Great post as always, KC.

What do you make of the video in the Oregonian piece linked at the bottom of your post? The still shots that begin at the 0:45 mark are not only out of context, but seem to go out of their way to highlight Ms. Carter's black cell phone (attached to her belt), tattoos, black hat and diamond earring, as if they somehow justify getting thrown to the ground by a Portland police officer.

Furthermore, why is the headline in the opening of the video "On Jan. 28 Delease Carter, a 21 year-old PCC student, CLAIMS she was slammed to the ground and injured...?" She wasn't CLAIMING anything. It happened. The cop filed a report and everything. Why is it that when a young person of color experiences police brutality, we refuse to take them at their word, even when their brutalizers corroborate the story?

If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that at any second my comfortable warm-up pants could make me look like a troublemaker

Don't wear them down off your butt!

Points taken. Good post. I like the "who feels it knows it tone".

It is almost criminal that our police departments have no procedures for "profiling" bigoted police officers. They seem to think that a big, hulking sadistic brute filled with hatred that wants to wear a uniform, carry and use weapons makes the very best police officer.

Of course I am only 75 years old, so what do I know.

How clueless and unthinking must you be to not even see the gender of the person you are throwing to the ground?

How is it possible that it's legal to be thrown to the ground for doing nothing more than wearing a baseball hat and being black? Where in the hell do we live?

I want an answer from Rosie Sizer about how this can still go on.

Karol, this is a great post. As a Black man working with and around police officers, and as a father and uncle I have taught my children, neices and nephews how to respond/ react to and around police. My pain stems from having to look them in the face and say "it's not fair, and it's just not!" And we aim to teach them to treat others how they would like to be treated. My mother once told me that her worst fear when I was a teenager was not that I would be hurt in a car accident, attacked by other teens, or robbed, but rather that I would be attacked and/ or killed by police officers for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, possibly wearing the wrong thing or maybe even being around the wrong people...

I used to think that cops just hassled Black people simply because they could be up to no good due to the color of their skin. Then my friend got mugged along N. Lombard. The only description he could give was "Black guy, tall, baggy pants, jersey, Red hat." If this is the only description cops have to work with, then that's what they'll profile.

Unfortunately, the majority of people who report violent crimes can't give good descriptions of the offender regardless of what race the criminal was, so dragnets (as the PCC guard experienced) are often applied liberally to whoever fits that description. For violent criminals, cops assume that the person is armed and can take no chances with their own safety. As a result, people get hassled and they perceive this as a racial stereotype. Realistically, though, it's most likely a result of the inherent inefficiency of police with regard to finding criminals after the act.

This is a story that speaks to two problems that are definitely related. One, profiling by cops--sure.

The other profilers of course are kids in N. Portland. PCC is in a neighborhood in which being African American and wearing a blue hat will get you targeted by a far more heinous group, harassed or worse...by other kids from the community. The bus stop at Albina and K-worth is frequented by groups of teens all wearing one uniform (red) or the other(blue.)

A neighbor who'd been killed whose main crime seems to have been that he was a crip a decade before his murder. Killed at his grandma's house while his kids slept upstairs. It wasn't the cops who killed him.

I've got pretty strong feelings about it b/c while I didn't know him well, I was the last person to touch him alive.

The community needs to step up and deal with the gangs as much or more than the cops need to deal with their mentality.

But as i said at the top- these are mutually re-enforcing problems.

To clarify, by sure at the end of paragraph one I mean definitely.

By uniform I mean one plainly visible article of clothing, such as a blue cap or red sweatshirt worn with black clothes. On one person coincidence, on every person in a group of eight..not coincidence.

You don't have to be black to be treated that way buy the Portland Police Bur.

I believe that a culture of tolerance of this kind of behavior has evolved over time in the police department. I believe that we need to replentish much of the command level officers, they need to start over.

The constant excuse of inadequate training is so worn out that the impression is of a criminal enterprise comes to mind when their union representative spouts it. I almost expect Oscar Goodman and Anthony Spilotro should be coming into the lights for the cameras, and a interview for the evening news.

This is a real problem for the PPB and so long as they let these incidents go unpunished from top to bottom in the chain of command, we can only expect this to get worse. This situation corrodes at the core of what policing is, a trust with the community.

I talked to Adams and wrote to him about how the lack of adequate transportation contributes to the lack of access to jobs. He didn't do anything to change the situation.

Improve the job situation and you'll put a dent in the crime problem and the social ills that go with it. 'Course I've written about that on her as well. I do believe I commented on that issue in one of your previous post Karol.

The police area afraid of the community. Police training creates the "us" versus "them" dynamic. They are trained to react and respond to "threats". Everyone not a police officer is a potential "threat". Couple that with their lack of knowledge and/or exposure of other cultures and you get a reaction of "fear" for their safety/life. Police training is all about "officer safety". We need to find a balance of officer safety and the public's safety.

Officers should know and have relationships with the average community member to allay the perception that "if your not one of "us" then I must fear you".

After reading the article in the Oregonian, I wasn't sure if there actually was a black police oficer on the scene or if they just mentioned Derrick Foxworth Jr, to make it seem as if there was a black cop in the Police Dept. Regardless, no young woman or man should have to deal with this. @Rob, you are right, it's not fair and it's unfortunate that we have to tell our kids that in 2010.

Law enforcement doesn't "cock" their firearms when pointing them at suspects. Most local agencies carry Glock pistols which are carried with one in the chamber and there is no "cocking" action or safety to mess with. The only thing required to shoot is a squeeze of the trigger.

Perhaps your "victim" should get her hearing checked.

How clueless and unthinking must you be to not even see the gender of the person you are throwing to the ground?

Based on the photo of her that was in the story I read, I couldn't tell what gender she was.

Karol and others

Have you ever had the opportunity to ride along with any agency for a day. If not, I suggest you do. The officers tend to be very forthcoming and open. The experience can also be an eyeopener for you. Especially when they show you how to release the shotgun and place a distress call in the event YOUR life is in danger.

You can ride along with the PPB here

mp97303,

No, it is much easier believing that the cops today are exactly like the ones in Selma, AL holding the fire hoses during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Riding along with them for an entire shift and seeing what they do would expose their humanity in dealing with the dregs of human society. We would never want to do that because of our preconceived notions of cops that we see and read from the safety of our $300k+ home in Portland, OR proper.

It is much easier wallowing in ignorance, then facing our fears and getting to know these individuals whom many see as nothing more than Aryan thugs. If we see their humanity, then our ignorant view that took 20+ years to build and reinforce will be shattered within one ride-a-long. Never that.

BTW, why is the female in the pic dressed like a man?

Racial profiling does not always target minorities. In 2002, during the sniper attacks that terrorized Washington-area residents for months, http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/acai-max-cleanse-review-risk-free-trial-1854829.html

Karol, I want to thank you for an excellent article, that articulates what it feels like to be constantly treated as an "it" instead of a person, and having to live in constant fear.

As an "outsider" (recent transplant to Portland), there is a simple reality here, and it would seem no one wants to articulate it, racism. It's Oregon's dirty little secret. And no one wants to call it, not even the African American leadership in this town, who seem terrified to call it out for what it is, I guess because they fear being politically lynched.

I grew up in segregation, I remember the day the "colored" and "white" signs came down, the day my school was integrated, all of that stuff. For people from the south, race and racism are both conscious realities, and we learned that (like the Jews do with the Holocaust) the only way to keep it from happening again is to TALK ABOUT IT.

Oregonians don't talk about it. We (and I say "we" because after five years, I think I begin to qualify as an Oregonian), we don't talk about the horrifically racist past of this region, it's large numbers of KKK members, the "sundown" laws, etc.

And because we don't, the attitudes unconsciously remain. "You're not one of 'us.'" If I, as a white, gay man, feel this "not one of us" thing, then I can only imagine what it must be like for a person of color, and the stories my friends of color tell me confirm those feelings.

Perhaps we "outsiders" have some experience and skills that "native Oregonians" can learn from. Are you listening Mary?

In the 1960's, Martin Luther King Jr. talked about how segregation was crippling the south, and destroying the potential of the region for development and advancement.

I want to propose that the "native/outsider" paradigm here is doing the same thing. If we want to attract investment and jobs to this region, we must look at the realities of our racist present, our lack of enthusiastic hospitality and welcome to people from other places, and how "we" participate in the perpetuation of these problems.

All this finger pointing at the police, at the mayor or city commission will not change the situation much. The pervasive unconscious racism of this region is the problem. Maybe we need to talk to some "outsiders" to learn this. I was at the Celsi awards last night, and you did a great job as M.C. But as I looked around the room, there was a glaring absence of people of color. Yes, you were the M.C. and award was given to a very gracious African American woman. Promise was there, and a couple of other folks who were not white. But no one was there from the leadership of Thursday's rally at the Justice Center. In fact I never see any significant presence of the African American leadership of the city at any of the Democratic functions. What's with that? Can anyone tell me?

I have a good friend here, who moved here from New York about two years ago. His family is from Brazil and the Virgin Islands. He is fluent in Portugese, and speaks perfect English as well (his first language). He always dresses to "the nines" and is black and gay. After three decades of world travel as a flight attendant, his description of Portland, "racist M.F." the worst he's ever seen. Another friend (black), also a transplant from California, called me up in tears a couple of years ago, having been verbally slammed in the restroom at work, pregnant with her first child, crying to me about how she feared for her coming child's safety in this city.

Are we going to have an honest conversation about race and racism in Oregon? Are we going to look at the "State of Black Oregon" and realize that something is horrifically wrong with our status quo? Are we willing to consider that just because one is a "liberal" or a "progressive" does not necessarily mean that one has worked through one's own issues with "difference?"

Until we do, not much will change, and people of color will continue to feel like "outsiders" in this city, no matter how many generations their family has been here.

And those of us who are "outsiders" (who now constitute over 50% of the city) will continue to quietly talk among ourselves about how provincial some of the attitudes are here, and how difficult it is to talk to the "natives" about the glaring need for changes in the social and racial attitudes that permeate local leadership.

Regards, Ed Garren candidate for City Commission, seat #3 www.EdForPDX.com

Likewise, an African-American male reaching for his waistband for a presumed weapon can be repeatedly shot by a police officer whose weapon was already drawn and aimed. It is my firm belief that clear visual evidence of a weapon could easily have occurred while the safety of others was preserved. After all, how much time is needed to pull the trigger?!

This is a good article. The comment about the cop mentality of "us against the world" is true. I attended the Citizens Police Academy, in Eugene, and was told that there are three kinds of people; cops, victims, and criminals. No tax payers, voters, citizens or residents.

That said, white racism is also part of the mix. There has never been a golden age when black people could trust white police. There is no equal protection under the law. The United States was founded as a racist nation. That is well documented. "Manifest Destiny " is just "ethnic cleansing". Slavery based on race is racism. The taint of racism effects all aspects of the criminal justice system including the police. This has been documented as well. Former Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Peterson documented that in a report in the 1990's.

We have allowed the police to commit murder just because they think they might be in danger, regardless if they actually are in danger. No one is forcing them to become cops. Why is it that black cops never shoot unarmed white people, but every month somewhere in America a white cop shoots an unarmed black person. We should study what the black cops are doing right and teach it to the white cops. Or maybe it is just racism that devalues black life.

Ulfur, I think you've pretty much nailed the case. I think the police response when dealing with Black people is carefully calculated and can pretty much be characterized as "shock and awe". The PPD tactics are consistent with our military's tactics in Iraq and Gitmo and the Israel military, especially in Gaza. Terrorist tactics are rarely employed accidentally and can not be rooted out without significant effort. The first step of course would be for city leaders to acknowledge the PPD has a problem. When do you think that is going to happen?

Jimbo, without condoning the reported issue in Portland, I defintely support our armed forces and their actions in both Iraq and Gitmo.

Kurt, I knew you would. Abu Ghraib too, I assume, since it was part-and-parcel of the same carefully considered strategic policy: terrify the population into submission and then claim it was all a mistake, a "training lapse". Sound familiar?

It seems like we hear some version of this same story over and over here, once a month or once every couple of months. It makes me wonder about the stories that we don't hear, because they aren't quite extreme enough to make the news or the victims don't feel safe coming forward. It's been that way everywhere I've lived, where dark skin makes you a suspected criminal no matter what the context--it's a classic manifestation of racism in America, and it's tragic and infuriating both.

Karol, thanks for writing about this from both your heart and your head. And to the person who asked why Ms. Carter was "dressed as a man," some women prefer clothing that is androgynous or masculine. That's just how some of us dress, and I'd be tempted to say that it made her an even greater target as an assumed Black man, if Black women didn't seem to be just as frequently victims of criminal profiling these days.

Posted by: Roey Thorpe | Feb 13, 2010 8:42:50 PM

It seems like we hear some version of this same story over and over here, once a month or once every couple of months. It makes me wonder about the stories that we don't hear,

The profiling that goes on every day, every call, is their determination of whether business interests are involved. Everything being even, anything perceived as in a business owner's interest will be given highest priority, regardless of the demographics of the other party. Oh, right. The police protesters were allowed to access areas that other protesters aren't because of "business interests". OK. Any other examples?

Darrelplant,

Woodstock is over, but your views against police are evidently not. Sorry, as a member of Generation Y, I have not bought your views of law enforcement and you could not haggle with me to buy them now. We have had this argument on Jack Bog's Blog before and you are fully aware of my perspective.

Take a look at the pic in the link again, I cannot honestly tell whether that is a man or a woman and neither could Derrick Foxworth Jr. If a 29 year old Black male police officer, Derrick Foxworth Jr., cannot tell whether a member of his own community is male or female, then I will take his word over any washed-up hippy's word everyday and any day of the week.

Jimbo, Ulfur, Ole Barn and others,

Did you even read the linked article or did you just read the post and post your knee jerk "white racism" response as is typical of a lot of Portlander blog commentators who are still stuck in the 1960s?

If you read the article, then you would know that Derrick Foxworth Jr., a 29 year old Black male police officer, was involved in this incident.

How is this an example of pure "white racism" when you have a member of the so-called "victim's" own community involved with the shakedown?

One way to start making some progress on this is to study not just the shootings but all the "near misses" like the one Karol describes -- that's what the airline industry did in the 1960s, and American surgeons started doing in the 1990s.

If you only study crashes, medical deaths and police shootings, you get a too-narrow view of the systems of problems that must be analyzed and untangled.

I suggest PPD create a publicly visible, NTSB style board that would review every instance where a police officer drew a firearm from its holster, and start to both measure and analyze those instances.

PPD could also adopt a formal system of apologizing for all mistakes including near-misses. The apology is a powerful tool when used well, which is seldom.

Aaron Lazare has written an excellent book, On Apology.

Lazare's research says that the four components of a good apology are

1. I did such-and-such an action
2. it harmed you in this way
3. I genuinely regret having done this
4. I am taking concrete steps to ensure that it does not happen again to you or others.

Further reading the power of apology, medical and otherwise:

http://blog.thomasbcox.com/2009/09/on-apology.html

http://healthblawg.typepad.com/healthblawg/2010/02/medical-apologies-do-right-and-do-well.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/10stream.html

RyanLeo,

Of course I read the linked article. Did you? If police activities had improved any since the '60's we wouldn't have to have the same conversations as we did in the 60's, would we? And what difference does it make if one or more of the uniformed assailants are Black. This crime wasn't perpetrated by a rowdy band of thugs leaving a tavern. These were government employees fulfilling their job descriptions. Let me ask you: if your owned a company that repeatedly made the same "mistakes", how long would it be before your claimed efforts to "improve" lost all credibility? If you had employees who repeatedly made the same "mistakes", and you continued to employ them, even as their behavior worsened, how believable would be your "investigations" and "reports" and "reforms"? Denial didn't work for the Catholic Church. I don't see how that same approach has any hope of success with the PPD. Do you?

http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/spdChiefSearch/publicInput.ht

TOPIC: Seattle Police Chief Search - Offer Comments The Search Committee co-chairs have said a top priority is public involvement. Recognizing that some community members may feel uncomfortable speaking in public or do not speak English as their first language, the Search Committee is collecting public input in several ways: public hearings including a hearing with multiple language interpretation, the Internet, a telephone public comment line and connecting with Search Committee members as they reach out to Seattle citizens. Please be aware that public input records may be subject to public disclosure under Washington law. Four Questions for the Public The Search Committee is particularly interested in getting the public’s feedback for these questions: • What qualities are you looking for in a new police chief? • What is the most important public safety issue in Seattle? • What does the Seattle Police Department do well? • What change would you like to see? Four Ways to Offer Your Comments Attend a public hearing All Search Committee meetings are open to the public, unless they are noted on the schedule as an "executive session" when the Search Committee evaluates the qualifications of candidates. Two more meetings will feature time for public comment: February 17 and February 26. Language interpreters will be available for the February 26 meeting for the following languages: Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Amharic, Oromiffa, Khmer (Cambodian), Somali, and Tigrinya. Please call (206) 684‐0464 to request interpretation services for February 17 or to request additional language services on February 26. Please contact the Mayor's Office if you need sign‐language interpreters at either meeting. Download a flyer for the public hearings - Acrobat PDF Submit and vote for ideas on the Internet Citizens are encouraged to provide answers to the four questions on the Police Chief Search section of IdeasForSeattle.org

Offer comments by telephone Call 206-684-CITY (206-684-2489) to offer answers to the Seattle Police Chief Search Committee’s four questions, listed above. Email or call the Search Committee Co-Chairs Search Committee members are receiving comments from constituent groups and Seattle citizens. Kate Joncas Police Chief Search Committee Co-Chair 206-623-0340 Charles Rolland Police Chief Search Committee Co-Chair 206-852-8189 SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF SEARCH FINDING SEATTLE'S NEXT POLICE CHIEF The 26-member Seattle Police Chief Search Committee, a citizen panel appointed by Mayor Mike McGinn, is working to help the mayor find a successor to former Chief Gil Kerlikowske. It's a national search that begins with no front-runners, inside-track candidates or preference for or against candidates of any race, gender, ethnicity or place of origin. The Mayor and the Search Committee are actively seeking the public's help. The Search Committee, co-chaired by Kate Joncas and Charles Rolland, includes people from many facets of Seattle life, including neighborhood groups, minority communities, business and civic leaders, and police and justice-system representatives. Search Committee members began meeting Jan. 13, 2010, and have public meetings including three public hearings tentatively scheduled through May 19. When Kerlikowske was appointed by President Obama last year to be the nation's Drug Control Policy Director after eight years as Seattle police chief, then-Mayor Greg Nickels named a search committee to begin the process of finding Kerlikowske's successor. Mayor McGinn retained most members of Mayor Nickels’ search committee, which never met. Following the Search Committee’s recommendation, the City of Seattle has contracted with Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a Washington, D.C.-based search firm, to advertise the position nationally and conduct an initial screening of candidates.

http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/spdChiefSearch/docs/ChiefOfPoliceRecruitmentFlyerFinal.pdf

The successful candidate must have strong leadership, organizational and management skills, as well as significant experience in working with members of the community and Police Department employees in a large urban multi-cultural environment. The desired candidate must have a strong character and possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Experience with and a strong commitment to innovation, technology and community involvement are required. A four-year college degree and a graduate degree are preferred. A combination of other training and experience which provides the essential knowledge, skills and abilities will be considered. A minimum of 10 years of command-level experience in a large urban police agency is required. Municipal experience in an organization of comparable size and complexity to the Seattle Police Department is desired. Labor management experience and completion of senior-level management programs like the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), FBI National Academy, and Southern Police Institute are preferred.

TO APPLY: The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is assisting the city in the selection process. Salary range will be competitive and based on qualifications and experience. For additional information go to:

<a href=http://www.seattle.gov/police Please Note. Under Seattle City Charter provisions regarding the selection process for the Police Chief, candidate information submitted in response to this posting may be subject to public disclosure. Police Executive Research Forum ATTN: Seattle Police Chief Search 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 930 Washington, DC 20036

FIRST 02/10/10 PUBLIC HEARING FOR SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF FAILS TO ATTRACT AN AUDIENCE – Posted by Cienna Madrid on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 7:01 AM (6 COMMENTS) http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/02/11/first-hearing-for-police-chief-fails-to-attract-an-audience Last night, the search committee appointed to find Seattle's next Police Chief met for the first of three hearings designed to gather public input on selection criteria. The problem—or one of the problems—was the public failed to show up. Not only did the 28-person selection panel greatly outnumbered their audience, the mics didn't work, making the handful of people who came to testify in the gymnasium difficult to hear, let alone understand. For those who did speak at the Northgate Community Center last night, the theme was finding a chief who would offer better communication with, and access to, the Seattle Police Department (SPD). One man talked of having his home burglarized and afterward, not having phone or email access to the officers who took his report. Calling the SPD, he said, was like calling a phone tree and being transferred from branch to branch until frustration caused him to hang up. A spokesman for the Associated Students of University Washington (ASUW) also talked about strengthening communication between campus police and the SPD. He spoke of calling UW police to follow up on crime reports and being transferred to the SPD, only to be transferred back to the UWP. "What should I read into the low turnout this evening?" asked panelist and Seattle City Council Member Bruce Harrell after the brief testimony period ended. No one on the panel had much of an answer. One woman in the sparse audience raised her hand but was ignored. As the meeting continued, she got up to leave and told me outside, "putting the date of the meeting in the Seattle Times might help. They had the time, but not the date." Then she left to attend a meeting on sidewalks. "My time is wasted here," she said. The panel, appointed by Mayor Mike McGinn, will hold two additional public meetings, one at Franklin High School on Feb 17, and at New Holly Gathering Hall on Feb 26. Both meetings will run from 5:30-8:30. The panel is also requesting feedback through their website. h Download a flyer for community input meetings on 2/10, 2/17 and 2/26 - Acrobat PDF Watch videos of past meetings -http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/spdChiefSearch/news.htm#video Seattle Police Chief Search Committee 2/10/2010 Seattle Police Chief Search Committee 1/13/2010

FLYER: Police Chief Search Public Meetings http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/spdChiefSearch/docs/PoliceChiefSearch-PublicMtgs-EnglishVersion.pdf The City of Seattle has scheduled three public meetings to receive community input on selecting the next Police Chief. Here are the questions the Mayor’s Police Chief search committee is asking of interested citizens:

What qualities are you looking for in a new Police Chief? What is the most important public safety issue in Seattle? What does the Seattle Police Department do well? What changes would you like to see?

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m.‐7:30 p.m. Northgate Community Center Gymnasium, 10510 5th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125 Wednesday, Feb. 17, 5:30 p.m.‐7:30 p.m. Franklin High School, 3013 Mount Baker S, Seattle WA 98144 Friday, Feb. 26, 5:30 p.m.‐8:30 p.m. New Holly Gathering Center, 7054 32nd Ave S , Seattle, WA 98108

LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THIS MEETING IN THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES: Tagalog Spanish Chinese Vietnamese Laotian Amharic Oromiffa Khmer (Cambodian) Somali Tigrinya

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m.‐7:30 p.m. Northgate Community Center Gymnasium, 10510 5th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125 Wednesday, Feb. 17, 5:30 p.m.‐7:30 p.m. Franklin High School, 3013 Mount Baker S, Seattle WA 98144 Friday, Feb. 26, 5:30 p.m.‐8:30 p.m. New Holly Gathering Center, 7054 32nd Ave S , Seattle, WA 98108 Language interpreters will be available for this meeting in the following languages: Tagalog Spanish Chinese Vietnamese Laotian Amharic Oromiffa Khmer (Cambodian) Somali Tigrinya

Latest News Chief of Police Recruitment Flyer - Acrobat PDF Download a flyer for community input meetings on 2/10, 2/17 and 2/26 - Acrobat PDF Watch videos of past meetings

The 26-member Seattle Police Chief Search Committee, a citizen panel appointed by Mayor Mike McGinn, is working to help the mayor find a successor to former Chief Gil Kerlikowske. It's a national search that begins with no front-runners, inside-track candidates or preference for or against candidates of any race, gender, ethnicity or place of origin. The Mayor and the Search Committee are actively seeking the public's help. The Search Committee, co-chaired by Kate Joncas and Charles Rolland, includes people from many facets of Seattle life, including neighborhood groups, minority communities, business and civic leaders, and police and justice-system representatives. Search Committee members began meeting Jan. 13, 2010, and have public meetings including three public hearings tentatively scheduled through May 19. When Gil Kerlikowske was appointed by President Obama last year to be the nation's Drug Control Policy Director after eight years as Seattle police chief, then-Mayor Greg Nickels named a search committee to begin the process of finding Kerlikowske's successor. Mayor McGinn retained most members of Mayor Nickels’ search committee, which never met. Following the Search Committee’s recommendation, the City of Seattle has contracted with Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a Washington, D.C.-based search firm, to advertise the position nationally and conduct an initial screening of candidates. http://www.policeforum.org/ FREE DOC LIBRARY http://www.policeforum.org/library.asp PERF’S Employment Bulletin –Sunday February 14, 2010 http://www.policeforum.org/jobs.asp?MENU=270

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About the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Mission The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is a national membership organization of progressive police executives from the largest city, county and state law enforcement agencies. PERF is dedicated to improving policing and advancing professionalism through research and involvement in public policy debate. Incorporated in 1977, PERF's primary sources of operating revenues are government grants and contracts, and partnerships with private foundations and other organizations. We are proud of the service we provide to law enforcement stakeholders. Our research and publications are targeted in areas our members find important to their agencies and for professional development. Our conferences and training programs are targeted to audiences who want to be on the cutting edge of relevant policing topics. Our leadership is constantly looking for ways of improving our ability to meet your dynamic needs. You will find out more about what PERF is all about in this, our information section of our member network. Origins Ten leaders of large American law enforcement agencies created the Police Executive Research Forum in 1976 as a national membership organization that would foster debate, research and an openness to challenging traditional police practices. Membership PERF general members lead larger police agencies in the United States and around the world; their jurisdictions are often the seedbeds of the toughest problems and hard-won solutions in policing. They collectively serve a majority of the U.S. population. Subscribing and sustaining members include police chiefs and executives from smaller jurisdictions, personnel below the rank of chief from all police agencies, researchers and scholars, and others interested and involved in the criminal justice field. All members must be committed to PERF’s founding principles and possess a four-year college degree from an accredited educational institution. Governance PERF is governed by a member-elected President and Board of Directors and a Board-appointed Executive Director. A staff of 30 full-time professionals is based in Washington D.C. Taking a Leadership Role PERF assumes leadership on the difficult issues facing police. We encourage debate among members and the wider criminal justice community on controversial issues that affect public safety; fear of crime; and fair, humane treatment of all members of society. PERF is a leading voice in the media, legislative arena and among policy-makers for progressive policing. Two examples of PERF initiatives include: Balancing Crime Strategies and Democratic Principles Nationwide concern about perceived police misconduct in a number of urban, particularly minority, communities prompted PERF to convene police chiefs and community leaders to discuss anti-crime measures and police tactics. One significant result was PERF’s commitment to develop best-practice guidelines for traffic stops, which have been frequent flashpoints of discord between police and minority citizens. Reducing Violent Crime Through Clergy-Police Collaboration PERF assembled a group of major city police chiefs, clergy and government officials from around the country to explore clergy-police anti-violence initiatives. Community leaders and police officials shared their experiences with policy-clergy collaboration—a promising strategy to counteract the crime endemic to so many urban American neighborhoods. PERF Senior Management Institute for Police There will be THREE SMIP Sessions is 2010 Session 44: June 6-24, 2010 Session 45: June 13 - July 1, 2010 Session 46: July 11-29, 2010

The Oregonian story was interesting to read. The accompanying picture? Forced to conclude on the basis of that picture alone, there could be some uncertainty about the gender of the person depicted. The police though, had a live opportunity to see the real person from many different angles. They physically had their hands on the person during the pat-down and heard the person speak, yet were still unable to tell the person was a woman until looking at the person's driver's license?

Was it negligence or deliberate that police would tell this person to keep her hands behind her head, and then ask her questions before having first requested that she throw the cigar/cigarette to the ground, so that she would not find it difficult to answer their questions with the cigar in her mouth, and thus proceed to incorrectly assume that she could reach a hand around without asking them first, to remove the cigar?

A 5'10" 130# person (compared to their own weight...what might that be?) that stands before them compliantly, reaches around to grab a cigar from their mouth; and the police cannot but regard this as a movement requiring a full body takedown?

Does this conduct on the part of the officers involved in this incident really reflect good judgment and good police training? It's discouraging to consider that this person Delease Carter might simply have been an unfortunate victim of police going through their training regime just to stay on top of police procedure.

I suppose I feel strangely bad that these two officers, Broughton and Foxworth jr. felt so threatened by this person's removal of the cigar from her mouth that they had to throw her to the ground and handcuff her. Maybe work that might might have them feeling safer, such as postal worker, would suit them better.

Maybe work that might might have them feeling safer, such as postal worker, would suit them better.

Those guys would blow up every tenth package because it could be a bomb!

I would like to invite you over to an event that goes with the topic at hand. Feel free to come alone or with others. All voices are needed at this event.

"The Myth of a Post-Racial Society"

Is racism a thing of the past? Panelists will explore this idea promoted by the media during President Obama’s election campaign, and how it measures up to the reality of African American lives today.

Featured speakers: Kent Ford – Founder of the Portland Black Panther Party and father of political prisoner Patrice Lumumba Ford; Sylvia Evans – Candidate for Portland City Council, Position 2 and founder of REPOWER (Re-Establishing People Oregonizing With Empowered); Mike Neyland – Student of Black history and target of racial profiling by Portland Police; Eduardo Martinez-Zapata – Member of Comrades of Color Caucus of Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women and Immigrant Rights organizer and Laura Mannen – Radical Women National Executive Committee member and bi-lingual educator.

Saturday, February 20, 7:00 pm. Southern Buffet available for a $10.00 donation. Door donation $2.00. Bread and Roses Center, 819 N. Killingsworth St., (1/2 block west of N. Albina; Tri-Met bus lines #72 and #4), Portland. Sponsored by Freedom Socialist Party.

For more information, and to arrange childcare or transportation, call 503-240-4462. Sliding scale and work exchanges available. Everyone welcome.

<h2>I'm just gonna say, if you're from NE Portland, you don't just wear a blue Kansas City hat and NOT know that people are gonna think you're repping KBC. Somebody will call you on it.</h2>