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Can You Trust Law Enforcement?
Last week we discussed the shooting death of Aaron Campbell at the hands of the Portland police. But the Skanner newspaper has taken the discussion to a new level — one that we want to pick up on, with thanks to them. Here's an excerpt from their recent editorial:
The fact is, we at The Skanner News simply have to warn our readers away from calling the police when they are in a crisis situation. We cannot have faith that innocents won't get caught in the firing line when trigger-finger officers arrive in force. We need to start solving our own problems.
There is a sense in the community of desperation at this situation never seems to change because there are no consequences to the officers who do the shooting. We should be more like our Asian brothers and sisters and solve our own problems. We as adults need to talk to these young men to de-escalate the situation ourselves.
... if you are in crisis in Portland, think twice before you bring in law enforcement. James Chasse, Kendra James, James Jahar Perez, Jose Santos Victor Mejia Poot, Damon Lowery, Duane Anthony Shaw, Byron Hammick, Deonte Keller. What do all these people have in common? All were killed at the hands of the police. Think twice. What do you think?
We're turning the Skanner's question to you: what do you think? What's your experience with the police? Do you trust them to handle your community's problems? Or do you think it is time to take care of them yourself? If so, what does that look like — and how would it work?
GUESTS:
- Lisa Loving: News editor at The Skanner
- Harry Jackson: Retired Portland Police lieutenant currently working as a public safety officer
- Ronault L.S. "Polo" Catalani: Program coordinator for the New Portland program and contributing edtor for The Asian Reporter
Tagged as: community · police · race · violence
Photo credit: Talicat2000 / Creative Commons
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As a former state trooper, I can only say that until you have gone on a few ride alongs (at a minimum) and have seen first hand what decisions a police officer may need to make in the fraction of a second, you should not be so judgemental. It's easy for all of us who are not in the line of fire, who get to replay the incidents over and over in slow motion, to be judgemental.
I find that The Scanner News article to be as ignorant as it comes, and only serves to create panic and distrust. Should the community police themselves? Absolutely. Should you call the police if you need help? Of course. Don't want to? Okay, you approach the suspect(s) on a dark night on your own, and let's see if you have a little bit of a different opinion when they put their hands in their coat pocket and start to pull something out...
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I avoid walking down the same street when I see police on it... calling them for "help" is out of the question.
The government and citizens have given them the power to shoot first with no consequences besides
payed vacation. I have lived in Portland all of my life and watched the cops do evil, twisted and cruel things
and not one of them has been indited. Remember the "possum incident", Don't choke 'em smoke 'em.
this is what i grew up with and it has never stopped. We have never had a reason to trust cops. -
I don't know why we keep talking about race..."culturally appropriate grief/depression counseling..." ?/???? Why aren't we talking about how this guy had a police record? he was a drug dealer (former), had been in jail, had a restraining order against him, and was sending texts like "I'm not kidding, I'm going to get my gun". A family member had called the police in because she was scared..not only for the man's life but for the lives of family members who were around him. If you have classified yourself as a "bad guy" because you have a police record and you are currently threatening people, you should not be treated the same as a victim who needs police assistance. This was not a "good guy" who was shot by the police. It was a very irresponsible self absorbed guy. So he was depressed because of a family member's death. How many people die everyday? Do all their family member's threaten others with guns?
Come on, this has been totally blown out of proportion. Your reputation precedes you and this guy was totally responsible for the way police viewed him as a dangerous threat.
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There are times when we need police, but in my town (lake oswego) the police have an us-against-them attitude. If a person goes to court, he or she encounters a hack judge who listens to police lie week after week, says nothing, and metes out punishment to law-abiding citizens. I will not call the police unless it is absolutely necessary and I am kept out of it. This is not a black-white issue here. It's a police vs citizen issue and needs to be addressed. Of course, I won't address it in a non-anonymous forum because I am convinced the police will target me and my family.
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The unfortunate part of all this, you can't trust the police, or quite frankly the community, to give an honest depiction of the events---although to be fair you can't trust most groups to give honest depictions. Is this a problem with the Portland police? Is this problem racism? Or is it a combination? Or is it just a bad situation with no one to blame? Perhaps, it is just difficult to ever to get to the truth of something like this. But, the quote from the Skanner article was, obviously, the safe material. It leaves out the 'Reverend' Jesse Jackson, and the insinuations that this is all about racism. If the beginning to the 'start solving our own problems,' is a visit by the outsider, anti-gay marriage, bigot, Mr. Jackson, then, good night, and good luck.
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For reasons too lengthy to go into here, my mother raised me to be very skeptical of uniforms. As a young woman, I have been pulled over late at night for ABSOLUTELY no violation, and kept sitting in my car while the policeman did whatever he did. These experiences cemented my fear, not of the policies, but of the persons given that authority. I don't think we really face a policy problem, but a social crisis, where unstable people are among those seeking positions of trust. By no means does this paint the whole scene, my brother and his wife are both decorated, superb, police officers. There are the best, and, I think, the worst, represented in the "force."
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This is a really difficult situation and question. These days it's a dicey situation for anyone to try to deal with situations in the community. As a white man who has taught "at-risk" students in inner-city Tucson and having done a fair amount of study about gangs and gang culture I really feel that mistakes like this shooting only encourage communities to band together in quasi-military groups to try to police their own community, groups we refer to as gangs. Look at the history of the major gangs in our country. Invariably there was a paucity of effective mainstream policing which preceded gang formation.
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This incident is further confirmation of the playwright Brendan Behan's observation "That there is no situation so dismal that the presence of the police can't make it worse!" The police have taken on an 'Us vs, Them' They no longer view themselves as Peace Officers but as Law Enforcers. Look at the militarization of police, the incidents of agent provacateurs at the demonstration, the overwhelming force. The internal investigations always find them as acting within procedure. Maybe the procedure needs to change.
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I am a business professional in the Portland area. I had the unfortunate experience of receiving a DUII. On the police report it stated I 'resisted arrest'. There was no explaination of this and I find this to be either an exaggeration or a blatant lie. I have completely lost respect for the police in Oregon. Period. I completely admit my mistake but because of this remark I am holding back on any donations or support for our police.
Young kids race cars in my Westside residential neighborhood. A neighbor states their children who have been to their homes are involved in illegal business and fear reporting them. One kid hit a street light one day. I ran out to help the kid but because of my personal disrespect and fear of the police I did not call for help. I would like the car racing to stop too but I do not want to be the person to call this in.
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What your speakers are saying is true, of course. Many police are wonderful, dedicated, public servants fully deserving of our respect. Unfortunately, a police department is only as good as its worst members, not its best. Police too often "protect their own," which means that the bad apples do not get weeded out. Please focus more on the problem officers, and not these admirable ones, who we all know exist.
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The Scanner’s position appears to be conveniently contrived to facilitate continuing its existence, nothing more and nothing less.
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What needs to change is that Portland Police need to start interacting with the public in non-crisis situation and start learning the people that live here. Portland police on patrol have been the most unfriendly and distant in the many places I've lived across the US. They seem wholly un-engaged with the public which makes everyone a suspect.
The police stations are locked and un-manned. How is that being part of a community?
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This is the most practical comment I have read. I think that implicit bias plays a role in the decisions being made under such extreme circumstances. Building relationships across difference is a powerful remedy! Thanks for this comment.
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If the Police Bureau does not have a deficit in training around race and class issues, would they have gone into the home of a white, middle class federal public defender in the west hills and assumed she died of natural causes rather than treated it as a crime scene, which it was? If that person was an African American woman in N Portland, would the assumption have been the same?
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It think it is fair to say that black people have more experience with the police then other segments of society, so, whether it is racism, or just dislike for the police, because they have dealt with the police more frequently, would be hard to say. For instance, I personally don't have a high opinion of contractors, because I have personally dealt with many.
I don't trust or like the police either. Why would you? Why should you? Didn't a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Deputy just shoot three people in a bar in Gresham? Were the American police ever meant to solve problems? The police are more like problem locators, possibly problem preventers, but they are not problem solvers. Police, like most US law enforcement, have been on a power trip since they began.
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P.S. I think if your 'family' is in a need of the Police to solve problems, especially on a regular basis, then you have already failed miserably and lost the battle. The premise behind the droll editorial, is like asking for the wine list at Denny's.
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As a survivor of domestic violence, there are multiple occasions when I should have called the police but did not out of fear. I was afraid of the outcome, of escalating the violence. When I finally sought a restraining order against my abuser, the judge cited the multiple instances that I did not call the police as her reasoning for dismissing it. I urge people to consider the long term consequences in the court of law when they decide to "handle crisis situations" alone.
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I think that this is an important one discuss further. While the judge may have made the wrong decision in this instance, and its entirely probable that it is the status quo decision, there are plenty of instances when police are called to domestic violence calls and only assault both parties and make the situation worse. The real issue is that none of the systems we actually use work for preventing and stopping abuse. There need to be REAL ALTERNATIVES for people facing domestic violence and other forms of abuse. Just because the police are one of the only avenues currently for addressing problems doesn't mean that that SHOULD be the case and that we can't advocate for more and better solutions. And maybe the funding needs to be taken away from Police institutions to pay for real services to assist people in need.
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When I lived in Denver there was a bar on the corner of my street. On a Sunday afternoon there were a group of four very drunk people in front of the bar being very loud. I called the police to complain about the noise; disturbing the peace. 45 minutes later they were still outside, no police and now they started to fight with each other. Another phone call to 911 about the situation. About a half an hour goes by, still no police and they all get in there cars and drive away except for one who gets on his motorcycle and drives down the sidewalk and then crashes into a parked car. Another call to 911 to report the drunk driving and crash. It was a very minor crash but he couldn't get his bike up because he was so drunk. After about 20 minutes someone from the bar helped him get it up- still no police. He drove away. From this experience I have lost faith that if you call the police/ 911 that they will show up.
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I don't think the problem is just an immigrant or minority problem. My friends with strange color hair or too many tattoos
get harassed almost as much as I do. The police first instinct seems to be... shoot or taze first and think later.
I'm sure its a hard job, but if you can't do it well without pulling out a gun or a mini electrocution device maybe you
should try out career that won't get citizens killed. -
2 years ago a neighbor was distraught and said that he was planning to shoot himself, and can they do a wellfare check. I have a lot of personal history with depression and suicide and I knew he needed help. I called the Milwaukie PD, I explained he was not violent, and didn't want to hurt anyone but himself.
I was on the phone with the dispatcher, standing on my balcony, when I saw 2 Milwaukie PD officers sneeking up the drive to our appartment complex with REALLY big guns. They knocked on his door announced themselves and told him to come out with his hands up.
It was as if they were coming to capture a Al Capone rather than do a wellfare check.
My neighbor never got help that night. It was a big waste of tax payer money, and it made the cops look like insensitive jerks.
But what else do you do when someone is distraught and contemplating killing themselves?
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The system and the culture of violence has to change, it does affects desproportionaly more people of color and the poor. Immigrants are affected and potentially increasingly when the Portland police (and any other police) colaborates with the ICE police. There has been cases where the police are called for domestic violence (as an example) and after all the family end up separeted (family members been detained and/or deported) because the police called ICE or the ICE police are present in the detantion center. The 287g program that is beeen pushed by the federal government is affecting greatly and will worsen this situation, this program requieres that police collaborate with ICE. People ultimatelly don't trust the police, because they are afraid things will end up realy bad. Police should change and become a real sign of community safety and for that there should be change of the culture in the police and that should start with accountability and listen to the people. I know that efforts have been put into that but not enough.
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The death of Mr Cambell speaks to burden placed upon law officers and health care professionals who do thier best to provide safety and care for individuals with both chronic and acute mental heal issues. The complete evisceration of funding for mental health services places the burden on law enforcement and the medical model to triage these situations. Neither systems are ideally equipped to help people overcome acute or chronic mental health issues. Trained crisis councelors, potentially from the commmunity itself, being present in these type of domestic violence and/or suicidal calls for police is a start.
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What happen to Aaron Campbell, James Chasse, and others like them obviously show us the inherent problem with asking a militarized force to contain crisis situations rather than creating resources that deal with the underlying causes of these issues or even resources that are better trained and not armed with weapons to deal with crisis situations.
Many community alternatives already exist across the United States. Two specifically in the northwest are Cahoots in Eugene and CARA in Seattle, WA. In Eugene, when you call 911, if someone is having a mental health crisis of any kind, Cahoots is dispatched instead of the police. (their website:http://whitebirdclinic.org/cahoots.html). Cahoots is a group people trained as to intervene in crisis situations funded through the city. If Portland had a similar resources, Aaron Campbell and James Chasse would still be living today.
The Scanner is right. We would do much better to use the funding of the police towards actually dealing with the causes of crisis's such as providing decent jobs, mental health, drug abuse, and domestic violence services that are culturally appropriate and don't pathologize or stigmatize people, and schools that actually engage our children rather than making them fit into standarized testing boxes.
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Thank you for bringing this grave issue to NPR. There's a conflict inside each citizen about the police. We want and appreciate police protection, but we also want assurance we are protected from the police. The second part, "protection from the police," is a part that not all citizens understand. Without provoking the officer and after he had already checked my ID in his system, when I was only seventeen, I was attacked by a policeman with a large metal flashlight. I ducked, struggled away, and ran. When he caught up with me, he drew his shiny .45 caliber semiautomatic and loaded a round into the barrel, pointing his weapon at me; although I was standing with a torn tank top, shorts, no shoes, and no weapon. I was next to a populated apartment building. He screamed at me to get on the ground, then put his knee in my back and pushed the barrel of his pistol hard against the back of my skull. His behavior was clearly the result of watching too many cop and cowboy shows on TV and too much boredom in the meantime. The perpetuation of paranoia in our society is a problem as well. I've know excellent policeman of character and sacrifice, but there is a serious problem in our society and the police force with the idea of playing out the role of some fictional character seen on TV or in a movie.
Another time I was simply walking to work and was misidentified as a recent bank robber by the bus driver of the bus I had just departed. As a result, about two blocks after leaving the bus, three cop cars rushed up to me, and several, about seven, officers made a firing formation with pistols and shotguns drawn and loaded, all pointing at me. The sound of all those firearms being loaded and pointed at me, standing in total innocence, is something that I can never forget when I think of the police, as is the feeling of the shiny loaded .45 caliber pressed hard on my skull. See, the irony is that the closest I've ever come to death or to being shot has been by the Portland and Beaverton police. It's the irony that's so conflicting, of course, as well as the tragedy of those less fortunate than me. I'm a caucasian educated male, by the way.
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I do NOT trust the police, nor should you. EVER. They are not in the business of helping, or protecting or serving. They are in it for the adrenaline rush, the power and the fear they instill in the public. The Us vs. Them others have mentioned above is the mentality every officer I have ever met have. As others have mentioned, no officer is ever held accountable for murdering people. I bet if Jeffrey Grahn hadn't killed himself after shooting his wife and two of her friends the cops would have found a way to get him off and he would have retired with public funded benefits. With the current economic climate, I think one of the best areas to cut is to completely disband SRT/SWAT teams. They are an unnecessary expense that also further militarizes the police force. I believe anyone that has any common sense would realize the relationship between the police and the public (who they WORK for and pay for) has deteriorated to the point beyond repair. It has gotten so bad, I don't even care when someone does something terrible and shoots four officers in Washington, I just can no longer summon up sympathy - they sure don't have any for the people they kill, they joke about it on camera after.
Anyone who has the audacity to ever question cops always ends up harassed, arrested for false claims and no one ever stands up to them. Not the mayor, not the governor, no one. Ever wonder why?
Who polices the police? No one.
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That was the best Think Out Loud program I have ever heard. Great job to the hosts and all the guests!
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African american fathers need to stay with their families and be a parent to their sons. Without a solid family unit, no amount of police, community services, etc. can fix this.
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Emily said something to the effect of: Isn't it a failure of the system if you have to call a specific person instead of trusting the system?
I would say: No, it's effective peace officers working around an already failed system in which the police are disconnected from the people they are charged to protect and, in turn, are becoming more militaristic to protect themselves from us.
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Terima kasih (I offer our love), Slakr -- for two things:
1) for making your public broadcaster better at her and his very important work; and
2) for getting down to one of several really big points I believe made during our on-air hour. thank you. A thousand-thousand thank yous from both our families struggling to resettle in their new homes, our City; and on behalf of those Peace Officers working the way they do. Caring for us, the way they do.
-Ronault LS (Polo) Catalani
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"Police work attracts some of the best and some of the worst in society." anonymous police officer
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" NO WE CAN NOT TRUST OREGON POLICE " .... Friday night week before christmas (08) while walking home was stoped beaten and left out cold / knocked out on the other side of the street where I was assulted ... I was a block from the house ; when I woke up walked back to the resteant I has left and then walked myself to the hospital ... In my expearance over the last decade police are the enemy ... you do not call police ; no matter what ! look into the laws of oregon ; go to oregontrackers.com ... In my opinion the police are who belong in jail ......... talked with a local county commisioner about this and was told that this was common police behaviour and that he hears this story often ; that there really was not much that can be done ... police are not our friend ... I am 58 ...
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I agree. I think we as society should work out our own problems.
Unfortunately, I do have experience with the police. After I called the police; they took matters into their own hands and completely disregarded the initial reason for my call. As a direct effect of this - a family of six has been suffering, is still suffering and the future looks extremely dim of any happiness and calm. If law enforcement let "victims" have more rights, not let police control the situation (as the police are only people too) I think our society would be better off...
Please help a struggling family of six...
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Lets remember that Police officers are human beings. and there for falable.
Also they are asked to do a job where at an unsuspecting moment they can be killed.
I think as a sosiety police need the benefit of the dought. That does not mean that if something happen we just take there word for it. But if you who have never had to make a life or death desition in a blink of an eye and you constantly tell police they are doing wrong and tacking on rule that make it imposible to do their job soon we will not have anyone or only the people who really shouldnt be police officers taking the job.
And then we will all be a lot worse off
Thank you to our police who do their jobs to well!
Jon
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Yes of Course Portland Police are to be trusted. How many times have you been attacked by them in Portland? Statistically your chances are equal to being attacked by the Gas station attendant as to an attack by Portland police. That being written, Abandoning driving all together would be the move of a Fool wouldn't it?
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then clearly you need better statistics. Or better interpretation of your stats. Only a fool would blindly trust a stranger on a power trip with a gun.
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I'd like to turn this discussion back to the topic of alternatives to the police: communities coming together, identifying their needs on their terms, and making plans to intervene and provide safety, prevent and repair harm.
Like Lisa said today so many communties, espcially communities of color and poor communities, don't trust or call the police because of fear of harm, or death. This is likely more common than many people think.
There's a strong histroy of alternatives to the police in the US - and all over the world. Domestic violence response was community based before there was a formal movement and shelter system - because domestic violence wasn't considered a crime. Queer and women based groups, like Safe Outside the System in NYC and CARA in Seattle, have found ways to help themselves becuase the police harm them more then help them.
In South Africa during aparthide the cops didn't "serve and protect" Black South African communities. So the ANC, with the leadership of young people and women, came togehter and formed street committies to resolve disputes, address property crime, and provide for accountability.
Building alternatives will take time, intention and real work. But when police produce this much harm, espcially in communities of color, poor communities, queer communities, and against youth and individuals with mental illness, we have to realize that the institution is failing us. It is not preventing harm. We need a change.
Start talking to your neighbors and friends. Do a web search on alternatives to the police. Start with a safety buddy. Our communities have strength and skills that we can access.
Let's talk about what can we create Something that is both just and safe, and truly accountable to our community. Let's keep talking.
Thanks to the Skanner for giving this important discussion space.
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It is tragic that an unarmed person was killed, however he would be alive if he had complied with instructions given to him.
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That is sadly not true.
He did comply. What is coming out clearly in reports is that Aaron Campbell was complying with officer orders.
Officers giving him instructions (Quackenbush, et. all) and officer Frashour were _not_ communiting with each other; they were not aware of the actions other PPB officers were taking.
The Oregonian is providing coverage of this :
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/02/portland_police_release_report.html
The Grand Jury letter discusses this as well:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/grand_jury_letter_says_portlan.html
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Personally I think of law enforcement as the largest organized gang in the country running the largest protection racket in the country... they have their "colors", signs, initiations, "hoods" and periodically threaten the public with danger to life/property when the run short of funds to operate.
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I totally understand the rationale for this editorial. As a sixty year old Black male resident of the City of Portland. I am aware of a number of questionable shootings that have occurred in Portland since I was in high school. For years the Portland Police Department has been allowed to kill members of our community at will. Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, Asians, Mentally Challenged Individuals don't stand a chance when all the officer needs to say is "I was frightened for my life," and receive carte blanc permission to kill our citizens. Paying millions of dollars to surviving family members has become routine. The Multnomah District Attorney's office is always eager to conduct an inquest that always sides with the police no matter what procedural errors they have made or how recklessly they act in crisis situations. We the citizens are always wrong. The police are supposed to have a group of officers specifically trained to deal with crisis, suicidal type calls. Unfortunately they never seem to be able to respond to incidents that could benefit from their participation, or Command Staff is contacted too late thereby leaving poorly trained officers and supervisors to make life and death decisions in our behalf. We need to focus on how the Portland Police deal with with our community as a whole. I do not hate the Portland Police Department. I have attended grade school, high school and college with some excellent police officers. As an original Youth Gang Outreach Worker with the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods in 1988. I have seen the community and police department make progress in the area of community relations. We need to come to up with a positive solution to help improve the distrust that exists on both sides. We need both Community and City Hall participation to rectify the mistrust that currently exists.
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I was fortunate enough to tune into this program on my way home from work tonight. Many of my own concerns about the portland police activities were being addressed. I am the mother of a 17 year old white male who has no faith in the portland police (or any police for that matter) and considers them all bullies. I can't say that I blame him because he has been mistreated by portland police and knows of peers that have been physically injured as well as verbally abused. Whereas my husband and i have had conversations with our son about what it must be like to be a police officer and see what they see day in and day out etc...... well, that argument loses validity when he is picked up before curfew because he is "suspect"and is seperated from his friends and handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser. Meanwhile, his cell phone is taken from him and he is not allowed to call his parents for over two hours. He is lied to in that time , threatened and verbally abused. There is no way to sugar coat that. He was greatly upset by this whole experience. How does this kind of treatment teach respect? Where is the trust building in this kind of treatment of our youth? I would say that there is a gap here that needs to be bridged otherwise it will keep growing. Police officers need to be well versed in effective, non-violent, and non- threatening ways of communicating with our youth. I want to thank all of those police officers who do their job from the heart and I do realize not all are bullies.
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Our current is we are employing Irac war trained children with distroyed egos ; these children are trained to kill with out thought ... what has happened in the killing in portland is an example of the depth of this style of training ... Through a personal expearance of my own I have learned that police in oregon are expected to lie with knowing that there is no fear or recorce ... A couple weeks ago there is a great artical in eugene weekly on this ... No we the people of oregon can not trust our police ... nor those who hire them ... nor ourself as we are the one who hires them all ... Our police are not health people and sadly it is our falt and not theres as we ; you and I ; really are who create them ; through our churchs , our schools , and tv/move/cartoon marketing ... We are the problem ... the police are simply an UGLY system of ourself ... Think also about how we treat police review systems , bit of a joke huh ... like our police .
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Being able to trust your local police is important for business owners and citizens alike!
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Not, Nor do I Trust Terra Firma itself; I tripped on plotting, vicious SAND recently.
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Without describing exactly how; The Tyranny claim Global Warming is the emphatic cause of any and all suspected Legal aberration.
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I don't have much experience with the polic, I try my best to avoid taking tea with them.
memory foam mattress -
Personally, I think the law is the country's largest criminal organization, is the biggest protection racket in the country ... have their "color, design, empowerment and" hackers "and a threat to the public on a regular basis, risk their lives lack of operational funds / property.
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Comments are now closed.
Japanese police have a hell of a lot more skill, courage, and patience than Portland police.
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Headline: Policeman shoots boy in knife attack in Chiba
Sunday, October 19, 2003 at 00:50 JST
CHIBA A policeman on Saturday shot and seriously wounded a 15-year-old boy who stabbed him at a police box in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, after pretending he needed help, police said.
The boy approached the police post alone and suddenly tried to stab the policeman around 2:40 p.m. with three knives he had concealed. The boy was shot in the leg by the 36-year-old policeman, who suffered light injuries to his neck and face in the attack. (Kyodo News)
Comment on the original news site: Don't Japanese police officers have to go through a training course in unarmed combat? If not, why not? I find it very hard to believe that the only course of action open to a supposedly trained 36-year-old attacked by a 15-year-old BOY, even one with a knife, is to shoot the kid. If he had time to draw his gun, he had time to disarm the boy.
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I heard this story right after it happened from someone who lived in Japan. It went something like this. The boy approached the cop with a knife and cut him. The cop told him to "stop it" and took the knife. The boy pulled another one and cut him again. Again, the cop told him to stop. It was finally on the third knife attack that the cop shot the kid, and even then shot him to incapacitate the kid in the knee, not kill him.
Police in Portland are out of control. It is time to reign them in before the citizens get fed up. The time should be long past for cowboy justice.