Source: Willamette Week (OR) Contact: 822 SW 10th Ave. Portland, OR 97205 Fax: (503) 243-1115 Website: http://www.wweek.com/ Pubdate: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 Author: Jordana Sardo POLICING THE POLICE The Portland Police riot against protesters condemning police harassment ["Black & Blue," WW, Aug. 26, 1998] is an outrageous example of the blatant disregard that the police have for citizens' constitutional right to assemble and a sample of the virulent racism of the police department. The more I learned about the incident, the more I shook my head in disbelief--firing on peaceful protesters, revoking a mother's custody rights, reinforcing racist stereotypes on gang-affiliation issues, shutting down a private event. Sounds like a reenactment of the civil-rights struggles in the South. It will take much more than hugs from the mayor to defend the rights of people against police brutality. The subsequent meeting following the police action last weekend did not deal with the real abuses that occurred and offered no solutions. I am impressed with and totally support the position held by Adrienne Weller, District 18 State Representative candidate, that we need a civilian police review board, independent of City Hall, to have some community control over the police. Weller believes that the police should be accountable to the community when their behavior is out of control and they wildly over-react to people exercising their constitutional rights. A civilian review board would provide the community with a means to penalize officers who abridge people's civil and human rights. I agree, especially when the right to assemble to protest unfair treatment is met with brutal force. Jordana Sardo Northeast 88th Avenue Note: Willamette Week welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry