I swear, I thought you were being sarcastic/un-PC with the names...

God help us...

No, there is nothing cute or funny about this case. Those are their names, those are their pictures. The new Portland sport of beating up on folks on mass transit and on the street to prove how "hard" you are needs to be stopped before more people in this town violently die. Portlanders of all races and ethnicities should be deeply concerned about what is going on here. And it would be an equally disturbing story if it were Jason and Ryan and their middle-aged white fathers.

Most importantly, the City Council and the police should be ashamed of what they have let the city become.

Jack; Most importantly, the City Council and the police should be ashamed of what they have let the city become.
JK: But the city fathers have determined that it is more important to feed well over $50 million annually to developers, instead of to basic services, including police.

It is time to STOP urban renewal and STOP tax increment financing (TIF) and return all that money to basic services, including schools, social services, fire & police departments.

Thanks
JK

Has anyhone heard from the city's Office of Equity on this yet? Just kidding.

Haven't heard anything from the Black, I'm sorry, African-American community condemning these attacks on Portland's citizenry!

Total agreement here with what Jim Karlock says above.

JK: return all that money to basic services, including schools, social services, fire & police departments.

Don't leave out basic street repairs in CoP.

It would be naive to think "the city" will do anything but spin the hell out of this.

All those charges, and no hate crime charges? Can't say I am surprised. If this incident was turned around, you can bet there would be.

One of the little known facts about these instances is that they are simply the tip of the iceberg. The TriMet mouthpiece, Mary Fletch, is always careful to be extremely circumspect in speaking of crime on the system.

In her recent statements, Fletch has continually stated that these incidents are rare "on MAX." That is technically accurate. In regard her statements, one must consider that she is speaking narrowly, specifically, and directly about crime occurring on the train cars themselves.

However, when you look at the totality of crime on the system - including crimes in the Park and Rides, parking structures, on the platforms, or crimes where the victim or suspect has immediately departed them, the picture becomes much more alarming.

Like every other crime report, the news media picks and chooses what to report. Usually, it has to be "sexy", that is, something that will gather attention in the media. Or, it has to be in close proximity in time to something else that is (such as the current situation.)

It is similar to a citizen that goes on a Ride-Along with a District Patrol Officer on normal radio calls for service. A common statement by citizens, even on slow shifts was: "I never knew it was this busy." That's because less than 10% of what actually occurrs ever winds up in the media.

However, in the case of TriMet, there is a deliberate effort to obfuscate the facts regarding crime. The reason for this is simple, TriMet gets it money based on ridership statistics. They don't want a true and accurate portrayal of the problem because it would scare off "normal" citizens riders.

Additionally, in the past TriMet has habitually overturned exclusions or other enforcement action issued by it's own police, and looked at enforcement as the last resort in dealing with crime.

I know of one Metro Police agency that led a rebellion against this policy and threatened to pull all of its officers out of TriMet unless the practice was stopped. It was discontinued, but only for police actions taken within the city that complained.

That's why I'd walk before I ever used TriMet.

I heard that TriMet "might" issue exclusions if the perpetrators of the beatings were found....
This was before they had been identified and caught.

Given the city's agenda of slowly and constantly twisting the screws on the general population in order to craft its "vision" of a desired demographic, one has to ask what is it that really happened, a crime or an uprising on a personal level?

Which ones are the mothers?

One simple idea for TriMet to consider. Fire the bobble head doll PR person and use the money for another security guard.

It won't solve the problem, but it would be a start in the right direction. The PR Barbie just makes situations like this worse. Everyone knows she is lying to them and since it is our tax dollars being wasted, the net result is people feel insulted.

Get rid of the PR flacks and hire security and your PR will actually improve.

daughters are top row.

Their excellent role model mothers are bottom row.

Especially the one with the smirk, as they all know that at the end of the day, not much will happen to them for their violence against others.

Don't leave out basic street repairs in CoP.

I don't thinks Jim Karlock would ever leave out street improvements in a budget allocation.

But yes, I agree with Allan - this time Jim is right.

The second incident was over a bad transfer.
It's just not worth it.
$4 and now a huge mess....
All avoidable.................

We live in a society in which "acting out" and failing to conform to societal norms is no longer punished. In many Portland sub-cultures, it's actively celebrated.

The rotten fruit certainly doesn't seem to be falling far from the tree....Great family values out there in the hood..Are these marvelous mommies teaching their gurlz how to shoot straight too?

I'll disagree slightly with my friend Jim Karlock. Yes, urban renewal needs to be terminated, for lots of good reasons. But just because other service districts would get more money does not mean any of Portland's problems would be minimized or even addressed.

Portland Public Schools, police and fire bureaus, the water bureau and TriMet have all shown a propensity to squander large amounts of money when given the opportunity. So giving them more by abolishing TIF or through any other mechanism doesn't get me excited.

The growing level of lawlessness in Portland will have to be addressed at many levels. With regard to transit violence, it will help that the TriMet board seems to be finally ready to end the "free-rail" policy for downtown and Lloyd District. The whole "free-free-free" mentality fostered by this long-standing policy creates a culture of disrespect. The Board is ready to do it because TM is broke and they forecast getting $2.7 million more per year in fare revenue, but the larger benefit for the community is that it will probably improve the overall behavior of TM riders.

We also need the city council to start enforcing laws, including tresspass and nuisance. That doesn't necessarily require more money -- it might actually save money, as in the case of the "occupiers." The refusal of Sam Adams to enforce Parks regulations on the first day ultimately cost taxpayers a lot more money than if he had simply told the cops to do their job.

There is a serious need for an attitude adjustment at all levels in Portland -- with politicians, bureaucrats, so-called "business trade associations", and many parents. It can be done, but it will require more than just money.

We need a Charles Bronson ala "Death Wish" type of individual riding rails and exterminating these low lifes....

..Maybe the circuit court judges need to ride the MAX train in the afternoons for a few weeks...

Maybe the politicians who like themselves more choo choo trains like Blumenauer, and Charlie Hales, need to ride the Max train not only in the afternoons, but how about a few evening trips!!

...and then instead of living in places where they can escape the folly of their streetcar plans and decisions, have them live along those "developed" lines for awhile. Little cell-like unit housing for Charlie and Earl? Doubt that will ever happen.

Let us not forget to connect the dots here, why there is less money for public service and safety needs, education, etc. Think Earl and Charlie have anything to do with it?
Talk all they want, look at the result of their actions and agenda.

If Trimet ever got off its ass and started running this place with even a hint of sanity they would upgrade the fare collection system.

For all we know the two people charged may have gotten the wrong transfers from the last driver....IT DOES HAPPEN....A LOT!

If a SMART CARD system was implemented it would eliminate many of these problems created by the archaic paper transfers.

The system is creating the problems, from the fare less square to the archaic transfer procedure.

Meanwhile the bone heads in charge go on about their business collecting their fat pay checks and pretending
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN PORTLAND LA DEE DA~~~

It's sickening...

I agree clinamen. Let all of the city hierarchy ride Max. I took a trip out of town once and rode Max to PDX. The going out early in the morning was no problem. Coming back, mid-afternoon, no problem until Gateway. There, several young females boarded and the whole atmosphere changed to ignoring what was being shouted about and avoiding eye contact with the perps and their boy friends.

With regard to transit violence, it will help that the TriMet board seems to be finally ready to end the "free-rail" policy for downtown and Lloyd District. The whole "free-free-free" mentality fostered by this long-standing policy creates a culture of disrespect.

We also can't ignore Max's honor system for transit fares as a contributor here also - I think that fosters as much (or more) disrespect as the free ride districts.

I know of one Metro Police agency that led a rebellion against this policy and threatened to pull all of its officers out of TriMet unless the practice was stopped.

I believe that one police agency - Hillsboro - actually DID pull out of the Transit Police organization and started to assign cops to the MAX line (but not continuing east of Willow Creek/185th, so the officers would stay in Hillsboro).

The last several times I've ridden MAX into Hillsboro I've always counted on a mass police sweep of the train, usually at Hawthorne Farm, with a lot of cops, lots of fare inspections...very thorough. That might have stopped now that the dust has settled, but Hillsboro decided they weren't going to take any crap. I asked Neil McFarlane yesterday about Transit Police, who pays for it...and ultimately if a situation occurred on a bus line in Tigard if Transit Police would be able to assist and he only answered "TriMet" pays for it, and did not answer the other question. It's clear that even at the top, security is not a concern - it's all about the ridership numbers and placating the federal funding partners, not those that actually pay for and use the system.

This is five years old; apparently, nobody's had the guts to update the statistics, but it's still revealing:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/2007/11/max.html

As HMLA put it, That's why I'd walk before I ever used TriMet.

I would comment on this behavior, but I will not. There is no justice that needs to be done here that has not already been done through cyclical poverty and a crack pipe.

They are scum, deserve no sympathy, and in a country with balls the perpetrators and their entire extended family would be exiled to a place full of their kind in Liberia or Haiti, which ironically were the first nations of freed slaves.

Thanks Max. I put my trust in four things:
God, Corps, Country, and my Sig P229 .40 cal (not counting a couple of extra magazines...)