A woman complaining about the alleged bad behavior of one of Portland Patrol, Inc.’s (PPI) downtown rent-a-cops has written to City Commissioner Erik Sten asking him to advocate for more oversight of the private officers. Regina Hannon says that on August 9, the armed PPI officer, Philip Goodfellow, told a passerby that a group of […]
Matt Davis
Matt Davis was news editor of the Mercury from 2009 to May 2010.
Posted inMovies & TV
Bean There, Done That
America Deserves Mr. Bean
The following conversation took place between two of the Mercury‘s writers after emerging from a press screening of Mr. Bean’s Holiday. —Editor SCOTT MOORE: I love Mr. Bean! I find him drool-inducingly funny. Ha ha ha! MATT DAVIS: I’m not surprised to hear that, Scott. There’s actually still a bit of drool on your shirt, […]
Posted inNews
Pig Wrestling
Mud Flies at City Hall Over Sit-Lie Law
City Commissioner Randy Leonard has launched a public attack on the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) and Mayor Tom Potter over their controversial sit-lie ordinance. Last week, Leonard accused the business lobby and the mayor of being “disingenuous” in their efforts to get council to sign off on enforcement of the law by opening a 24-hour […]
Posted inNews
Oversight or Overslight?
Rent-a-Cops Get New Complaints Procedure
The mayor’s office has asked the Portland Business Alliance to create an official complaints procedure for its rent-a-cop firm, Portland Patrol, Inc. (PPI), in response to concerns over lack of oversight. “We were getting questions about not having a way to complain,” explains Maria Rubio, the mayor’s public safety policy manager. PPI officers patrol Old […]
Posted inNews
Best Cops Money Can Buy
Downtown Businesses Purchase Their Own Police
City council agreed last Wednesday, August 1, to let the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) continue paying the salaries of three downtown police officers for the next 10 years, to the tune of $200,000 per year. But civil rights and police oversight activists are concerned the contract essentially amounts to buying special treatment for downtown business […]
Posted inNews
Insecure Unit
Inmate Sues over Sexual Assault in Jail
A mentally ill inmate at the Multnomah County Detention Center is suing the county over her alleged sexual assault at the jail last year by a fellow inmate, as a result of a security lapse. The alleged victim’s lawsuit, filed in community court on June 25 by her attorney, Benjamin Haile, raises further concerns about […]
Posted inNews
Fed Up
FBI, State Bar, Sheriffs Probe Jail Beating
According to the parents of a man beaten at the Multnomah County Detention Center last September, the FBI is investigating whether his civil rights were violated. The man’s parents also claim the district attorney’s office may have tried to cover up the beating by beefing up the charges against him. Michael Evans, 40, was allegedly […]
Posted inNews
Summary Injustice
Was Man Beaten by Cops for Assaulting His Girlfriend?
A 40-year-old man beaten by sheriff’s deputies and Portland Police Bureau officers at the Multnomah County Detention Center last September may have been the recipient of some rough “justice,” having just been arrested for assaulting his girlfriend with a riding crop. Video of the incident, obtained by the Mercury and posted on blogtown.portlandmercury.com last week, […]
Posted inNews
Left to Die?
New Evidence in Cop Lawsuit Pressures City
The city is under increased pressure to settle a controversial cop lawsuit this week in light of new evidence obtained by the Mercury. On November 4, 2005, Raymond Gwerder, 30, was “drunk and despondent,” holding a handgun in the backyard of a friend’s house where he had been staying on NE 118th, when a police […]
Posted inExtras
Man Beaten by Deputies and Police Threatens to Sue
See Video of the Beating at Blogtown, PDX
Posted inNews
Naughty or Nice?
Accused Cop Fights Back
Sergeant Kyle Nice, one of the Portland police officers accused of intimidating 33-year-old Richard Prentice in a holding cell three weeks ago, emailed the Mercury from his police bureau account last week to stick up for himself. Prentice was arrested, cited with “advertising on the street,” and thrown in a cell on June 14 for […]
Posted inNews
Thought Police
Man Alleges Arrest, Intimidation over Anti-Cop Poster
Richard Prentice, a 33-year-old senior at Portland State University, was taping a poster to the wall of the federal courthouse at SW 3rd and Salmon on Thursday evening, June 14, when Central Precinct Officer Matt Wells pulled up in a squad car and told Prentice to take it down. Prentice—whose poster accused Portland Police Bureau […]