Story and photos by Pete Shaw “How on God’s green earth does justice reconcile it?” Emmett Wheatfall asked that question at least three times while reading his poem at a memorial service marking the five years that have passed since the Portland police executed Keaton Otis at the corner of NE 6th and Halsey. The…
Tag: police
Communities Fight for History on Road to Justice
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Story by Pete Shaw Of all the forms of struggle against oppression, there is none more fundamental than memory. It is the substrate from which all resistance germinates. Nurtured and nourished, those sprouts bloom, fruit, and scatter more seed upon ground both hallowed and fallow, their shoots pushing up with great tenacity against at times…
Cops Police Their Own, Hales Hails
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Article by Euripides Q. Steinfelt In an unforeseen move, Mayor Charlie Hales, who oversees the Portland police, announced this morning that all officers will have a video camera on their persons that records their every move while in uniform. The move was inspired by Rialto, California whose 66 police all wear cameras mounted on their…
Portland Houseless Storms Show No Sign of Abating
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Story by Pete Shaw Troy, a person without housing who sleeps outside near St. Francis Church on SE 12th Avenue, was assaulted on the night of March 2. “Last night I was sleeping in my sleeping bag. Had been there for a few hours when suddenly I hear someone say, ‘Hey, wake up. Get up’,”…
Court to Judge “Fairness” of Department of Justice Settlement Agreement with City of Portland
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Story by Pete Shaw • Photos by Bette Lee A “Fairness Hearing” about the Settlement Agreement resolving the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the City of Portland is scheduled for February 18th. The agreement arose out the the DOJ’s yearlong investigation that found the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) had “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…
Portland Anti-Eviction Movement Taking Names, Gaining Ground
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Fifty supporters of the eviction resistance movement gathered outside City Hall on November 16 to demand the City of Portland and Multnomah County declare a moratorium on evictions and the use of city police to help the sheriff enforce evictions. “We are bringing the fight to City Hall,” said…
Portland Police Stepping into Eviction Role with Both Feet
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Just after her husband had driven away to take their granddaughter to school on November 6, Heather Sirotak found herself confronted by 40 officers, some brandishing guns. Prior to entering the house with the aid of what she described as a battering ram, Sirotak said she heard one “bellowing”…
Getting Ready for the Beat Down
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by Vargus Pike I’m getting ready for the beat down I know it’s on the way. I’m getting ready for the beat down Just a matter of time. Uppity freedom talkers dare to talk freedom Saying he has a RIGHT to be an individual. She claims the right to determine her OWN destiny They clearly…
The Real is on the Rise
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This article was originally published on UMFNYC. When we took over the Vietnam Memorial on May 1, we were surrounded. We were surrounded on all sides by the infrastructure of this world, all that sustains it beyond its expiration like a giant life support system: the buildings that house corporations, the surveillance cameras, the police,…
Surprise! Occupy Portland Celebrates Manning, Shuts Down Recruiters
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by Pete Shaw, K. Kendall, and Elona Trogub The US government considers Army private first class Bradley Manning a threat. Such a threat, in fact, that he was held in military prison for over one and a half years–including 10 months in virtual solitary confinement–before being arraigned. Chanting “Free Bradley Manning!” and urging potential enlistees…
