The police shooting of Aaron Campbell was described as a “modern day lynching” at a tense city-sponsored listening session in North Portland last night. The session, part of the City of Portland’s so-called “restorative listening project,” had been scheduled long before the Campbell shooting as a chance for African American community members to engage in “healing dialog” on gentrification and race issues.
“This is a modern day lynching,” said Dr.Andre Brown, a panelist in the discussion who specializes in family and couples therapy at Lewis and Clark College. “Instead of trees we have cops who wait their whole life, saying one day I’m going to get me somebody, and a couple of weeks ago, they got somebody.”
Brown said “at some point, some day, it was inevitable that the officer would have killed somebody. You have people who go into the police bureau with the sole intent to kill somebody.”
A gentleman then joined proceedings at the back of the church, claiming to be Campbell’s uncle. He wouldn’t give his name to me, or to the assembled gathering.
“He wanted to use that gun,” said the man. “He wanted to do that—he already Tasered somebody. He said, I did that already. He wanted to use that gun. He wanted to use it, and he did.”
The man spoke in an increasingly shrill voice, interrupted other speakers repeatedly and ultimately had to be calmed down by five assorted gang outreach workers, community activists, and ministers.
“You can train the dogs but you can’t train the mind of an officer who wants to kill somebody,” he said.
Brown also said that the state and law enforcement have created a system where it is alright for police to murder citizens.
“I’m not talking about Jesse Jackson,” said Reverend Renee Ward, another panelist. “I’m talking about Aaron Campbell, Kendra James, James Chasse, it’s got to stop. My son is 10 years old and he’s scared of the police.”
Ward, who works as a crisis responder with the Portland Police Bureau, said “yes I work alongside ’em, and there’s some good ones. But there’s some renegades and they need to be flushed out.”
“I don’t care about no police foundation, no police union,” she continued. “They’re still everyday people like me. I carried my son for nine months and it may take you just a second to kill him but God is just.”
This is the kind of well reasoned discussion that will really move the debate in to a place that can cause good things to happen.
I like the use of the word “shrill” to describe this guy, because that’s exactly how it sounded in my head when I was reading it.
Must add “lynching” to list of sufficient conditions for Godwin’s Law.
@Graham: You are right, but well reasoned discussion just doesn’t happen when one side is shooting the other. I’m not sure that this problem is going to be solved in the bureau level, that only works for minor changes. Forcing city council to do something is what needs to happen, and being annoying and forcing the issue is the best way to get on thier radar.
@Matthew D—I agree. Also let’s place the discussion in its proper context, at a “restorative listening session.” It was hardly a council policy session.
Here’s an interesting column on the subject in the Oregonian on Sunday by an assistant principle in Portland Public Schools:
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ss…
” My son is 10 years old and he’s scared of the police.”
I am 37, Caucasian, and make a good income and I am afraid of the police. The fact your son has already formed that opinion is a good thing, and will serve him well as he gets older and has possible confrontations with the police. Seriously, they scare me too.