One night last June, police stopped Portland bike activist
“Reverend” Phil Sano for not having a bike light. Sano flailed his arms
at the cops and wound up on the ground, Tasered multiple times and
cited for resisting arrest.
The incident [“Night Light Fight,” News, June 19, 2008] sparked
outrage among Portland’s bicycling community, which was vindicated on
Wednesday, February 11, when a jury cleared Sano of the charge. Sano’s
trial hinged on two questions: what sorts of actions qualify as
resisting arrest, and whether the arresting officers properly
identified themselves.
Several undisputed facts emerged at trial: Portland Police Bureau
Officers Erin Smith and Ron Hoesly were writing a missing bike light
ticket to cyclist Diana Spartis when Sano cruised by on his own
light-less ride. Officer Smith yelled out at Sano, “Hey buddy, could
you come over here for a second?” followed by “Stop!” three times.
Smith then chased down Sano and pulled him from his bike, knocking off
Sano’s glasses.
Witness accounts differed on what happened next, but every witness
who took the stand during the trial agreed that things got ugly
fast.
“He’s standing there, cursing at us, yelling and screaming, he’s out
of control, foaming at the mouth,” recalled Officer Smith, who decided
to Taser Sano.
Sano says he did not realize Smith, who was wearing a dark navy blue
traffic cop’s uniform, was an officer until after he was reeling from
the Taser shock. Smith says that he called out, “Hey buddy” rather than
“Stop! Police!” because he was initially trying to approach Sano in a
“really friendly, non-hostile way.”
During his closing statement, Public Defender John Gutbezahl argued
that Sano’s “tantrum” did not count as knowingly resisting arrest.
“He wasn’t resisting arrest,” said Gutbezahl. “He was on the ground
getting juiced by the Taser!”
The jury took two hours to decide in Sano’s favor.
“What I hope comes from all this is that the police do a better job
of identifying their job and their purpose,” says Gutbezahl. Sano
agrees.
“Whenever a member of the population doesn’t take the time to fight
for certain causes, those causes get lost,” said Sano after he heard
the verdict. “Police need to… treat the people they’re dealing with,
[with] respect.”
I sure am glad to hear that Rev. Phil was vendicated! Now, if only the filthy, cowardly pig who assaulted him can be brought to justice!
If you do not properly identify yourself as a police officer, then you should expect to be ignored — and greeted with a violent self-defense upon tackling a person to whom you have yet to identify yourself as a police officer.
With so many rent-a-cops hired to function as police officers across the city in various venues as well (such as Pioneer Square, Tr-Met stops, etc.), the public has zero idea who is and is not authorized to stop and detain them.
It’s going to take a large liability lawsuit against the city resulting from a case such as this or a citizen legally authorized to carry a handgun firing upon an officer who attacks him without identifying himself as a cop before things change.
Uh?
Tasering is way out of line, HOWEVER,
It’s not smart to disobey an order from the police, I have my doubts that he didn’t know they were the police.
What a waste of tax payer money enforcing this sort of stuff.
“I have my doubts that he didn’t know they were the police.”
Phil probably didn’t realize they were pigs until AFTER he was being electrocuted.
I think the Portland Police need to address issues regarding training officers in ethics and protocol in arrest.
I myself was once arrested in front of Portland Police headquarters during a sincere attempt to ask questions to law officers regarding information I had retained from a stint at PGE that pertained to the finances of the company and their relevance to allegations of impropriety that were circulating via the ICNU lawyers in the WWeek, Oregonian (and briefly) the NY Times.
I was in a very bad situation, starting to show major signs of psychological unwellness relating to the extreme stress that the situation had caused me, and in short desperately needed the counsel of a reasonable and responsible authority figure.
Instead, my sincere request with the police was met with belligerence and hostility and they told me I had to leave the building. As I was leaving the building, the two officers who I had talked to ran up to me from behind, kicked me to the ground (in the process fracturing one of my ribs) and demanded that I show them the contents of my briefcase which owing to the confidential nature of its contents (such documents are subject to protective order, check the regulation) I was not legally permitted to do.
Once it was determined that my briefcase in fact contained paperwork the police then proceeded to file an incorrect description of the event in question in their police report and took me to spend a night in hooper detox.
I *desperately* needed counsel and advise from a responsible figure of authority. Instead, I encountered clearly unprofessional behavior. The ultimate result of this failure of authority was a terrible and completely unnecessary tragedy, which would play out over the next couple of weeks.
Please don’t get me wrong. The vast majority of Portland Police are responsible and ethical individuals who provide a noble and necessary civic service. Even those that occasionally fall short are not in any way worthy of public scorn, ridicule or systematic attitudes of disrespect. The police are human, they make mistakes; we are all human. Nonetheless there *ARE* issues with police accountability in Portland. It would do Portland, its population and the police itself a great service if a sincere effort was made with regard to accountability in addressing the issues that do exist. Sweeping things under the rug is not a good strategy. Everyone benefits from government that is transparent, competently managed and accountable. Nothing is gained from failure to acknowledge and cope with real problems that have occurred.
In most dealings I have had with the Portland Police they conducted themselves honorably, respectfully and ethically. I harbor no animosity towards the police or the necessary and invaluable civic service they provide to the community. Nonetheless, to ignore the simple fact that there have been problems is irresponsible.
I understand that police have stressful jobs, and that by virtue of their position they often come into situations that can result in legitimate frustration regarding the disrespect that is shown to them by some members of the general public. Such circumstances can result occasionally in tempers flaring and rash action. That much is human nature, and nearly every one of us makes mistakes from time to time. People will never be perfect, and every person regardless of station in life will occasionally make mistakes. Its the human condition. Although we are imperfect creatures, and there is no way to change that, people, most particularly those who have public authority should take accountability and try to acknowledge legitimate issues rather than attempt to ignore their existence.
In conclusion, and in a tone of sincere respect for our law enforcement officers and the difficult job they have, I do think that the Portland Police need to make improvements in this area. Portland is called the City that Works and it often does in fact work amazingly well. Sometimes however it does not. When it fails or falls short, I think that all interested parties benefit from an ethic of accountability and transparency.
Respectfully,
Kyle Sullivan