In Other News
by Mercury staff
The City of Portland is slated to renew four controversial contracts for suburban cops to work on Portland's TriMet MAX trains without public discussion, by placing them on the Wednesday, July 2, routine consent agenda—despite opposition to the contracts from the police bureau's Citizen Review Committee (CRC).
It emerged last week that suburban MAX cops do not have to testify to Portland's internal affairs investigators even if they see Portland cops involved in a controversial incident, thanks to the way the contracts are written ["Compelling Testimony," News, June 26]. On Monday, June 30, CRC Chair Michael Bigham asked his city council-recommended CRC members to contact their respective commissioners, and have the TriMet agreements pulled from the consent agenda, so the public can comment on them. But there was no word by press time as to whether council was receptive to Bigham's demands. MD
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Paul Stewart was on his cell phone negotiating with the police when Officer Stephanie Rabey shot him in the back of the head without warning last August, police records confirmed last week. Stewart was sentenced to 10 years in jail on June 16, but records associated with the case have been kept under wraps since August 2007, when the shooting occurred.
Stewart told Acting Lieutenant and Incident Commander David Golliday, "I'm changing my clothes" and "I'm putting some clothes on," before Rabey shot him, Golliday told investigators.
The police bureau settled for $500,000 in November 2007 following the shooting of a suicidal man, Raymond Gwerder, in the back, while he was on the phone to a hostage negotiator. MD
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