"Watch the Portland cops get away with murder"

Great title.... Society is in trouble when those who are expected to work for "the people", report to "the people", and be accountable to "the people" get away with murder and are not held accountable.

The movie clip shows the cop answering the question: "Would you do it any differently?" with the retort..."Assuming none of this would happen?", meaning "Hell yes I'd do it again, if I did not have be accountable in court for my actions."

Time to make some big changes in the way police "serve and protect" their employers, the public. The unions need to make changes, the feeble & toothless Police Review Board needs to change, the way the police do not police their own bad apples needs to change. Lots of changes are needed.

Except one: repeal of the 2nd.

Gee, maybe they'll do another documentary about the family who hit the jackpot for putting their mentally ill family member out on the streets to eat, sleep, and defecate.

When you live in a police state you are ruled by the police.

Tyrants are seldom free; the cares and the instruments of their tyranny enslave them
(George Santayana)

It slays me that anyone has to point out the facts in this case at this late date, but there never seems to be a shortage of bobbleheads like Joubert.

Mr. Chasse wasn't homeless. He simply had the audacity to be out on the street that day, looking different and scared. The cops claimed they thought he was urinating, on the street, but it was proven to be nothing but a ruse for beating a man to death. As if.

It's nice how folks like you not only have to lie, but also need to embellish your lies to make the story sound even better. Cuz you know, poop is much worse than pee.

The PoPo is just pathetic. No rules, no empathy, no trust from anyone.
I am sure there are good cops, but the bad ones get all the publicity, and continue to wreak havoc on everyone with whom they come in contact.
I also wish that the mentally ill would be required to take their meds.

Cops all over seem to have taken an US against THEM approach to policing. I tell my kids, friends, whoever, to call a friend before a policeman except under extreme conditions. And then, act like a whooped dog - look down and do not speak so as not to threaten their Alpha adrenaline any more than possible. Whatever happened to civility, the cop as your friend, a gentleman? I guess all that hardware they wear changes who they are.

I must have astronomically exceptional luck.

Every encounter I've ever had with a police officer has been completely calm. I've been treated with respect and courtesy, even when the officer(s) have been called due to erroneous reports of a potentially dangerous and volatile situation involving drugs and weapons. (All complete fiction, the product of a high schooler's imaginative drama snowballing to reports to the school's counselor.) Then again, I've treated the cops with the same respect.

So, I guess I find it a little hard to understand comments like those from Nolo, Ex-, Native, and all the rest who need to accuse the entire force for the alleged actions of a few. I wasn't there with Chasse. Ex- suggests the cops were already predetermined to kill someone, and Chasse just happened to be in the way. Something of a stretch there, don't you think? A little hyperbolic, perhaps?

"Police state," Al? Portland? Really??

Whatever you say Joubert, the facts of this case have been aired in court and are readily available. James Chasse was not homeless, nor was he ever accused of defecating in public. Sorry if that conflicts with your storyline, but it's true.

Let me guess PDXLifer: you're white, male and of above average income, i.e., you have "astronomical, exceptional luck." If I'm wrong, I apologize, but it's a little self-centered to believe your experience would be shared by all others, isn't it? Just sayin' that's why we don't allow anecdotal evidence in court, right?

And I made no comment accusing the entire police force of anything, nor did I even insinuate that "the cops were already predetermined to kill someone." Seems like you're projecting your judgement of the cops' rogue behavior onto the cold, hard facts as I presented them.

Chasse was standing on a street corner, looking unkempt and scared and odd, nothing more. He was mentally ill and he was brutally beaten to death by those we pay to protect and serve. Nobody was found at fault. Those are the brutal facts and they suck but rewriting history and minimizing it only serve to add insult to injury in this travesty of justice.

Shameful and disgusting- if I still lived in Portland would I call the cops for help?
Hardly. Who are the real criminals?

Ex-

I was expressing my opinion. Whose experience should I base my reality on? By the way, stereotype much?

This is not an anti-cop film. We are not anti-cop. We live in civil society; we possess, maintain and protect rights, ours and others. With Alien Boy we use tools of art and craft to overcome political and bureaucratic barriers to justice.

Persons with mental illness are the most discriminated against persons - anywhere, anytime. All protections fail us; science, religion, law, industry, medicine, family, history, art, philosophy.

Important: since 2006 at the request of the police we have been careful in our advocacy to not use the word 'murder' and to not imply the acts of three officers indict others.

The position of the MHAP, not the film, is dedicated to reform, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Association_of_Portland