- thing to all people. But often,
nerships with The Harbor, he added, “We’re just Band-
an organization that helps Aids.”
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household. People can carry
up to 1 ounce and have anoth-
er 8 ounces per person in their
homes, along with 1 pound of
marijuana edibles, 72 ounces
of marijuana-infused liquids
and 1 ounce of marijuana ex-
By Edward Stratton
tracts. In general, people can
EO Media Group
legally deliver those amounts
SEASIDE — When it or less to another person, as
comes to enforcing marijuana long as they stay under the
laws, Warrenton Police Chief legal limit.
Possession of more than
Matt Workman joked, his of-
¿FHUVPLJKWKDYHWRH[FKDQJH 8 ounces but less than 16 is a
their guns for scales.
class B violation, similar to a
The joke underscored the WUDI¿FWLFNHW%HWZHHQDQG
confusion Workman and oth- 32 ounces is a class B misde-
HU ODZ HQIRUFHPHQW RI¿FLDOV meanor, while possession of
say Measure 91, which legal- more than 32 ounces is a class
ized recreational marijuana, A misdemeanor.
has created.
Increased access to mar-
Workman, Lt. Steve Bar- ijuana has proven to lead
nett, Clatsop County Dis- to increased use, said Jill
trict Attorney Josh Marquis Quackenbush, a prevention
and Oregon Liquor Control supervisor with the Clatsop
Commission inspector Marc County Juvenile Depart-
Warren led a panel discussion ment. “If we’re growing it
Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Provi- and having it in our homes,
dence Seaside Hospital about young people will start using
the legal and commercial it more,” she said.
rollout of legalized marijua-
Marquis, a vocal opponent
na. The presentation was or- of legalized marijuana before
ganized through North Coast Measure 91 passed, said Ore-
Prevention Works, a local gon’s law is more wide-open
coalition working to prevent than Washington state and
drug use by minors.
Colorado, the other states —
“They’re not easy for cops along with Alaska — that
to grasp, let alone a parent,” have legalized the drug. Giv-
Workman said of the laws, ing marijuana to a minor is
reviewing the history of technically illegal, he said,
marijuana legislation and the but “as a practical matter, it’s
VSHFL¿F ODZV ZLWK 0HDVXUH going to happen all the time,
91.The new law allows peo- unless someone complains
ple over 21 to legally con- and comes forward.”
sume marijuana recreation-
ally in a private location and
grow up to four plants per
mental health crisis and need
a safe place to go, the chiefs
said. There are few local re-
VRXUFHVWKDWRI¿FHUVFDQHDV-
ily tap when they have ques-
tions or concerns while out
policing or when emergency
situations arise.
going diversity training at the
departments.
The chiefs said diversity
in their departments remains
a challenge. In small, rural
departments where there are
few chances for promotion,
it can be hard to attract a
wide range of good candi-
dates, they said.
$VWKHGH¿QLWLRQRIZKDW
makes for good police work
evolves, however, they have
changed how they interview
SRWHQWLDO RI¿FHU FDQGLGDWHV
Ham said. His department,
as well as the other depart-
ments, now try to zero in on
a candidate’s core, asking
how a candidate makes eth-
ical decisions and examples
of when the candidate has
made such decisions.
The answers, Ham said,
are deeply revealing.
In some cases, based on
these answers, they haven’t
hired someone who, oth-
erwise, earned high scores
on the other tests the de-
partments use to single out
strong candidates, tests the
departments used to rely on
heavily.
And though diversity
training is important, John-
ston and Workman pointed
out that, as social concerns
go, the question of how to
best deal with mental health
issues tops the list here, not
racism. There are next to
no beds available for peo-
ple who are experiencing a
PUBLISHER
New law too permissive,
could expose children to
drug, officials say
Laura Kaim
Wendy Richardson
Seaside Signal
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