RAPPING BACK 30

Portland Copwatch member Dan Handelman analyzes
the Police "Union" Newsletter, the Rap Sheet

While the Portland Police Association does not set policy, the attitudes expressed toward citizens and civilian oversight, especially by PPA leadership, are cause for concern since their paper is for Portland's rank-and-file officers.

Support Your Brothers in Arms

In the PPA's newsletter the Rap Sheet (June issue), President Robert King confirmed that at the PPA, "we believe in and completely support officer McCollister."

He may be taking his cue from the same book as Rap Sheet Editor and Detective Peter Simpson, who in the same issue notes that Rudolph Giuliani wrote about the importance of standing by his employees no matter what. "Embrace those who are attacked." If they are guilty "there will be time to hold them accountable" but abandon them early and "you'll never wash away the smell of betrayal."

King complains about how the media and the public are focusing on McCollister's actions and not James'--actually a frequent criticism from people who seem to have plenty of access to the printing press. (One editor of the Oregonian, David Reinhard, on July 10, and Richard Lamountain, a guest columnist in the June 27 Portland Tribune, each also tried to blame the victim).

Simpson starts on a good path when he acknowledges that what happened to Kendra James was a tragedy. "Kendra James' family should be upset...and they should demand answers." But then, he clarifies that he means the question they should ask is "How did she end up living the type of life that got her into this situation?" Again, an attempt to draw attention away from police behavior and toward the victim.

Angry at Katz and Kroeker, Simpson criticizes a May 10 Oregonian article in which the Chief is quoted saying "I'm not happy about what happened." I hope this doesn't mean that Simpson expects the Chief--or anyone for that matter--to be happy when a civilian is shot.

King tried to elicit sympathy for McCollister by writing "When we are forced to shoot we hurt, we experience an overwhelming emotional reaction, and we suffer..." Whether or not the police do exprience emotional pain after shooting citizens, the problem with this statement is that nobody "forced" McCollister to shoot. This is a frequent turn-of-phrase used to obscure the fact that every time someone uses deadly force it is a choice (see PPRs #3 and others).

Simpson then notes that on May 20, Katz promised a review of policies, training and officer recruitment, which does "not instill a feeling of support among police officers." He says officers deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Claiming that only a vocal minority is upset about the shooting, he said that the day after the grand jury decision that exonerated McCollister, people he saw on the street were "as friendly or unfriendly as before." This does not prove anything, as the concern about one officer's actions may not change how people act toward all police, nor would they necessarily share their feelings with Simpson.

Side Note on the Kendra James Officers:

In the October, 2001 Rap Sheet, the Portland Police Association welcomed new members including Officer Rick Bean (DPSST #39770, left). Bean was the officer who pulled over the car that Kendra James was riding in on May 5, and let her know he recognized her (see Kendra James article). All three officers had less than two years' experience.

In 1995, two years after Officer Douglas Erickson shot Gerald Gratton in the back (hitting him 3 times with 27 shots, having reloaded his weapon), both Willamette Week and then-KPTV news anchor Lars Larson fought to get a photo of Erickson (see PPR #8). The Bureau refused, claiming the picture was private personnel information. Larson gave up and apparently changed his journalism ethics, since he claimed on his talk radio show in May that the community is "better off" without Kendra James.

Can Police Neutrally Support Constitutional Rights?

As reported in PPR #29, anti-war protests in Portland were met with some severe police treatment, including but not limited to alleged jaywalkers being knocked to the ground and unarmed crowds being doused with pepper spray. Comments made in subsequent issues of the Rap Sheet make us wonder whether the Police Bureau can be trusted to treat protestors fairly based on their behavior rather than the content of their speech.

Echoing the support of the officers who shoot civilians, PPA President King appears to be less concerned with the rights of those who choose to exercise their first amendment rights than his 900-member union. "We will weigh in on issues like tactics and hours of operation, but our first and greatest concern is for the well being and safety of every Portland Police Officer," he wrote in the April Rap Sheet.

Detective Simpson opened the door to actually showing contempt toward demonstrators and those who opposed the war (April Rap Sheet) "The first shots have been fired in the liberation of Iraq... Tempers will no doubt grow short when faced with the vehemently vocal protestors who chose to take out their frustration on a local Starbucks, the innocent commuter, and the tired police officer." Upset that the City Council and the County Commissioners even considered resolutions against the war (the County passed theirs 4-1, the City's failed 2-2), Simpson urged the Council to "stop playing to the vocal minority." Apparently the fact that over 30,000 people marched against the war in a metropolitan area whose population is about 1 million has no meaning to Simpson.

In a letter in the same issue, Officer Dan Thompson complains that Katz said she'd be marching at an anti-war rally. "It's hard enough to stand and watch good taxpayers' property be destroyed or our nation's symbols disrespected by criminal protestors, and then know our Police Commissioner is a part of the conspiracy." He calls her choice "unethical," asking whether when the time comes "will she support the police and property owners she has sworn to protect as an elected official, or the protestor she has aligned herself with as a fellow marcher?" I did not realize it is an explicit part of the Mayor's charge to protect property owners, rather than all citizens.

In May's Rap Sheet, Officer and PPA Vice President Daryl Turner furthers this idea by writing that the direction the police had was to "allow peaceful protest, but we would not allow protestors to block streets or bridges during rush hour traffic."

But one of the most explicit pieces which makes us wonder whether those batons and pepper spray were being used for more than mere crowd control came from Sgt. Pat Walsh (also in the May issue). In Walsh's column about "the difference between True American and an Anti- American," he berates protestors, telling them, "the young men and women fighting in Iraq are Patriots, you are not. Let me help you. You are what is commonly called a traitor."

He laments how the officers called to be on the 12 hour shifts are "calling their children and loved ones in the midst of these protests to tell them they love them...They continue to parent and nurture their relationships from the front line (something the protesters' parents must not have done!)."

The protestors "act like spoiled brats" while officers "defend the Constitution, giving them the rights they abuse."

If you filed a complaint against Sgt. Walsh for any acts of misconduct at a political protest, you may want to check out that article as part of your proof.

Slippery Ethics

--The Police Association ran two ads (featuring their logo side-by side with the Brewery's) and included a special insert in the May Rap Sheet for the Rock Bottom Brewery's "Copper Ale." This beer helps to raise money for police charities. It seems ironic to encourage people to drink to support activities for kids. The police spend a lot of time taking people to Detox for the mere "crime" of mouthing off, when no other crime exists, but perhaps they detect a whiff of alcohol and want to teach the person a lesson. In some cases, the people go to "dry out" whether or not they are technically "incapacitated"--unable to make a rational decision to accept help, or a danger to themselves or others. So if you do drink one for the "Coppers," don't mouth off to an officer, and please don't drive.

--The April Rap Sheet described two programs that help officers move into homes. Elizabeth Slyter, the author of the article, warns the rank-and-file that she does "not recommend" moving in near crime-ridden 15th and Killingsworth, and gives hints on how to get a house not listed in the "residency zone" outlined in the "Police at Home" program. "What you will need to do is to petition to be included based on the need for a police family in the neighborhood. Basically," she says, "saying you will bring up the quality of life by your sheer presence."

--Retired Rap Sheet editor and former Officer Loren Christensen's May "Book 'em" column highlights a video called "Minimum Damage, Maximum Effect," looking at less lethal weapons, including improvisations with credit cards and ball point pens.

The Rap Sheet is available from the Portland Police Association, 1313 NW 19th, Portland, OR 97209.
The PPA's website is at www.portlandpoliceassociation.com