gdp's Comments

KATU - Portland, OR : City to pay man $250,000 after police mistake him as a tagger | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portla

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:43:34 +0000

How many times must a police officer lie under oath before they are terminated? Apparently, the PPD has yet to define that limit. I personally believe that there can be no lying tolerated if acting in an official capacity. Zero tolerance, period. It undermines the law and everything it stands for. Those officers should be fired and have their certifications revoked. They should also be prosecuted for felony perjury and for abuse of power. Let me guess, a transfer to the training division instead? That seems to be where they keep their felons who have been 'caught' but not prosecuted.

KATU - Portland, OR : Armed man who fired at Turner police gives himself up after standoff | Local & Regional | KATU.com -

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:03:12 +0000

Excellent work by the Turner PD! A perfect example of 'contain and defuse', as opposed to the now commonplace 'confront and escalate' tactics that most departments have made their policy. It's nice to see.

KATU - Portland, OR : Bomb threat on Korean Air flight prompts Portland fighter jets to be scrambled | Local & Regional |

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:15:43 +0000

The PANG 142nd FW is composed of (what used to be) the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron's F-15C's based, at the time, at McChord AFB. The USAF decommissioned the 318th in one of their big 'base realignments', and transferred the F-15C's from the 318th FIS (Active) to the 142nd AW (Guard) at PDX, and they then retired the 142nd's F-15A's, which were very tired. That was when PANG became responsible for the 'ready' flights, which previously was the job of the 318th. So, the responsibility came with the newer planes. Probably TMI, but if you really wanted to know...

KATU - Portland, OR : Aaron Campbell\'s mother: \'I want justice\' | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports,

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:53:46 +0000

I would strongly recommend reading it again, because with all due respect you are quite a way off on your recollections. Also, remember that this started not because he had committed a crime, but as a welfare call because his family was worried about him hurting himself. He was not a wanted felon, and there was no reason to believe that he intended to hurt anyone else. As far as the grand jury not indicting, read their statement on the incident, also in the released testimony. The were very troubled, unanimously, about the incident. However, legally they had to leave it to a civil court to decide. Thus, the settlement.

KATU - Portland, OR : Aaron Campbell\'s mother: \'I want justice\' | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports,

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:17:11 +0000

Again, if you had read the Grand Jury testimony, you would know that all residents of the apartment walked out unrestrained and unharmed. There was nobody inside the apartment to hurt. Nobody in the apartment was ever threatened. Also, you would know that he wasn't armed. It's available on the internet. Just Google it, and you will be able to get the real facts for yourself.

KATU - Portland, OR : Aaron Campbell\'s mother: \'I want justice\' | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports,

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 04:25:24 +0000

I think that it's naive to believe that the city would just pay her the $1.2 million if they thought that they had any real chance of winning in court. After reading the grand jury testimony, which I would strongly encourage all of you to do, you'll probably see that a lot of the comments here are way off base. I'm no fan of Adams, but these recommendations were made by a busload of attorneys working for the city. They paid the settlement because they very likely would've paid a lot more if it went to trial. I'm just going by the facts of the situation from the most accurate and complete source available, and after reading without bias the grand jury testimony, I'd say that she probably could've gotten more money if she took it to a jury. Again, I encourage you all to read the grand jury testimony, all of it. Some of these statements are so far off that it's baffling. IMHO.

KATU - Portland, OR : Aaron Campbell\'s mother: \'I want justice\' | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports,

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 04:12:20 +0000

Try reading the Grand Jury testimony. Either everyone on the scene was wrong, or you are. Campbell was actually being given conflicting orders by two different officers simultaneously. He followed one set of instructions, and then an officer (one of those who was suspended) shot him in the lower right of his back with a bean bag load out of a 12ga.. THEN Campbell took off running, apparently for cover, reaching back to feel how badly he was hit (he probably didn't know that he was shot with a bean bag). That's when he was killed. Then they let the police dog chew on him for a while after he was down, even after he had ceased all signs of movement, before approaching and finding him dead. Those are the facts of the case, as contained in the Grand Jury testimony. It's available on the internet. Recommended reading for anyone stating 'the facts' about the events that transpired that night.

KATU - Portland, OR : Police, family of Aaron Campbell settle lawsuit for $1.2 M | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 01:41:37 +0000

Hi noha, The D.A.'s office released the Grand Jury testimony. I've read it, and I can assure you that most of your beliefs as to the circumstances of this case are simply not true. I'd recommend reading the testimony in full, and then I suspect that you'll realize how flawed your beliefs are. (There has been a lot of misinformation spread on this, so a lot of people have misconceptions of what happened that night.) Campbell was given conflicting commands by two officers simultaneously. He followed one officer's instructions, which meant that he couldn't follow the other's. This led an officer to shoot him in the right lower back with a bean bag load out of a 12 ga. shotgun from a few meters away while he was standing still with his hands above his head. Then, his fight-or-flight instinct apparently kicked in and he started running for cover, and reached for the area where he was just hit (he didn't know it was a bean bag!), presumably to feel how badly he was wounded. That was when he was killed. Please read the testimony in full and you will know the best available information as to the circumstances that led to his killing. I'd recommend to everyone who comments on this case who hasn't yet done so to read it in full. It is the best available source of information on the events that occurred, including the order in which they occurred. Peace!

KATU - Portland, OR : 42 Wash. lawmakers ask DEA to reclassify marijuana | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sp

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:10:00 +0000

Don't forget to note that they are currently working to isolate, extract and create synthetic versions of approx. 83 individual compounds found in everyday run-of-the-mill cannabis to treat depression, anxiety, pain, cancers, and a number of other conditions because cannabis' positive effects are readily attainable for almost no money. How is 'big pharma' supposed to make profits from the sick when people can just grow their own effective medicines? That's why it's listed as Schedule 1 by the DEA, because the pharmaceutical companies have 5 lobbyists for every representative on Capitol Hill to make sure that such sensible changes never occur. Watch what they do, not what they say... It's sad that it could be helping so many people, and yet it remains grossly under-utilized because of nothing other than greed and prejudice. People in pain and suffering? No problem for them. People having to choose between negligibly effective yet often very dangerous prescription drugs and food when more effective, completely safe medication can be grown in their own yards? No problem. I'd say that helping people is pretty far down their list when it comes to their actual goals, and that they have no morals whatsoever. (Not to mention that legalization would mean the instant elimination of the black market and thus the at least half of the drug cartels' income, almost immediately. The current drug policy is truly insane. Legalize cannabis!

KATU - Portland, OR : Officer killed, five more hurt in Utah drug raid shootout | National & World News | KATU.com - Portl

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 19:29:27 +0000

Wow, this is baffling that people could so flippantly disregard the Constitution. I'm with you on that Soup, and I find it disturbing that so many are so happy to throw away the written proclamation recognizing the basic human rights of all Americans to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That includes the premise of being innocent until proven guilty. It's sad that so many completely disregard the values that so many of our friends, our fathers, and forefathers have fought for and those who died to protect these principles. The Constitution is not partisan, it is there to provide a framework of a government that protects the human rights of us all! Frankly it's sad. Those who have died protecting the rights of us all would, I'm sure, be quite disgusted, but still respect the rights of even the most ignorant to form and express their opinions, as is expressed in the First Amendment of this Constitution so many seem to care so little about. I propose that you'll reconsider your position once such liberty is no longer allowed. I love my country, and that is in no small part due to the basic human rights that it is modeled to protect, (again, as outlined in the Constitution).

KATU - Portland, OR : Officer killed, five more hurt in Utah drug raid shootout | National & World News | KATU.com - Portl

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 19:06:49 +0000

My sincere condolences to the officers and their families. I wish the survivors a quick and complete recovery. That being said, I will be interested in seeing the details and if possible the grand jury testimony on this incident. Hopefully they will be released to the public. Was there a reason that the raid needed to be carried out in assault fashion, such as an innocent possibly being in danger of being harmed if immediate action wasn't taken? Would exercising patience, using 'contain and control' tactics, and only moving to affect the arrest when the suspect had the least opportunity to mount an effective (or any) resistance to the arrest have reduced the danger to the officers as well as the public? I believe that the increasing aggressiveness in police tactics as a matter of routine are, very often, unnecessarily putting officers and citizens alike in to harm's way. A 'contain and control' approach, until the ideal circumstances are present to affect the arrest, is significantly more likely to result in a capture without conflict or injury.

KATU - Portland, OR : Police: Man planned New Year\'s goat sacrifice | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 03:30:26 +0000

It seems pretty freakin' ridiculous to me, unless he planned on torturing the animal instead of just killing it. Still, that's a shocking bail (and response, frankly) to the killing of a goat. Baffling.

KATU - Portland, OR : For Portland\'s dope king, love and mistrust | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports,

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 16:17:10 +0000

Just so you're clear on this, it can't kill you. In over 5000 years of recorded medicinal and recreational use, it has not been associated with one single fatality. Period. Ever. So, it can hurt you? It can kill you? You must be referring to Alcohol and Tobacco alone, both of which are legal and have in fact hurt and killed people, and still are. Just FYI. I agree that it should be legalized. The enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws has killed scores, while marijuana itself has never killed anyone. Happy new year!

KATU - Portland, OR : For Portland\'s dope king, love and mistrust | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland News, Sports,

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 16:07:16 +0000

Quite a hit piece, and a fine example of 'yellow journalism'. How is this news? Disappointing, KATU. It's too bad that you couldn't find something more relevant to publish, perhaps something that doesn't reek of sarcasm and bias? I know, I apparently ask too much of you.

KATU - Portland, OR : Investigators: Evidence doesn\'t support officer\'s friendly fire claims | Local & Regional | KATU.c

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 23:47:01 +0000

In general, 38 states have what are called one party consent statutes. This means that as long as one is a party, and the person doing the recording would be considered a party, then the person being recorded does not have to give consent. So one CAN legally record another “in person” without their consent unless the recording is for unlawful activity. One cannot record any other 2 or more party conversations unless they are a part of that conversation. Oregon is a one-party law state, so yes, it is legal to record another person without their consent as long as it's only you and the other party in the conversation.. There is some fuzzy ground around recording police, but as a general rule when dealing with non-LE, in Oregon, it's O.K.. Washington State is one of the 'all party consent rule' states, by contrast.

KATU - Portland, OR : Investigators: Evidence doesn\'t support officer\'s friendly fire claims | Local & Regional | KATU.c

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 23:21:11 +0000

I think that your assumption that 'bullet fragment analysis' only refers to lead batch analysis is a grossly mistaken premise, which you should research further. You will find that most fragments of bullets consist of bits of core and bonded jacketing materials. That doesn't alter the fact that the interpretation of both have been proven to be fundamentally unreliable and therefore the FBI doesn't even perform such tests unless the surviving jacketing on the fragment supports traditional bullet analysis techniques. Regardless, it still doesn't address the most disconcerting fact that the OSPCL fabricated this mock-up photo and that the WCSO presented it as evidence to support their theory of events to the media / public. The point here is that both should have known better. And that, sir, is no conspiracy theory. If you contact them and get an answer as to why they didn't do the comparisons which you suggest, I'd be interested in hearing the answer. Just post it back to this and Intensedebate will e-mail me. Thanks, and Happy New Year!

KATU - Portland, OR : Investigators: Evidence doesn\'t support officer\'s friendly fire claims | Local & Regional | KATU.c

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 01:50:01 +0000

The type of analysis to which you refer, which for years were used to help convict many, has been proven to be so unreliable that the FBI themselves have stopped doing such analyses. They also issued a press release on this (and as LE I'm sure that you know they don't issue this type of press release unless they really get caught indisputably making a serious mistake, which the second link describes in much better detail). From the FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/f... And here is a more in-depth look in to this from CBS's 60 Minutes, which broke this story initially (The FBI basically had to be coerced by the press to issue their press release after this segment aired. They didn't want to admit to their 40 years of mistakes, even though they knew the science was bad and that it meant that innocent people were in jail because of it.): http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/16/60minut... I would recommend reading them they're rather interesting. In the end, it's been shown that such analysis produces evidence that is undeniably unreliable, despite extensive testimony (used to convict many) by FBI forensics experts espousing the "undeniable fingerprint-like accuracy" of bullet lead analysis when bullet fragments were unable to support standard visual comparison techniques. That being said, my biggest concern was, and still is, that the State Crime Lab went to such effort to create such a picture, using fragmented bullets that weren't even related to this case and trying to pass them off as some form of valid comparative evidence. That picture is highly prejudicial, with zero evidentiary value, yet I suspect that it was allowed in to evidence against the guy who was convicted anyway (it does APPEAR to have evidentiary value, and many would miss such a detail). If nothing else, it's certainly grounds for appeal if it did get in as evidence. If so, then both the prosecution and either the defense or the judge really messed up. However, without the transcript of the trial I have no idea the role that it actually played. I'm only speculating because of the level of effort that went in to creating the mock up, and the fact that it was released to the press by the sheriff's office under the guise of 'backing up' the official take on the events. (To be clear, I'm not saying the convicted guy or the former officer are right or wrong, innocent or guilty, just that this 'evidence' and the creation and use of it, in the court OR the media, stinks really bad. They all should all know better.) Peace!

KATU - Portland, OR : Investigators: Evidence doesn\'t support officer\'s friendly fire claims | Local & Regional | KATU.c

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:06:16 +0000

Hi Scotty, Thanks for the question. Actually, there is no identical round, as each bullet will fragment differently. 5 of the same bullets from the same manufacturer fired in to the same target from the same gun will result in 5 different fragmentation profiles. No two are exactly alike. That is perhaps where the logical breakdown occurred. Some bullet designs are more prone to fragmentation then others, the .223 being more likely to fragment between the two due to it's significantly higher velocity. The photo implies, deceptively, that the fragment came from the .30-06 round that shot the officer. Why did they choose those particular bullets? Because that particular .223 doesn't really look like the fragment could have come from it, and that particular .30-06 round does, but that's not evidence. It's a mockup, a comparison between unassociated items. If they had recovered the actual rounds that were fired, they could make a valid association by comparing the weight of the fragment to the weight that was lost from the bullets, but in the photo they're comparing apples to oranges and calling them all apples, which is disingenuous. I can tell you that the only thing with any evidentiary value in that photo is the fragment removed from the body of the officer. The other two bullets are there to mislead people in to thinking that there is an association between the fragment and the .30-06 bullet where none can be made. I could recover, from a pile of fired .223 rounds, one that looks like the 'mother' of that fragment as well. They undoubtedly picked their 'model' rounds to support their argument, and didn't clearly specify that they were hand picked likely for exactly for that reason. That's what I find troubling. It's prejudicial, not evidentiary. Happy new year!

KATU - Portland, OR : Investigators: Evidence doesn\'t support officer\'s friendly fire claims | Local & Regional | KATU.c

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:05:29 +0000

"is compared to a fragment that shows the type of bullet the Washington County deputy fired and to another fragment of the World War II-era bullet Tokanaga used." Note that these are not the ACTUAL bullets recovered at the scene that were fired from either the .223, or the .30-06. They are 'the type' of bullets. This is not evidence, it's a mockup. The only real evidence in the photograph is the fragment recovered from the officer's body, and only one angle of it is shown. The fact that they would place it next to two totally unrelated bullets and play games to try to pass it off as real evidence is troubling to me, and should trouble everyone.

KATU - Portland, OR : Officer who fired \'wrong round\' at man pleads not guilty | Local & Regional | KATU.com - Portland

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:15:52 +0000

Not to mention that no knife was recovered. The only mention of a knife was in the 911 call. The caller saw him at a distance so it's basically nothing more than rumor. I haven't found anything other than a claim that the 911 caller made saying she thought he had a knife to back up the 'suspect was armed' theory. If you have other info that they recovered a blade, I'd be interested in seeing it, but I wholeheartedly agree with your statement anyway. As far as him being a trainer, that's where the PPD assigns it's officers with disciplinary problems, as Reister has had before. Brilliant idea, I thought. And it seems to be working out marvelously...