Portland Police condemned from many arenas

February 17, 2010

By Donna Millsap
Oregon Herald staff reporter

The Portland Police are under attack from many individuals and organizations. Some community leaders, even fearful of making their statements to the press are calling the police assassins and degenerates. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a national civil rights figure, called the shooting death of an unarmed man an execution and slammed the lack of diversity in the city's police bureau at a rally in northeast Portland. Jackson held a press conference Tuesday evening before attending a community rally at Maranatha Church Fellowship Hall.

Jackson said his visit wasn't about race but about the difference between right and wrong. He talked about the killing last month in which 25-year-old unarmed Aaron Campbell was shot in the back by Officer Ronald Frashour outside a northeast Portland apartment complex. Police said they believed Campbell was armed at the time, but it turned out he did not have a gun. A grand jury chose not to indict the officer -- a decision Jackson criticized. He also condemned the lack of diversity in the Portland Police Bureau, saying "any city should have police departments representative of its people."

The Portland newspaper "The Scanner" has written an editorial called "Having an Emergency? Don’t Call the Police", condemning Portland Police. Read the article.

Earlier Tuesday, Jackson met with Mayor Sam Adams and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman. During the meeting, Jackson said he was told Frashour shot Campbell from 20 yards away, a distance he said did not place the officer in danger. "Worse than pulling the trigger, they let him lay while a dog sniffed his bleeding body, and handcuffed him as he was dying. That's beneath the dignity of man. It's beneath the dignity of Oregonians,". Jackson said Frashour should not immediately return to duty and called for an investigation into the shooting and similar incidents. He said the officer's return would only hurt the family and the police bureau.

"I believe suspending him until the matter has been resolved through due process," Jackson said. Police Chief Rosie Sizer said Frashour would be back on the job Wednesday, but Saltzman later said he would reconsider Tuesday evening. In addition to the Campbell case, Jackson said there were deficiencies between the city's demographic and the men and women who serve in the police bureau. "Look at the make-up and that's one of the challenges," he said. "There are no blacks in the top command. That's important." Earlier in the day, Sizer spoke about the police bureau's improvements in use of force situations over the past several years. She also asked for city leaders to invest in training facilities so officers can be better trained.