June 03, 2003
Forum Details Surface As Aftermath of Kendra James Shooting Continues
Today's Portland Tribune gives an update on where various responses to the Kendra James shooting currently stand, beginning with a look at some statistics:
Statistics show that since January 1993, Portland police have shot 37 whites, 10 blacks, seven Hispanics and one Native American. Of those, 13 whites, four blacks and one Hispanic died. No Asians or Native Americans have been killed by police in the last 10 years.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, blacks make up 7 percent of the city's population. Since January 1993, 18 percent of people shot by Portland police have been black. Twenty-two percent of those who died were black.
...
[The Rev. Roy Tate of the Albina Ministerial Alliance] and other black leaders say the killings cannot be viewed in isolation. Instead, they say, the deaths are the result of police policies that unfairly target blacks for a variety of petty offenses, including traffic and curfew infractions.
Last year a police study found that 15 percent of all Portland police contacts with civilians involved blacks -- a rate that is more than twice their proportion of the population.
The Tribune also mentions Wednesday's trip to Salem to protest the state's "use of force" laws and rules governing the secrecy of grand juries, the newly-launched mayoral recall effort focused on police accountability matters, and the differing accounts of the shooting by those present. Also provided is the text of Oregon's law regarding deadly force, drawn from Chapter 161 of the Oregon Revised Statutes.
Meanwhile, The Oregonian reports that plans for a community forum are advancing:
A daylong community forum on the May 5 police shooting of Kendra James will be held June 14 at Jefferson High School, allowing the public to ask the police chief, district attorney and other police officials questions about the police use of deadly force.
The Albina Ministerial Alliance, led by the Rev. Roy Tate, has been organizing the forum with officials from Mayor Vera Katz's office and the Portland Police Bureau.
"We had asked the mayor for a public inquest," Tate said Monday. "This is going to be the closest thing that we can get."
Likely consisting of a moderated panel of law enforcement officials and community representatives, the forum is planned for 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
Previously unbeknownst to me, but indicated at the end of this article, is that the police interview transcripts regarding the James shooting have been posted online.
Comments (2)
The One True b!X on 03 Jun 2003
By the way, if anyone is intending to go to the Salem event on Wednesday morning and has room for a passenger, I would be greatly appreciative. I'm not absolutely certain that I need a ride, but it won't hurt to put out the call while I work on some other options.
Monia F. on 31 Mar 2004
I THINK THAT THE COPS IN PORTLAND ARE GETTIN OUT OF CONTROL.I DONT BLAME THE PEOPLES FAMILY THAT HAVE LOST SOME ONE OR EVEN THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN WITH SOMEONE THAT THEY LOST,BEIN RUDE IN SOMEWAYS TO THE COPS THATS WHY ITS DRAMA THESE DAYS CAUSE THE COPS ARE RACIST AND THEY HAVE NO CLUES ON WHAT TO DO.IN ANOTHER WORDS THEY DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOIN.