Under the Gun By Joe Uris In less than ten years, ten men have died from police bullets in Portland. And although less than 10 percent of Portland’s population is black, six, or 60 percent, of those killed were black. In recent weeks, the Black United Front has begun the process of documenting incidents of alleged police brutality. The Portland Observer, a newspaper serving Portland’s black community, has given space to a number of incidents of alleged police misconduct toward members of the black community. Incidents noted in the Observer include: An elderly black woman was stopped by police while driving. In the course of her contact with the police, the contents of her purse were spilled on the street and she was made to pick them up while the cops made no gesture to help or apologize. A respected member of the black community, whose home is in Beaverton and whose credentials include leadership in several service organizations and employment as a professional for the state’s Children’s Services Division, while searching for his runaway daughter, was jumped upon by two policemen and, without being allowed a word of explanation, severely restrained and handcuffed and arrested. A young black man, arrested for attempting to evade police after an alleged traffic violation, reports that he was beaten twice while under arrest and in custody. His wounds required medical attention. Beginning in 1969, a Portland black family has found that each male child in the family has experienced intense police attention. This unusual concern on the part of the police stems, according to one Portland attorney, apparently from the family’s legal actions against the police following a warrantless entry into the family home back in the summer of 1969, during a violent confrontation with police and members of the black community. One major result of police actions against the black community over ten years ago was a consent decree filed in U.S. District Court in 1971. The decree in essence is an agreement by the police not to use weighted clubs, shot- filled gloves, searches without search warrants, or hidden badges, name tags and badge numbers in the course of police action. In the spring of this year, attorney Charles Merten sent a letter to Police Chief Baker, members of the city council, and the city attorney charging that all city records regarding the 1971 consent decree have been destroyed or disappeared and that the police deny knowledge of the decree’s terms and that there have been several incidents of young black men being subjected to racial slurs and beatings. Some of these beatings, Merten alleges, have resulted in the victims ending up in the hospital. Police spokesperson Dan Noelle, in responding to accusations made earlier in this article, asserted that the police department makes every effort to remove racist officers from situations in which such officers will be in contact with minority people. Noelle further pointed out that of the 549 complaints made against the Portland Police, police in-house investigations sustained only 28 of these but yet could only dismiss 301 complaints as totally baseless. Noelle stated, “ I hope no one is trying to build a political football” out of these accusations. There is no explanation for the high percentage of black deaths at police hands, however. In a situation of inequality, where racist fear, guilt and alienation flourish, such deaths, intended or not. seem inevitable. All official denials to 'the contrary, for the black community, or for anyone outside the establishment, for that matter, the problem of police violence is very real and very threatening. Continental Breakfast MELISA'S KITCHEN 239-4121 3553 S.E. HAWTHORNE Unique International Gourmet Cooking Savory Nigerian Style Smoked Chicken and BBQ Ribs Home Baked Breads and Pastries Authentic Nigerian delights — Suya, Chinchin, Akara and more. Mon.-Sat. 9-5 Let us cater your next dinner or party. A ll our foods are made with the finest natural ingredients. 9
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