A downtown judge has ruled the city’s controversial sidewalk obstruction ordinance unconstitutional. Judge Michael McShane made the ruling yesterday about the part of the ordinance that requires people to keep their personal belongings within two feet. “I found that an ordinary person would not understand from the statute that mundane and everyday behavior would be […]
Cops
Posted inBikes
Jury’s Out on Rev. Phil Taser Case
Originally posted 12:10PM, moved up to now with the verdict! One night last June, Portland bike activist Phil Sano was stopped by police for not having a bike light and wound up on the ground, tasered five times and cited for resisting arrest. Today, the jury heard the closing statements in the case against him. […]
Posted inNews
Rev. Phil Sano’s Taser Trial in Court
Back at the beginning of the summer, well-known Portland bike activist and general roustabout Reverend Phil Sano was stopped by cops for not having a bike light and wound up getting Tasered. A guy waiting for a bus talked to the Merc about what happened: “It sounded like he was being tortured,” recalls John Henry […]
Posted inPortland
Cop Union Encourages Cops To “Support” Controversial Officers, “even when the member has in fact done what was alleged.”
Police Union boss Scott Westerman has encouraged fellow officers to speak out in support of Officers Christopher Humphreys and Jason Sery in this month’s edition of the Portland Police Association newspaper, The Rap Sheet. Perhaps surprisingly, Westerman appears to be implying that the union’s job is to speak up for controversial officers, even if they’re […]
Posted inPortland
Cops’ Director of Crisis Intervention Training Speaks: “And not all of them got it.”
The director of the Portland Police Bureau’s Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program, Liesbeth Gerritson, spoke out publicly for the first time last night about the program’s curriculum and its chances of success, at a talk sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at Emanuel Hospital.CIT: Aimed at changing officers ‘hearts and minds’… Gerritson, […]
Posted inPortland
Doorstepped: Defendant Allegedly Tasered Three Times, Beaten By Cops, Trying To Open Her Own Front Door
A 26-year-old woman is alleging she was subjected to excessive force by Portland Police after they Tasered her three times and beat her on her own front doorstep two weeks ago. One of the officers involved in the alleged incident was former sheriff’s deputy Brett Burton, who transferred to the Portland Police Bureau last year, […]
Posted inPortland
Saturday Shooting: Note.
24-year-old Erik Ayala left a note for his Milwuakie roommate Saturday in an envelope marked “OPEN ON SUNDAY,” according to detectives, who released more information on the shooting at a 3pm press conference this afternoon.AYALA: Left note… “To my friends and family: I am sorry,” read the note. “And to my friend, [name redacted],” the […]
Posted inPortland
Downtown Shooter Named
The shooter in the Downtown Portland Shooting has been identified as 24-year-old Erik Salvadore Ayala. Did you know him? Call 503 502 2106. Or email: news@portlandmercury.com. Police have also confirmed that the vehicle located in Downtown Portland (pictured, below), is associated with Ayala.
Posted inPortland
Sizer on Downtown Shooting: “A Random Act Of Violence Of The Kind That Makes You Despair For America.”
“I think it’s extraordinary that this many people can be shot in Portland, Oregon,” said Police Chief, Rosie Sizer, at a noon press conference. “The randomness as well as the scale, that’s outside anything we’ve known in Portland, Oregon, in the past.“ 16-year-old Ashley Lauren Wilks from Portland is the first identified fatality in last […]
Posted inPortland
Nine Shot Downtown Saturday Night
UPDATE, 10:24am Again, from the cops: Last night around 10:30 pm, a male subject began shooting people who were standing on the sidewalk in front of The Zone nightclub and Kells Tavern and Pub in Downtown Portland. After shooting a total of nine people, the man shot himself at the scene. Officers arrived in the […]
Posted inMedia
Tasers Linked To Rise In In-Custody Deaths
Read more in this article published today: The number of in-custody sudden deaths rose dramatically during the first year California law enforcement agencies began using stun guns, raising questions about the safety of the devices, according to a new study at UCSF. “Tasers are not as safe as thought,” said Dr. Byron Lee, one of […]
Posted inMedia
News Burial Part One: Police Precincts
I’d invite anyone who spotted the burial of negative news in Portland over the last two days to email me. First up, Police Chief Rosie Sizer is suggesting a “consolidation” of police precincts to eliminate North Precinct (this came up two years ago, and was hugely controversial at the time, until Potter pulled back on […]