DICKIE DOW'S DEATH WAKES UP MEDIA TO
POLICE BRUTALITY ISSUE...A LITTLE

Although Dickie Dow's death received ample media coverage, most of it treated the incident in isolation, or referred to other incidents from years ago. A few TV stations got the connection between this death and the pepper spray death of Brian Penton in June. None addressed the support given to the police by the coroner's office or the general pattern of police being out of control, particularly since September of 1997.

There was also very little talk about the accountability system in place in Portland (Internal Affairs, PIIAC), or even a discussion of how the public is never allowed to know what discipline is imposed when officers are found guilty of misconduct.

Initially, a few TV stations referred to the Dow incident as a "beating death" but recanted when the coroner said he'd died of "sudden death syndrome." There was no speculation by the media that pepper spray or police holds may have contributed to Dow's "sudden death."

One positive outcome, though, was that the October 24th march and the Vickers' memorial vigil were both promoted on the news to some extent. Portland Copwatch was interviewed by two stations about police accountability. The Skanner ran an article about PIIAC and how it is overdue for revision after February's special City Council session. The article also mentions that Copwatch thinks Portland's "review board" should have independent investigators. And, for what it's worth, the October 28 Willamette Week listed Copwatch in its "Winners" column, for finally getting our efforts recognized after years of "complaining." Of course, WW is just as guilty of keeping us out of the spotlight-we're normally referred to as "police watchdogs" or "a citizen's group."

PDXS, one of the only papers in town making an effort to look at police brutality issues, also mentioned Copwatch in their November 13 editorial for keeping the issue of pepper-spray deaths in the public eye.