Three out of four ain't bad (Jack Bog's Blog)

There's an interesting video up on Portland Mayor Sam Adams's website. It's the press conference that was held yesterday about the recent gang violence in North Portland. Adams kicks it off, blathering away from a p.r. flack's script about what Portlanders can do to help -- rat out gang members, volunteer for youth programs, and get involved with one's neighborhood watch. All of which has been said a thousand times before, to little or no effect, since the gangs moved into Portland from L.A. nearly 30 years ago under Bud Clark's watch.

Adams once again blames the economy for the city's problems. Double-digit unemployment for 14 months, not seen since World War II, yada yada yada. Translation: The city's going to hell in a handbasket, but it's not my fault, honest.

The mayor screws up by boasting that there were multiple "folks" in custody in the latest teen shooting death. The police chief has to clarify later that only one person has been arrested. The Goofy One also blows the name of the commander of the North Precinct, but hey, what's a few details when you are a visionary?

After Adams sputters out and steps back, three members of the police brass take over the podium, and they are actually pretty professional. They outline some steps that they are taking, at least in the short term, to try to cool things off among the young gangsters. It doesn't sound too promising, but at least they are up there acknowledging that there is a serious problem and that they need to make a stronger effort.

I've often wondered why public appearances such as these aren't more common. Adams's grandstanding is pitiful, but when young people are dying violent deaths, it's more than appropriate for the law enforcement honchos to stand before the public to outline what's happening, and what they are trying to do about it.

In one way, I feel sorry for the police these days. Trying to get anything positive done during the collective nervous breakdown at City Hall has go to be quite a challenge.

Meanwhile, Maxine Bernstein of the O does a great job with the story of the latest shooting victim. Words fail to describe the tragedy, but she comes as close as you can get.

Comments (8)

If you are seriously looking for a root cause of the growing gang violence you should consider how millions of Illegal Alien adults have taken most of the entry level jobs leaving our youth with nothing but idle time and a poor education.

Posted by Abe | June 23, 2010 8:07 AM

The "goofy one". i like that moniker almost as much as the "samster".

Posted by the other Steve | June 23, 2010 8:17 AM

The article says that Billy Moore had "zero gang affiliation." I haven't seen it reported anywhere that his killer has any gang connections, though the presence of the gang task force suggests the possibility. Be that as it may, getting on the bus is not a criminal activity. And a 16-year-old getting on the bus who exchanges insults with another kid he doesn't know is not a scenario that should end in a shooting death. If he had instead thrown a pack of cigarettes we might wonder how it was he managed to get his hands on those, and how our decisions in adult society may have contributed or may have prevented it.

Posted by ep | June 23, 2010 10:17 AM

ep, they haven't reported the shooter is a gang member yet but...if a teen is packing a gun and willing to use it heavily suggests gang to most people.

Posted by darrin | June 23, 2010 10:34 AM

Gang violence escalates - Police step up enforcement efforts - Cries from the public about profiling - Police scale back enforcement - Gang violence escalates - Police step up enforcement efforts - Cries from the public about profiling - Police scale back enforcement - Gang violence escalates.....

Posted by Gibby | June 23, 2010 11:24 AM

Gibby you nailed it.

Posted by John Benton | June 23, 2010 11:27 AM

There's no requirement to resort to unsubstantiated guesswork here: If the police's gang task force is involved that's all the evidence I need that a gang connection is a possibility. They have to know a lot more about gang activity in Portland than I do.

This was also two teenagers that didn't know each other negotiating the mundane activity of getting on and off a bus. One can't help but see the similarity here to other trivial collisions of egos that rapidly escalate to violence: over parking spots, in traffic, between neighbors, outside the dance club, on the golf course, etc. A dispute suddenly erupts in a social environment to which there is no mediating authority and no recourse to rank; even normal, happy, healthy well-adjusted adults have been known to lose their minds in such cases. So we better hope that's not the case here. We better hope he's a gang member with a long criminal history, that he's something deeply and distinctly different from other kids. Looking to show off or get a gang promotion of some kind. Otherwise we may have to ask just how in the world is a 16-year-old kid walking around with a loaded handgun.

Posted by ep | June 23, 2010 12:15 PM

My observation would be the deceased was not a gang member, but mouthed off to a gangsta. Therefore he had to show that one does not mouth off indiscriminately to one that is carrying a gun. BTW, anyone hear anything from Jesse Jackson on this tragedy?

Posted by pdxjim | June 23, 2010 3:11 PM

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Three out of four ain't bad

Comments (8)

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