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Police Shootings... We're Tired of Having to Write About
This
We had hoped that our article in the last issue of the People's Police Report would be the final word on police shootings in 1997. However, we feel the need to report incidents involving Portland and Gresham Police, as well as a quick update on police who die in the line of duty. On September 23, 65 year old Bill Utton was shot multiple times by some of the 60 police officers who surrounded his trailer in Southeast Portland. The man, who was described by police as "despondent," had fired his gun into the floor of his trailer. Apparently, the officers from East Precinct and the Special Emergencies Response Team (SERT) became tired of waiting around for Utton to give himself up, and after five hours, fired tear gas into the trailer. The September 24 Oregonian says that Utton then fired shots toward the police, who killed him. In a follow-up article on October 9 titled "Port-land's SERT unit rarely has to shoot," the Oregonian repeated police-think verbatim by saying "Utton shot at them. Police said they had no choice, at that point, but to fire back." Once again, there is no question about the phrase "had no choice," despite the fact that dozens of similar situations have concluded non- violently in recent years with the presence of Portland's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). Public Information Officer Cliff Madison told us that no CIT trained officers were present at the standoff. CIT officers are trained to deal with people who appear to be deranged or mentally challenged. A Portland grand jury cleared the officers of wrongdoing, as usual. Apparently, though, this was the first shooting by the SERT team since 1991, Portland's banner year for shootings, when SERT shot three people.
The Oregonian cites a study by the Harvard Medical School that "shows a rise in so- called 'suicide by cop.' ... [E]xperts blame it in part on glamorous Hollywood images of shooting deaths and an increasing public awareness that police will almost certainly shoot and kill anyone who fires at them." In the Portland Police Association newsletter, the Rap Sheet, editor Loren Christensen criticizes an Oregonian cartoon which ran shortly after the shooting. The cartoon shows a critically ill patient calling the Portland police to help put him out of his misery. Christensen referred to the possible "antipolice agenda" of Jack Ohman, the cartoonist, and the Oregonian, questioning their sincerity in the full-page front stories they ran following the shooting death of Officer Thomas Jeffries. Without really explaining how he means this information to be received, Christensen refers to the "suicide by cop" study cited by the Oregonian. Is the point of this study to condone police action in fulfilling the wishes of suicidal civilians? If so, isn't Ohman's cartoon perfectly on target? Rightfully, Christensen points out that Portland now has specially trained CIT officers, a variety of "less-than-lethal weapons," and that deadly force has "had to" be used in a remarkably low number of cases recently. True, fatal shootings by Portland Police have declined somewhat in the last few years. But in the case of the despondent man in Southeast confronted by more than 60 officers, the CIT was not present. It is unknown whether the SERT team carries less-than-lethal weapons. So, Christensen's claim that "officers have no choice but to use deadly force against an assailant who is deliberately trying to kill them and possibly innocent bystanders" rings hollow.
Gresham Police Kill Woman The Thursday, September 11 Oregonian declared:"Gresham police kill woman after shooting in home". Three Gresham Officers shot and killed a Southeast Portland woman after she "barged in to the house of her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend and tried to kill her." Police said Judith Irene Hinch, 55, was killed "after firing at least one shot from a small caliber handgun at officers." Here is the spin put on this in the October Rap Sheet by Christensen: "Unfortunately, Gresham PD had to use deadly force last month." He criticizes a mainstream radio news program for having a teaser "Gresham police officers kill woman!" He points out that the radio station's purpose is a business which sells products via advertising. "They bend and twist the facts to be provocative." But what does the statement say? Officers kill woman. What in that sentence is untrue? Christensen goes on to say that a neighbor kid who heard the story on the radio got scared and looked at him with a wary eye. "Why do police kill women?" he said. He explains to the Rap Sheet audience that he expects this kind of reaction because parents probably tell their kids "don't do anything bad or that policeman will get you." "Parents are usually stupid and life is complicated for them, anyway," he shrugs. He goes on to say that the neighbor kid still seemed uncomfortable around him even after he explained why the police would have "no choice but to use deadly force." Perhaps through a child's eyes it is clear that killing another living being is always a choice.
Police Dying in the Line of Duty: Most Dangerous Job? On October 8, Sgt. Richard Schuening, an explosives expert with the Oregon State Police was laid to rest. He was trying to destroy illegal explosives in Eastern Oregon and was killed accidentally. Scheuning's funeral was reported on page one of the Metro section, unlike Officer Jeffries, who was killed by a criminal suspect and whose funeral was front page news. Similarly, Officer Rick Masunari, who died of a heart attack shortly after attending Jeffries' funeral, did not receive the same media treatment as a cop who was shot. Christensen mentions the Bureau has lost 5 members in 15 months -- one of whom was Sue Hill, who died in the explosion of TWA flight 800. This is not meant to minimize the deaths of any human beings, but to draw attention to the fact that police often use the statistics of officers dying in the line of duty to justify the brutality rates and the need for increased firepower. However, looking carefully at the numbers, there are as many deaths by vehicular accidents as shootings. A study published in the October Rap Sheet shows that the number of U.S. police who died in the line of duty went up 21% in the first 6 months of 1997. The 80 deaths this year include 34 shot (42.5%) plus 21 car accidents, 10 struck by vehicles, 4 motorcycle accidents and one plane crash. That's 36 deaths involving vehicles. The other deaths included 3 illnesses, 3 knife wounds, 2 falls, one strangled, and one unknown. But once again ignoring the plight of factory and construction workers, not to mention cab drivers (and high school teachers), the article states these figures are a "reminder that law enforcement is still the most dangerous profession in America today."
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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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