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On October 29, Officer Steven Regalado was arrested for, among other things, trafficking marijuana. Portland residents may also remember that within the last two years, Officer Brad Benge, whose history included killing one civilian, was also brought up on marijuana charges. An article in the October 31 Oregonian relates part of Regalado's prior personnel record: a 1994 incident in which he assaulted two men who had attacked him while he was off-duty. The Oregonian makes much of the fact that the Portland Police Association intervened to prevent Regalado from being fired for his actions at that time. Next to the article is a sidebar with a list of 11 officers with high- profile misconduct cases, noting that 6 were re-instated after being fired and a seventh is appealing his firing.
In addition to his high-profile case history, Regalado was the subject of a PIIAC appeal regarding a
motorist he harassed for passing his police car by entering a bus lane. On December 12, PIIAC
advisors were informed that Internal Affairs was no longer pursuing this complaint--Regalado
resigned from the force on November 26. (-dh) October 22nd was once again named a National Day Against Police Brutality. In many cities, people wore black, displayed "Stolen Lives" projects featuring victims of police shootings and brutality, and marched in the streets. Of particular interest was the New York demonstration, where family and friends read a statement from Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was anally raped by police using a toilet plunger handle. Organizers of the events included the appropriately named October 22nd Coalition, San Francisco's Food Not Bombs, and the Revolutionary Communist Party.
We at Portland Copwatch consider EVERY DAY to be a national day against police brutality, and
hope you will join us. (-dh) Recently, a Portland Police budget director was paid $68,000 to drop a discrimination and workers compensation claim against the city. Nancy Dunford had made claims that the Chief of Police and other police had been violating budget regulations. According to articles in the Oregonian, her claims included that officials had: -falsified payroll records to have officers paid for overtime; -misused funds from the non-profit Sunshine division; -transferred an officer prior to his retirement to get him an "executive pay" package; and -ignored a city-wide hiring freeze.
In return, Chief Moose initiated an internal investigation against Dunford and demoted her. The
overall outcome: The taxpayers of this city paid Dunford to go away and drop all claims against
Moose and the city and never seek employment with the city again. (-nw/dh) (WHO HAPPENS TO BE THE CHIEF'S SON) The son of Portland Police Chief Charles Moose was arrested on charges of possession of rock cocaine, which was found when he was searched after being stopped for jaywalking. Judge Stephen Herrell dismissed the charges, rightly arguing that the officer had no cause to search Moose's person when his only crime had been jaywalking. The question of how many other young black men would receive this just treatment need hardly be asked. One need only look at the thousands of young people of color wasting away in jail and prison cells for non-violent drug offenses for the answer. Portland Copwatch congratulates David Moose for having the foresight to be born to the right father. (-cjs)
Back to top. Officer Erick Kammerer hit southeast Portland resident Mark Meddaugh with his squad car while driving to a crime scene in the early hours of October 3. That day's Oregonian reports that the officer was driving to a crime scene without emergency lights or sirens on, and the Police Bureau claims he was driving the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour. The critically injured man is currently in rehabilitation, having lost part of one leg in the accident. While it is certainly possible that there was no wrongdoing on the part of this officer, there has also been no investigation into the matter, at least not any that the public has been made aware of. The Police have been quick to insist that the officer was obeying the posted speed and also claim that the victim was jaywalking when he was hit. Even if true (which certainly cannot be assumed), we're not sure that either of these statements would be an adequate defense for a civilian charged with this person's injuries. (-cjs)
Back to top. On October 11th 1997, crime suspect Reginald B. Gafford was in custody at Multnomah County Justice Center. Gafford was being moved from a security cell to a "more comfortable" cell. News reports say that he became agitated and a struggle broke out between Gafford and five deputies. In the Oregonian, one article stated that Gafford was restrained to a backboard, then given a shot of ativan, an anti-anxiety mild sedative, from a nurse. Then he stopped breathing. In a more recent article, the Oregonian shows that there is a lot of confusion on what really took place that night. Dr. Ed Wilson, the country coroner, stated that "the cause of death was a rare combination of forcible restraint, physical combat and mental illness." In the original article, it was stated that the struggle between Gafford and the Sheriff's deputies took four to six minutes, yet the more recent article now says it lasted ten minutes. The second article informs us that the deputies had to "loosely" hog tie Gafford before restraining him to the backboard. Wilson stated that the only thing he could not rule out was the possibility that Gafford was in a position where he could not breathe. It's very strange how the information has been given out in this situation--and that there is a mental illness that causes you to go into cardiopulmonary arrest and die. Did we mention that Gafford was 29 and very healthy?
Sheriff Dan Noelle sums up the law enforcement perspective: "A significant battle took place.
It's important to remember that the possibility of our people getting hit and hurt was very high."
Indeed, it was found that there were scratches and a blow to Mr. Gafford's mouth. Do you believe
that this had nothing to do with his death, and that the deputies did everything according to
training?? (-nw)
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![[People's Police Report]](/PPRHEADER.GIF)
January, 1998
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#13 Table of Contents
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