OMG and LOL funny. And I never EVER type those words.

Jackson AND Sharpton in the Whitest major city in America, whose police force has, what, a 70 year history of murdering Blacks right and left with nary a mutter of censure from on high ?

I was gonna leave town for Tejas next week, but already being on the fence with bad weather and travel...um, I'm sticking around for the show !!!

Jesse Jackson is visiting for what? To ask Sam Adams to accept the same justice he metered out to former Portland Police chief Derrick Foxworth? Is he coming here to support the members of the Black Community that lost a loved one due to gang violence? Someone help me see what Jesse could do to help settle the differences we have when it comes to the citizens of Portland their Police Department?

ex-cabbie, can you share with me how many black people have been killed by cops since 1988? do you know how many black people have been killed by black people since 1988?

I am just curious to know if you know....that is all.

Fred, are you saying you never want to run for office in Portland again? Because if you keep sticking up for the PoPo in the face of Jesse Jackson, you're done.

Hi Fred- Jackson's mere presence will turn up the heat on the Portland police - simply by his use of local and national media/publicity. He's not coming to settle everyone's differences - he's coming to put a big, fat spotlight on the whole situation. Sometimes when people won't do the right thing for the right reasons, immense public shaming works.

Jack,

I am sticking up for Portland. I want the issues we have with the Portland Police resolved. I do not feel Jesse is going to be a part of any solution. if anything in post President Obama America....Oregon. Jesse Jackson is a step backward.

Portland is going to solve its own problems with its Police Department. There is nothing Jesse can offer but the opportunity to waste time and lives. If people are not going to vote for me one day because I feel Jesse Jackson is not the leadership we need on this issue. There is a good chance they would not vote for a black guy like me anyway. There is nothing I can do about that.

Fred, to be quite frank, I have lost count.

Anyone have a tally since 1988 ? Since 1940 ?

Portland is going to solve its own problems with its Police Department.

When, Fred? I've been here 31½ years. It gets worse every year.

Let the dog and pony show begin !!

I fully agree with "dawn" that Jesse Jackson is NOT coming here for any reason other than to do what must be one...shine the light on Portland and it's out-of-control PoPo so the rest of the nation can realize what the hell is going on here.

It's like this>>>when you want to rid your place of roaches, you bring in the biggest light to shine on them. They'll either run as fast as possible--even stomping each other--to get back in the dark or stand still blinded long enough to get stomp.

((you say "stomp" is charged word to use in context with PoPo...what did Kyle Nice, Christopher Humphreys and Brete Barton do to the late-James Chassee?...these miserable jokes of a PPB stomp him to death...this is a FACT and well documented, in spite of the lies told from Robert King on down to Westerman, Roser Sizer, and of course, the three killer cops themselves...all liars...all disgusting liars!))

Jack, worse for who? Compared to what and when? Look we have issues that need to be resolved but lets be honest with ourselves. Jesse Jackson is not going to come here with the secret message and lead us into solving it. if we can not fix what is wrong with our Police Department with in Portland then we are never going to solve them.

Understand you are talking to a man that grew up listening to stories about the Portland Police and the black people they beat, maimed and killed that would make for good reasons to lose optimism for hope. What I see today is a lack of leadership from with in and I know the man that wanted to cut President Obama's balls off is just going to cost us more time and more lives. We do not need him and his presence here next week is not the right direction Portland should be moving toward improving the service we deserve from our Police Department.

Sure, let's have some more secret "investigations" that last 3-5 years, and whatever that firebrand Dan Saltzman has to offer. Much more effective than some busybody like Jesse Jackson.

Dawn Stomp Roaches,

It is not going to work. What we have here in the Portland Police Department is 5 generations deep of policies and culture that we have to peel away and only we can do that. The Police work for the city and the city is lead by the City Council. Where is the leadership on Council to resolve these problems? Problems that have been there the entire tenure of the entire City Council? Who is Jesse going to work with on Council that does not bear some responsibility for what we have today?

Fred, you are dead wrong. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the only hope we have of reigning in police violence in Portland. This has gone on too long, and the jackasses in charge of government here have done NOTHING about it. National black leaders like Jackson and Sharpton focusing attention on police brutality in Portland should give us hope that something will finally change.

Frank are you planning on voting for any of the current City Commissioners as they sue for re-election?

Fred - you've still got my vote.

Thanks. I am going to need it.

jack, lets not have more secret investigations and chalk up the mistakes we made in the past performing them as in the past. Lets start demanding that our City Commissioners live up to the leadership standards we deserve? We have a recall and two commissioners are running for re-election. All 3 for good reason are expecting to be working together come January 2011.

Well maybe that is one thing Jesse can do. Encourage us to support the recall of Sam Adams and to not vote for anyone on City Council today. If that will help, great.

It's easy to criticize the police. NONE of you have ever been in the shoes of the police, with your life on the line every day. Yes, the police screw up but folks its one of the hardest jobs around. Maybe Aaron Campbell should have thought about his own actions before going ballistic. Why isn't anyone questioning his actions? Jesse Jackson isn't coming out to Portland to help the Campbell family. He's coming here to grandstand and shine the light on himself. That's what he's been doing his entire life.

"He's coming here to grandstand and shine the light on himself. That's what he's been doing his entire life."
===

That's the truth! Jesse is all about himself. Portland happens to have the firestorm he is looking for right now, but once another race-bait opportunity happens elsewhere, he'll be gone asap.

But he could do some good damage while he is here. Maybe Doonesbury will do some cartoon work as well. Sad, but maybe that is how change happens in Portland, via shame.

dave - you're right, never been in the shoes of the police. I know MANY cops, though, and I know they will not speak out against bad cops and bad policies because they feel it would be a betrayal. They will, however, acknowledge the flaws in the system when speaking in private. The policing system in portland is broken. Training, policies and procedures with respect to the use of force, and deadly force in particular, run in direct opposition to protecting the safety and security of the public. I hope the attention that is being focused on this recent incident finally results in significant changes that will put an end to senseless and unwarranted violence and loss of life. I know a lot of cops who will feel a lot more pride in their chosen profession when that occurs.

The Good Reverend in Whitopia! That will be interesting.

Well, I'll be there.

Jackson has a unique perspective. He's seen this before - and we haven't. Sure we can guess about stupid maybe-racist cop scenarios, liberal elected hand-wringers, angry prospective voters - but Jackson's been here before, he's held grieving mothers, lectured mice in city halls, braced spines of colonial administrators, read scripture with the pastors: just how does the killing of Aaron Campbell express the glory of God? He might know.

There's great value in being able to foretell our future. Jackson may know it - certainly we don't. We should listen carefully.

Actually, Dave, I've worked at a job for 10 straight years, that according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Statistics, is three times as deadly as that of a LEO. 21 deaths per 100,000 per year as opposed to 7.

In any case, these Portland cops scare the hell out of me, and I'm White, and from the South...and one of the least politically correct individuals you will ever run across. I think Jackson's an amusing clown these days...I mean really, threatening to cut Obama's BALLS off ? It doesn't get any better than that.

I can't wait for the show.

Still, The PPB needs to be brought into line, to put it country simple. The people of this town shouldn't allow them to kill and kill, over and over again. It's just outrageous that they continually shoot unarmed people and nothing is ever done...

Jason,

You are wrong. If and when we ever meet. We will have to talk about why you have such a poor view of Portland and the black people that live here. I have to learn how to change your mind.

Will Jesse be riding a bike or a streetcar when he's visiting such a livable city?

is it just me, or has the talk of Jesse already made the comments here entertaining?

I can't wait until the man shows up to town.

Entertainment for all!

Ditto what dawn said.

...and Campbell did not "go ballistic" any more than Chasse peed on a wall. Campbell flinched and retreated, after being repeatedly shot with so-called "bean bags" that are regular shot in fabric. You can't find me 10 people who would have reacted less to those shots. The lie that Campbell brought it on himself needs to be stopped just like the lie that Chasse's family was at fault for his death needs to be stopped.

Fred Stewart, I've lived here 33 years and I had to look up who you are. My opinion is that you really don't get it. The PoPo have gotten worse over the years. And it's my opinion that probably the only fix for the situation is a federal investigation of the entire organization but that seems unlikely. And I doubt I'd ever vote for someone who appears to be so naive.

Thanks Fred, looking forward to meeting again. Perhaps when we meet you'll learn about my 30+ years in N Portland and catch up on the 20+ years of my community service.

I used the word "we" in my post above loosely to indicate the general character of Portland, which is white, apathetic, and disconnected from local politics. You're not. The "we" needs a kick in the pants. You don't.

"Poor Saltzman. How's his résumé,"

C'mon you know what Saltzman will do. He'll go on every march and demonstration in a show of solidarity and go outof his way to show his disapproval. It started with the funeral.

Then he'll get re-elected and go back to sleep and do nothing like now and before.

Fred, Im not sure what Jason said that makes you think he has a poor view of Portland and the black people that live here..

I just spent 4 weeks in Illinois Fred... maybe you should go back to Chicago and my hometown of Rockford and see if Portland should become more like them...it might give you a different perspective..

Look at the crime stats back there and who's killing who..especially look at the rate of shootings of school age students in the Chicago area..

I often hear the liberal voices in this town speak of how we need more diversity in this town.. I say to those mindsets, be the change you want to see and move into the neighborhoods of the people you wish there were more of in your neighborhood.. because as it stands now, many of the liberals say how they are so color blind, but they go back to their 99% white neighborhoods and never think that moving to a neighborhood of color is an option...

The point of my post is to say talk is cheap..

PS - This post in no way endorses or affirms the fate of Aaron Campbell was a justified action, because I do think it warrants further review..My sincerest sympathy goes to the Campbell family, but Im not going to knock the police department because they do far more good than not...

Black people are getting too good at protesting police shootings.

I guess practice makes perfect.

Jason,

Look forward to meeting you. When Jesse is gone and the distractions he will cause has passed. lets address the problems we have with the Portland Police Department with the fairness and open mind and heart. In the mean time, I hope you will join me in holding current leadership on Council responsible for what we have today.

Jesse Jackson is NOT coming here for any reason other than to do what must be one...shine the light on Portland and it's out-of-control PoPo so the rest of the nation can realize what the hell is going on here.

Riiight. Jesse Jackson's only job is to keep racial bias alive and make sure keep keeps himself relevant. Thats the only reason he goes anywhere.

Maybe Jesse can spare a moment to comment on the drug war that creates nightmares like this and leads to the huge empire-building in the police arena:

http://www.aclu.org/blog/drug-law-reform/letter-behind-bars-president-s-day

Letter from a Portland woman to Obama seeking the have her 27-year sentence cut off after only 17 years served (on a non-violent first-time offense).

We saw a "Frontline" from PBS media truck out in front of city hall last week. Which scandal do you all suppose they are investigating?
Portland could be headed for the semi big time media, and not in the linch-pin, planning, go by street car way.
BTW I have discovered a (new to me) term; "urban collector", aka, a street with sidewalks and a bike lane.

For all the blather about Portland's vaunted "livability," it seems that "die-ability" has become one of the city's defining characteristics.

As long as Thumper and his out-of-control buddies continue to do their thing, lots of young (and too often black) people are going to be doing a lot less living in Portland. Permanently.

Let's hope that green and yellow or orange and black don't become identified as "gang colors," or Salem will soon be Oregon's most populous city.

Why wasn't Jesse Jackson here last year when that high school girl was gunned down by gang members in North Portland?

Will Jesse call for the nuts of some Portland figure as he did for Obama?

Why wasn't Jesse Jackson here last year when that high school girl was gunned down by gang members in North Portland?

It's hard to shame criminals into lawful, decent behavior by giving them a bunch of bad publicity. It's sort of what defines them as criminals.

On the other hand, police operate as an arm of the government, and government -- generally tending toward following the law -- tends to be a bit more responsive to having its public image tarnished.

What gang members might view as a positive sign of how bad they are, garnered through a visit by someone like Jackson, doesn't look so good on public servants like the police or city governments.

While it seems completely haywire that one Grand Jury after another lets the police off scott free after each episode of violence, I suspect it has more to do with the laws and their interpretation by the court than with the venality of the jurors. Let's face it, the Portland Police show little care for human life or dignity. They treat citizens as guilty period. The latest victim after being shot in the back was allowed to lie and bleed out before even being approached by a police officer. This whole system needs to change. This is very sad...

I had hoped in these comments that there would be more discussion of how Mayor Adams has averted the numerous PPD issue. He has the full authority by city statutes to face the issues. He hasn't really been questioned by the media, nor here or elsewhere of why he doesn't step up. Other city council members also haven't been called to task. Why not?

"It's hard to shame criminals into lawful, decent behavior by giving them a bunch of bad publicity. It's sort of what defines them as criminals."

Actually, you can reform criminals into good citizens through positive outreach. That's just a cop-out statement by you.

There's too many negative situations in Africa-American communities like gangs, poverty, and other criminal activity that his efforts would best be directed.

It would be nice to see him more associated with addressing those issues firstly (and he probably does) but I see his presence as trying to insinuate racial bias on part of the PPD. Maybe I'm reading between the lines, but why else would he be here?

The Aaron Campbell case has nothing to do with racism. You can argue excessive force all you want, but there's little reason for the individuals race to even be mentioned (like I have read in an Oregonian article).

I'd also like to know the racial makeup of the grand jury members, they're the ones who decided to not indict, anyways. Maybe that will ease some tensions if people knew they were of color.

Start asking the right questions like: What do Michael Schrunk and his friends owe the cops and why. It' deep and bad, much deeper and worse than I think most people want to admit. Who was the defense lawyer who was murdered at Thanksgiving, Nancy Bergeson? The cops and FBI who investigated found natural causes, before that was overturned by medical examiners. She was found by her dog walker, seen through a window with a view to the street. Did the person who srangled her do it in front of that window? My guess is no and that the that the lawyer had information that indicted some good ole boy or girl.

Jackson is unlikely to make a difference. He wib;t focus the investigation, just create drama.

http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/listofshootings.html

That doesn't look to me like things are "getting worse." But hey, I lived in Washington, DC for 14 years. Hundreds and hundreds of murders every year (many by the police).

Portland really doesn't have it so bad.

Jack,

You've been here 31½ years. It gets worse every year.

So you remember when PPD folks tossed dead opossums at black-owned restaurants, back in the day. You remember the raid on the Gypsy Joker bike club, subsequently revealed as a fatal setup? Oh. Those killed there were white. Nevermind, as as Roseanne Rosanadana would say.

I disagree with your view that it gets worse every year. We don't have cops tossing possums, and we don't have cops planting drugs on dead bikers.

Are these reasons to slow up on vigilance? Of course not. At the same time, it's irresponsible to equate today's PPD with those in the 1970's - and worse to claim that improvements in terms of procedures and responsibility have not been forthcoming over the years.

Thanks for the usual cop b.s. bluster, but I stand by what I said. The PoPo is more out of control now than it has been since 1978.

Chasse was the most vicious killing ever by a Portland cop in that period.

To leave Humphreys on the street to beanbag a 12-year-old girl on the ground over a Tri-Met exclusion is felonious.

Suicidal guy? Send Frashour with a rifle -- great call.

Squeaky Young -- shot in the back driving away.

James Jahar Perez -- unarmed, pretext stop, dead.

Please go back to your hidey-hole squad car and enjoy a free donut.

Is this what happens when liberals are in charge?

"To leave Humphreys on the street to beanbag a 12-year-old girl on the ground over a Tri-Met exclusion is felonious."

Actually, she was bean bagged assaulting a police officer. She didn't get bean bagged over her exclusion for Tri-Met (which btw was due to her being in possession of a stolen purse at the time).

I can't imagine why that *innocent* 12 year old girl got darn bruise from a bean bag.

WS the 15 yr old was standing still and the officer swung his arm up and hit her in the back of the head driving her to bend over. Only then did this minor swing back. A lot like a person grabbing at the spot a bean bag hits them.

Also ws it was only after the officer that hit her upside the head, slugged her at least twice, had her flat on the ground and was on top, did Hump shoot at her thigh that was sticking out.

The death of Aaron Campbell has nothing to do with gang violence, unless you are referring to the police as a gang. He was a distraught, suicidal, unarmed Black man who was shot in the back with an assault rifle in the middle of an apartment complex.

The Grand Jury did not interview Officer Reyna, the officer in charge of the Aaron Campbell incident, saying they had all the information they needed. What were they or the District Attorney afraid to hear?

This is part of a greater pattern. Ask Delease Carter a Black woman who was assaulted by cops the day before Campbell was killed. In a column in today's Oregonian Harry Carson, an attorney with Metropolitan Public Defender wrote: "I can understand that police officers want to curtail violence and protect the public. But they simply must not be allowed to try to do so by violating the constitutional rights of our citizens. The officers involved in the Delease Carter case acted illegally. They should be disciplined."

I am glad Rev. Jackson is coming here to Portland. It takes what it takes to get justice. Sometimes shining the spotlight of national attention is what is needed.

I wonder if the police training manual is available to the public??

These rubber-stamped killings are always excused by "officers' actions within training guidelines".

I'd like to know the whole cloth, so to speak, of their training operations, not just a sentence or two in a press release about the officers "feeling threatened."

Learned a few things from this thread. It is incredible how much ground a thread can cover. A lot of food for thought to take in.

Actually, you can reform criminals into good citizens through positive outreach. That's just a cop-out statement by you.

Actually, it's not. While I do think outreach can often work, that's a long-term solution requiring significant involvement on the part of the community and local government. That's not something within Jackson's purview. A brief appearance by Jackson in Portland is going to deliver a short, sharp push of publicity, and that's much more likely to affect government organizations than it is some random collection of gang members.

And, I might note, Jesse Jackson and the organizations he's involved with do get involved in campaigns against gang violence.

Maybe I'm reading between the lines, but why else would he be here?

Because one of the major community groups in the African-American community are the churches, the Albina Ministerial Alliance was the group that organized the protest, and ministers like Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have been spokesmen for the African-American community for decades. That would be my guess anyway. I don't know if there was a racist angle to the shooting myself -- it would be kind of interesting if Jackson brought up James Chasse's case if he talks about the PPB being out of control -- but there's a certain amount of history of racism within the ranks. Of course, it could also be that some of the guys are just a bit wacko and shouldn't be on the beat.

I'm sort of surprised in all of this discussion that the Gresham triple shooting by a police officer hasn't come up. Sure, it was a domestic violence case, not an on-duty shooting, but the guy was sufficiently unhinged that he shot three women in the head before he killed himself.

dman:"WS the 15 yr old was standing still and the officer swung his arm up and hit her in the back of the head driving her to bend over. Only then did this minor swing back. A lot like a person grabbing at the spot a bean bag hits them."

ws:I am not seeing that in this video:

http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2009/11/portland_police_officer_shoots.html

I see her struggling (and assaulting the officers) well before she was taken to the ground or being "driven to bend over". She stopped resisting (and assaulting) once she was bean bagged, btw.

I can agree that police officers are out of line all of the time. Chasse was a prime example of excessive force, but I really can't wrap my head around a lot of this anti-police sentiment that gets thrown around.

Anne T.:"The death of Aaron Campbell has nothing to do with gang violence, unless you are referring to the police as a gang. He was a distraught, suicidal, unarmed Black man who was shot in the back with an assault rifle in the middle of an apartment complex."

ws:This is what I mean by injecting racism...what does his race have to do with the situation, Anne T.?

ws there were two videos available on youtube of the max incident. Both are shown together here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzZo11cqADs

My observations are done on a large high definition monitor and using Vegas Pro 9. Software to zoom in, correct contrast, brightness and such. Using Frame by frame and slow motion I can identify the position and movement of the body and extremity's.

I have no idea why the professionals that use this stuff every day in Portland haven't done this with the original digital material.

I might add, when an officer is putting an individual under arrest, they are vulnerable to attack, and I'm assuming that's why they used that tactic to keep her head "tucked down", as you mentioned.

This "girl" has a Tri-Met exclusion at 12 years old for possessing a purse that was not hers.

She even violated those terms by riding the MAX again. For crying out loud, I couldn't even begin to imagine being in that kind of trouble at 12 years old.

Seriously, I was riding my bike and collection comic books at 12.

A previous post of mine is not showing, but from the video I saw the officer tried and arrest the suspect w/o force, she pulled her hands away, the officer then "ducked" her head down in order to restrain her, and then she uppercut punched the office to which a melee ensued.

I am not sure what you're seeing or interpretation is, but that's what I see.

Whatever ws.
I screened it for some LE officers and was told he was not following proper procedure and the rest of it was a huge cluster fusk- getting her up slamming her down, letting go of her hands several times.

Think for a minute about what a judge and jury is for. It doesn't matter if she was a child molesting serial killer, these cops are way out of line and the nation is starting to take notice.