Alien boy (Jack Bog's Blog)

The witness that everybody's waiting for in the grand jury investigating the killing of Jim Jim Chasse turns out to be an expert witness -- an ex-medical examiner hired by the Chasse family. I must say, the family has more confidence in the grand jury than I would. If the district attorney wanted to, he could, as the saying goes, get the grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. But if the d.a. is not interested, the chances of criminal charges being filed are minuscule.

Bringing in the expert is a decision whose consequences the family's lawyers have carefully considered, of course. But given that the family may be suing the city eventually, putting the expert on the stand now is going to show the other side part of its hand.

In a related note, a reader dropped us a line the other day that included this. Before you click on that link, though, turn down your speakers, as some loud music may be coming out:

I think your Chasse coverage has been fantastic so far. I think this tribute by Greg Sage, the man behind Portland's legendary Wipers, is pretty amazing:
http://www.zenorecords.com/jimjim/jim.htm

More so because Greg Sage basically lives the life of a hermit and doesn't make public statements. His song "Alien Boy," about Chasse, seems spookily prescient. The whole tribute helps to provide more insight into who Chasse was. He seems to have been a muse of sorts for Sage. Given the Wipers huge influence on many bands, including Nirvana, this is big.

With all the new information that comes out about Chasse, it makes me reflect on how easily we dismiss the people we see on Portland's streets everyday.

It appears that Chasse spent years and years basically hanging out within 5 or so blocks of Powells. If we had community policing, there would have been beat cops who knew him and this would never have happened. (Beyond that there is the specific problem of Humphreys, one of the officers involved, who is generally referred to by public defenders as "a thumper" because he has trouble making arrests without going overboard.)

Just wanted to throw a few thoughts out there, but really to direct you to the Greg Sage tribute if you hadn't seen it yet.

Indeed I hadn't.

Comments (4)

Having Dr. Brady testify before the grand jury demonstrates that the family is in this to bring the perpetrators of this travesty to justice vis a vis criminal charges. From a tactical standpoint it will not make a huge difference in a civil trial down the road because the civil rights case will be in Federal District Court. Federal court rules mandate broad discovery, expert witness depositions and pre-trial disclosure statements. The families hand will be pretty well tipped whether their lawyers like it or not. My impression is that this family would rather see these jerks in jail as opposed to getting a big pile of money from the City of Portland's coffers anyhow.

Posted by Kevin | October 17, 2006 4:10 PM

From reading the reports, it seems that the man suffered 12 (twelve) broken ribs. Pre-existing medical condition, anyone?

Posted by Wayne | October 17, 2006 9:57 PM

Make that 16.

Posted by Wayne | October 17, 2006 9:59 PM

Thanks for posting the link to Greg Sage's tribute, Jack. For those of us that came of age here in Portland from the late 70's into the 80's, Greg Sage and his band, The Wipers, were legendary.
His song 'Alien Boy' in particular,conveyed a sense of alienation that many identified with, but one got the sense that there was something beneath the surface that was intensely personal, a secret we may never know, that brought an edge to the music. Seeing the Sage tribute to Mr. Chasse now makes perfect sense.

Posted by morty | October 17, 2006 10:27 PM

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Monday, October 16, 2006

Alien boy

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