Tag: Portland Police Bureau

Cops Police Their Own, Hales Hails

Article by Euripides Q. Steinfelt In an unforeseen move, Mayor Charlie Hales, who oversees the Portland police, announced this morning that all officers will have a video camera on their persons that records their every move while in uniform. The move was inspired by Rialto, California whose 66 police all wear cameras mounted on their…

What a Disgrace

by Daryl Turner, President, Portland Police Association Perhaps you have been following the horrible treatment of the Portland Police Bureau while the fair city that we serve has been negotiating a “settlement” with the Department of Justice about the levels of violence we police are accused of using against people with mental problems as well…

Justice For All? Public Demands Police Accountability

  Story by Pete Shaw A TALE OF TWO PORTLANDS TAKE ONE On Tuesday February 18th Federal Judge Michael Simon began hearing testimony regarding the proposed settlement agreement between the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the City of Portland. The agreement concerns the DOJ finding that the Police Bureau (PPB) “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…

Court to Judge “Fairness” of Department of Justice Settlement Agreement with City of Portland

Story by Pete Shaw • Photos by Bette Lee A “Fairness Hearing” about the Settlement Agreement resolving the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the City of Portland is scheduled for February 18th. The agreement arose out the the DOJ’s yearlong investigation that found the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) had “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…

Mulugeta Seraw Murder Intimately Woven Into Oregon History

Story by Pete Shaw How could this happen here? That was the question on many Portlanders’ lips on November 21, 1988, when three white supremacists were arrested in connection with the death of Mulugeta Seraw. Seraw, a 28-year-old Ethiopian immigrant who came to the US to attend college, was beaten with a baseball bat on…

Housing Justice Advocates Land Trial Date

Story and photos by Pete Shaw Local housing justice activists will go on trial in June for their attempts to help keep a foreclosed family in their home during an eviction in which police used pepper spray against protesters. In October 2012, deputies from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Portland police evicted Patricia…

Activist Targets Need to Reform Unchecked Police Power

By Pete Shaw Jo Ann Hardesty, a local activist and tireless voice in the struggle for police reform, was the featured speaker at a recent Justice Social Happy Hour. The March 12 gathering, hosted by the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation (MRG) at Portland’s Queen of Sheba restaurant, included a discussion on the movement to hold…