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Rapping Back #29: Tough-Guy Advice to the Front Lines Rap Sheet editor Detective Peter Simpson used his "Blue Light Special" column in the February issue of the Portland Police Association's newsletter to critique the recent cutbacks in the criminal justice system. He mourns that "Joey Dopedealer and Tommy Shoplifter" will be released from jail-- or never get prosecuted. Simpson suggests that to react to the cutbacks, police should only do what is most important. To street cops, he suggests, "continue to aggressively enforce the laws on those street-level thugs that cause so much damage to community safety. Get in their pockets and take their weapons and dope. Keep letting them know that you are going to jack them up when they are out of pocket." (Side note: Comparing police to UN observers in Bosnia, Simpson wrote, "Hell, if Copwatch had their way, we'd be unarmed observers!" ) Taps: Eternal Affairs Goes to the Hereafter For those of you who follow this column or read the Rap Sheet, you know that Sgt. Steve Morrow, formerly of Internal Affairs, wrote a regular piece for the PPA titled "A Word from Eternal Affairs," which mixed police advice with copious biblical quotes. In March's issue, editor Simpson notes that he decided to pull "Eternal Affairs" after receiving the only verbal complaints he's gotten about the Rap Sheet. These comments focused on the "appropriateness of an overtly religious column" in the Rap Sheet. Simpson justifies this because the Rap Sheet is "a police labor newspaper, supported by advertisers who believe in the work done by the men and women of the Portland Police Bureau." Simpson's quote shows that the folks at the Rap Sheet are concerned about offending their business supporters. That's interesting because I've talked to some business people who feel obligated to pay for an ad after being visited by a Police Association representative. Morrow, whose column was rejected for just two months, retired on March 1 anyway. Reasonable Suspicion and Safe Communities In his March "Poyntblanck Perspective" column, Officer Rob Blanck notes what he sees as a discrepancy in Police Directives, confusing domestic violence rules with other specific civil liberties protections. He relates the story of a disgruntled ex who called in a false complaint of his former wife fighting with her new lover. Police showed up to a serene scene. In alleged domestic abuse cases, police are required to take reports including the names of the citizens, family members and activities, which are then sent to "government assistance agencies." Blanck contrasts this to the PPB's refusal to interview 23 Arab men after 9-11 because of Oregon's laws prohibiting collecting information on those not suspected of a crime. "Partisan politics were alive and well in Portland as the left-leaning, liberal leaders wrapped themselves in the loophole...They paraded our police chief on national television standing tall with the American Civil Liberties Union applauding the stance against John Ashcroft's Justice Department... You would think Ashcroft was the 'Emperor of Evil.'" He references Directives 825.00-- DV Special Reports and 640.30-- Child Abuse Investigations, stating this process is "borderline an outright violation of Constitutional rights." However, the "181" statutes, which prohibit officers from gathering information when there is no suspected crime, have to do with "social, political and religious" views and immigration status (see legislation article in this issue) , unlike in possible domestic situations where violent criminal activity is allegedly taking place, and reasonable precautions need to be taken. As with cases which fall under Oregon's "181" laws these domestic violence files could be reviewed for accuracy and legitimacy before being permanently put into any records. Methinks Officer Blanck doth protest too much.
While the Portland Police Association does not set policy, the attitudes expressed toward citizens and civilian oversight, especially by PPA leadership, is cause for concern since their paper is for Portland's rank-and-file officers.
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May, 2003
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#29 Table of Contents
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