September 07, 2003
Partial Media Round-Up On Saturday's Albina Ministerial Alliance Event
Today's Sunday Oregonian covers yesterday's semi-release of the Albina Ministerial Alliance report on the Kendra James shooting.
On the shooting incident itself:
Police didn't try to resolve inconsistent statements from witnesses and ignored physical evidence, they said. Police officers present at the shooting weren't questioned quickly enough. And the police officer who shot the 21-year-old James, Scott McCollister, wasn't truthful about what happened and got off too lightly, they charged.
"Sometimes you have to speak plainly," said the Rev. W.G. Hardy Jr. "Simply, McCollister lied. He should have been indicted."
On the report's recommendations:
Among them: Officers should not be allowed to shoot into a moving vehicle unless occupants are shooting; officers should be trained longer and have a senior officer mentor for a year after they go on active duty; officers should be trained in how to de-escalate a situation; and they should be trained in CPR to help wounded suspects.
Meanwhile, a Portland Indymedia post includes the full text of the Executive Summary released yesterday, which I only quoted in part here. And another item on the site criticizes the event.
I'm also sitting on a set of comments by Commissioner Randy Leonard until I get similar responses from Commissioners Francesconi and Sten, who were also present for at least part of yesterday's event.