TheeBadOne
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Forum keys on alleged police brutality
Thumbing their noses at city officials, five former members of Portland's police review committee held a long-awaited public forum Thursday night to discuss allegations of officer brutality in the 2001 arrest of Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poot, who was shot dead by police in a hospital two days later.
The coalition of former Citizens Review Committee members reviewed the facts of the arrest, discussed the Portland Police Bureau's internal investigation of the officers' actions and listened to comments from some of about 40 people who attended.
The forum at the St. Andrew Community Center, in Northeast Portland, was a chance for the former members to hold a hearing they had sought last year, when they were still on the committee.
After months of acrimonious debate with city officials, five members of the committee resigned in August, calling the review process ineffective and blaming city staff for failing to support them.
Thursday's forum revived questions about how police treated Mejia and reopened the deep divisions between the former committee members and the city officials they often tangled with.
Richard Rosenthal, director of the city's Independent Police Review Division, said Thursday afternoon that the forum was "irrelevant." The former members have not been given access to Police Bureau documents about the Mejia case, he said, leaving them without all the information needed.
"This is just a bunch of private citizens getting together and doing what they want to do," he said. "It has nothing to do with the citizen review committee."
T.J. Browning, a former committee member, said she and her colleagues had three packets of documents on the case, including reports from police officers, TriMet and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. They also reviewed FBI witness statements and a memo from former police Chief Mark Kroeker to Mayor Vera Katz.
"Richard Rosenthal thinks that most all citizen input is irrelevant," Browning said. "I don't think he understands what makes democracy work."
Four review committee members who resigned last year -- Browning, Hector Lopez, Doug Montgomery and Denise Stone -- as well as former member Alice Shannon discussed Mejia's death and took questions from the public. Mia Butzbaugh, who also resigned last year, attended but was not part of the panel.
In March 2003, the Citizen Review Committee voted 7-1 to hear an appeal regarding allegations that two officers used excessive force against Mejia when they took him off a city bus March 30, 2001.
However, the committee never held a hearing. Rosenthal and City Auditor Gary Blackmer objected, saying the deadline had passed for the committee to review the case, and denied the members access to internal affairs reports.
Some witnesses have said officers hit Mejia on the head with a flashlight when he was taken off the bus. Others contradicted those statements, and the state medical examiner's office said there was no evidence of injuries consistent with such force.
Two days later, the 29-year-old was shot and killed by police in a psychiatric hospital. The Police Bureau's internal affairs division later found the two officers did not use excessive force.
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Looks like this all centers around the arrest on the bus. "Witnesses" said the Police beat him on the head with flashlights, "Witnesses" said the Police did not beat him. Medical examination shows no trama of any kind on his head, yet some feel they must push on.
Thumbing their noses at city officials, five former members of Portland's police review committee held a long-awaited public forum Thursday night to discuss allegations of officer brutality in the 2001 arrest of Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poot, who was shot dead by police in a hospital two days later.
The coalition of former Citizens Review Committee members reviewed the facts of the arrest, discussed the Portland Police Bureau's internal investigation of the officers' actions and listened to comments from some of about 40 people who attended.
The forum at the St. Andrew Community Center, in Northeast Portland, was a chance for the former members to hold a hearing they had sought last year, when they were still on the committee.
After months of acrimonious debate with city officials, five members of the committee resigned in August, calling the review process ineffective and blaming city staff for failing to support them.
Thursday's forum revived questions about how police treated Mejia and reopened the deep divisions between the former committee members and the city officials they often tangled with.
Richard Rosenthal, director of the city's Independent Police Review Division, said Thursday afternoon that the forum was "irrelevant." The former members have not been given access to Police Bureau documents about the Mejia case, he said, leaving them without all the information needed.
"This is just a bunch of private citizens getting together and doing what they want to do," he said. "It has nothing to do with the citizen review committee."
T.J. Browning, a former committee member, said she and her colleagues had three packets of documents on the case, including reports from police officers, TriMet and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. They also reviewed FBI witness statements and a memo from former police Chief Mark Kroeker to Mayor Vera Katz.
"Richard Rosenthal thinks that most all citizen input is irrelevant," Browning said. "I don't think he understands what makes democracy work."
Four review committee members who resigned last year -- Browning, Hector Lopez, Doug Montgomery and Denise Stone -- as well as former member Alice Shannon discussed Mejia's death and took questions from the public. Mia Butzbaugh, who also resigned last year, attended but was not part of the panel.
In March 2003, the Citizen Review Committee voted 7-1 to hear an appeal regarding allegations that two officers used excessive force against Mejia when they took him off a city bus March 30, 2001.
However, the committee never held a hearing. Rosenthal and City Auditor Gary Blackmer objected, saying the deadline had passed for the committee to review the case, and denied the members access to internal affairs reports.
Some witnesses have said officers hit Mejia on the head with a flashlight when he was taken off the bus. Others contradicted those statements, and the state medical examiner's office said there was no evidence of injuries consistent with such force.
Two days later, the 29-year-old was shot and killed by police in a psychiatric hospital. The Police Bureau's internal affairs division later found the two officers did not use excessive force.
article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looks like this all centers around the arrest on the bus. "Witnesses" said the Police beat him on the head with flashlights, "Witnesses" said the Police did not beat him. Medical examination shows no trama of any kind on his head, yet some feel they must push on.
