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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Can’t (Portland) One of America’s Most ‘Progressive’ Cities Reform Its Police Force?
Last edited Tue Mar 17, 2015, 01:20 AM - Edit history (2)
As a Portlander, I take this news especially hard. Damn, we're better than that.
Or at least I thought we were.
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Why Cant One of Americas Most Progressive Cities Reform Its Police Force?
Zoë Carpenter * March 16, 2015 * The Nation
It was just after midnight on a September Sunday when several police officers, responding to reports of property damage, approached a small group of young black men walking down a street in north Portland, Oregon. Among them was 16-year-old Thai Gurule, a football player at Roosevelt High School, and his older brother Giovanni. Officers ordered Thai to stop. He kept walking.
Within minutes Thai would be tackled by several officers, forced to the ground, tased and handcuffed. Later, despite a judges ruling that the initial stop was illegal, hed face charges of resisting arrest, assaulting a public safety officer and attempted strangulation. Giovanni would face similar, though less serious, charges. The Portland Police Bureau worked quickly to defend their officers, releasing a statement that explained that the Gurule brothers were very hostile, and that Thai demonstrated active aggression, including his choking the female officer.
Cell phone videos captured a different scene: Thai, slight of body, standing still between two officers. Can I ask you a question? Giovanni can be heard saying. What did my little brother do? He dont do nothing. He plays football for Roosevelt, come on now. He dont drink. He dont smoke. Suddenly, the officers pull Thai towards the ground. His white hat falls off, and he reaches for it through the scrum. Officers bark orders, and bystanders shout: Stop pulling his hair! Why are you punching him? Thats illegal! Whats the problem that he caused? Fucking pigs! When they tase him, Thai begins to gasp, his high-pitched keening overlaid by the hoarser, panicked protests coming from his older brother.
Less than a month earlier, the Portland Police Bureau had reached a groundbreaking agreement with the Department of Justice to settle a case stemming from repeated incidences of police violence. There was the schizophrenic who was beaten to death by officers; the suicidal young black man who was shot in the back after concerned relatives called the police; another young man in a mental health crisis who was shot to death after cops pulled him over for driving like a gangster. The deal, as described by the DOJ, will put in place innovative new mechanisms for community oversight and requires reforms to training and use-of-force guidelines.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/201545/why-cant-one-americas-most-progressive-cities-reform-its-police-force
msongs
(67,405 posts)grasswire
(50,130 posts)no officer is ever held accountable
ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)I think the police union is mostly the problem, like with NYPD's
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)I don't quite follow that. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Portland is towing scams and meth.
ND-Dem
(4,571 posts)came to Portland.
And most are anything but progressive, though there are a few threads out there...
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)K&R