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news By Alan Pittman Eugene Police hit Copwatch videographer Tim Lewis on the head with a flashlight last week, took him to the hospital for eight stitches and charged him with resisting arrest, interfering with police, harassment and assault on a public safety officer. He faces up to a year in jail if convicted. Police charged in a press release that Lewis "jumped on one officer's back and punched the officer in the face." But witnesses say Lewis never assaulted police and was singled out for a beating and arrest because of his Copwatch work for police accountability. "The Eugene police are out of control," Lewis said in a statement from jail professing his innocence. The Independence Day incident began at about 11 pm when police showed up in the Whiteaker neighborhood near 3rd and Blair to investigate a street bonfire that firefighters had extinguished. Police say they were met by "40 or 50 belligerent people yelling and cursing at them." The police say they proceeded to arrest Steven Heslin, a prominent local anarchist, for disorderly conduct. Police followed Heslin to the front porch of a nearby house where he was handcuffed and carried off the porch. At that point, police allege that Lewis jumped on the officer and punched him. The police say Heslin escaped still wearing the handcuffs while they struggled to arrest Lewis. Lewis received a "minor injury to his head" during the arrest, police say. Videos of the incident shot by two neighbors show Lewis walking up to the side of the porch wall and looking over while police are arresting Heslin. "What the fuck are you doing?" Lewis yells. The video does not show Lewis jumping or punching any officer. Seconds later, the video shows police dragging Lewis backwards through the front yard garden while Lewis is cuffed behind the back. "Get on your feet!" an officer shouts. "I can't, I can't," Lewis says. Sirens wail and police flashlight beams dance around in the darkness. Viewed in slow motion, a red smear of what appears to be blood splatters off Lewis's head as police drag him through a shrub. "They busted open his head," says Tim Ream, Lewis's partner in producing environmental protest videos. "There was blood all over." Ream says the police targeted Lewis because of his years of Copwatch activities videotaping and speaking out against officer misconduct. "Tim has been a thorn in their side for a long time," Ream says. "There are police who would love to get him alone in a dark alley." Robin Terranova, a local Eugene PeaceWorks activist and anarchist, says he didn't see Lewis hit anyone. Once the police arrested Lewis, they left quickly, leaving Heslin sitting on the porch still handcuffed. "They had their prize," Terranova says. Heslin says he obeyed police orders and never tried to escape. "They forgot me there." Police charged Heslin with escape, disorderly conduct and theft of the handcuffs. Heslin, who says he feared a police beating, turned himself in two days later at the courthouse after removing the "painful" cuffs. Heslin says he received a deep gash above his eye from being dragged on the ground by police. He says he and Lewis were singled out because of their criticism of police. "There's 30 people and they go after the people who have been making the police brutality complaints. It seems pretty obvious to me." Neighbor Martha Smith, 26, says she didn't see Lewis strike an officer while she was videoing the incident. The police appeared to be looking for a confrontation rather than who started the bonfire, she says. "They could have just left." Another neighbor who videoed the incident also said she didn't see Lewis strike anyone. The woman declined to give her name because of fear of police retaliation. She says Lewis was charged with assault not because of what he did, but because of what police did to him. "It's because he got hit," she says. "They have to say you've been violent because there's no other justification." "I'm worried," says Lewis's wife, Cheryl Reinhart, co-owner of the Sweet Life Bakery. "He's being targeted for his political beliefs and footage," she says, standing in the living room of her historic home trying to comfort her crying seven-week-old daughter. "It feels like they can just take him away whenever they want." "I'm worried," says Lewis's wife, Cheryl Reinhart, co-owner of the Sweet Life Bakery. "He's being targeted for his political beliefs and footage," she says, standing in the living room of her historic home trying to comfort her crying seven-week-old daughter. "It feels like they can just take him away whenever they want." news
shorts "We urge the police union to make a public commitment to promote rather than resist policy direction and oversight by the elected City Council and mayor," a July 10 letter to the city from the citizens stated. "We have a right to expect that our police will both enforce our laws, and protect the constitutional rights of all citizens, even those with unpopular opinions." After intense criticism from even their political allies, the police union leaders withdrew their threat to sue Kelly last week but did not apologize. But the citizen group said "withdrawing the threatened suit does not undo the damage. In fact, the move deprives Councilor Kelly of vindication in the courtroom." The letter described the threatened lawsuit as a "political maneuver" by the union to damage Kelly's reputation and divert attention from the police misconduct issues he raised. UO constitutional law Professor Garrett Epps said in a press conference and public forum before the council last week that the police must have known that they had no chance of succeeding in a lawsuit against Kelly. During the civil rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times vs. Sullivan that police in Alabama couldn't sue for libel unless the paper had maliciously published wrong information about named officers. "Every first-year law student knows this case," Epps said. Epps says he didn't vote for Kelly but, "I regard this [police union] abuse of the legal process as an attempt to quiet dissent and as something that should alarm everyone." The police didn't intend to carry through with the threat but rather the intent was "to send a message to the community that people should think twice before criticizing police policy." Activist Ruth Duemler said many in the community do feel "intimidated by the police." She said, "Many feel their civil rights are no longer possible." "People should feel protected by the police, not threatened," former City Councilor Shawn Boles said. "The police should be teaching civics lessons. They should not require lessons themselves on the role of elected officials in a democracy." Neighborhood leader David Hinkley joined other citizens praising Kelly for speaking out about the police. "When a councilor raises a question regarding a city policy, he is doing what we elected him to do." Progressive councilors voiced support for Kelly and their shock with the police union's threat to sue. But Mayor Jim Torrey and council conservatives Nancy Nathanson and Gary Pape did not criticize the police threat. Kelly thanked the citizens who had voiced their support. At one point, his voice quavered with emotion and he removed his glasses to wipe his eyes. "It's an issue much bigger than me." -- AP Dirty River The Superfund status got a nod from Gov. Kitzhaber July 7 in a letter of concurrence sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As the draft agreement now stands, the EPA will oversee cleanup of the six-mile-long harbor and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will manage cleanup at 25 polluted upriver properties that could be affecting water quality downstream, according to The Oregonian July 11. "In the 1970s the Willamette was highlighted nationally as an example of how a community can clean up a river and make it the environmental centerpiece of the state," says Travis Williams of Willamette Riverkeeper. "But now the Willamette is at a crossroads. Toxic pollution, Superfund sites, habitat destruction and encroaching development are once again threatening this Oregon treasure." Williams is the new executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper, a private non-profit organization working to mitigate the damage allowed by lax government agencies and an anti-environmental state Legislature. Williams has outlined an ambitious agenda for his group, from lobbying for public policy changes to broadening the base of citizen involvement in patroling and monitoring the river. "My goal is to have no river mile go unwatched," says Williams. "But we will do more than watch the river. We will play a more active role to ensure proper funding for pollution monitoring and enforcement, and we will work closely with others to improve and implement the Willamette Restoration Intitiative. The Willamette River is the lifeblood of Oregon. It's time to start giving it the attention it deserves." Williams is a Portland native and has a masters degree in environmental sciences from John Hopkins University. The group can be reached at www.willamette-riverkeeper.org -- TJT History
Project The project, with a budget of $45,000, covers the evolution of Eugene over the past 50 years, and will be composed of 22 essays by 22 authors. Topics include the people, environment, economy, community, politics, education, social sciences, and arts and leisure. The book will also contain dozens of photos, charts and graphics. "We believe this book will become a community treasure used in schools and throughout the region as a reflection on our past and a road map to the future," says Kathy Madison, president of the City Club. Current EW writers contributing to the project are Lois Wadsworth, executive arts editor; Brett Campbell, music critic; and Michael Kroetch, literary critic. Contributors with EW connections in the past include Steve McQuiddy, editor of the Lane County Historian; Alice Evans, managing editor of Midwifery Today; Debra Gwartney, assistant director of the creative writing department at UO; Alice Tallmadge, area correspondent for The Oregonian; Cheri Brooks, senior editor of Mercator's World, and Alan Siporin of KLCC radio. Other writers involved in the project are Ken Metzler, Karen Seidel, Peggy Nagae, Kimber Williams, Gretchen Miller, Keith Richard, Cynthia Whitfield, Guy Maynard, Gary Turley, Ed Alverson, John Van Landingham, Jonathan Stafford, Rosemary Camozzi, David Thompson, Nancy Webber, Ross West and Kathleen Holt. Madison says about $25,000 of the needed $45,000 has been committed. Gifts are tax-deductible and can be sent to City Club of Eugene, PO Box 12084, Eugene 97440. -- TJT morsels * What's the next project for the growing Andrew Smash empire? Next month they'll open a new store at in Gateway Mall, next to the Hometown Buffet. The Hilyard store in the current Jamie's Great Burgers location is still scheduled to open in January. * We're hearing some pretty sweet sounds coming from Coffee Corner in the Southtown Mall. Debra Yvonne is back playing piano on Friday evenings and weekday mornings. -- JS If you'd like to chat about food in Eugene, send your morsels to cal@eugeneweekly.com, 484-0519, ext. 26 or 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401. Happenin'
Person Happenin' People Archives editorial living
out Before I knew that a crush was anything other than an orange soda, I had one on Elise Siegel. We shared a combined fifth and sixth grade classroom. She was a year older and gorgeous: clear skin, long dark hair, and eyelashes that formed little peaks when she'd emerge from the swimming pool. I loved being with her. Her drawings of people and horses were the best in our school. She knew all about horses. I adored the way her easy laugh tumbled out like a whinny. Elise's hair was shiny and bounced when she brushed it. "Body" they called it in the shampoo ads. Sometimes, in the girls' bathroom, she'd let me brush her hair. "Sleek, silky and tangle free," I'd comment. Once, standing behind her in line after recess, I said, "Your hair looks like it's always wet." How was I to know this could be taken the wrong way? I'd never worried about the oily look. Hair like mine, all frizzy and bushy and wild, only even came close to looking like "Breck Girl" hair when it was soaking wet. I used to play in the pool for hours, making smooth, glamorous styles that would quickly contract into an electrified mop in the hot desert air. To me, looking wet was a huge compliment, but it insulted Elise. She spun around. "Thanks a lot," she snapped, then turned her back, swirling her full skirt and lustrous pony tail. My cheeks burned hot as playground blacktop. I didn't know how to undo the insult. Recess was over and I wouldn't be able to talk to her again until lunch. I prayed she'd forget it and make some new drawings today. My prayer was answered during arithmetic. Elise sketched portraits of some classmates and passed them across the aisle to me. At lunch I would show her the special touches I'd added: hairy warts, crooked glasses, buck teeth, devil horns, goatees and bedspring hair. I lived to make her laugh. She sat down next to me at the shaded picnic bench outside the cafeteria. I waited for her to finish her watercress and cream cheese on whole wheat sandwich. She sure was sophisticated. She was sipping iced mint tea from her plaid Thermos when I laid out the re-touched portraits. I took a swig from my milk carton and waited for her response. Elise's face contorted and she barely managed to turn her head in time to spew her mouthful of mint tea away from the table. The easy laugh was back. We held hands and galloped out to the playground for a raucous game of "wild horses." Elise was in love with my older brother. What did she know, she didn't have to share a bathroom with him like I did. I don't know if my parents knew about his aim problem, but thank God they never let him have a BB gun. Elise and my brother were going steady and that was the way things were. I would invite her to spend the night with me so our parents wouldn't suspect anything. We could play and talk and goof around until bedtime. Then she'd sneak into his room to make out. In the morning she let me brush her hair. It seemed like a fair trade. The next year my brother and Elise went to junior high and she stopped spending the night at our house. Now they had plenty of opportunities to be alone. They also had plenty of opportunities to meet other people and without much fanfare they went their separate ways. So did I. I've always preferred the company of girls. Having girlfriends is second nature and an essential connection for me. As a kid I got the message that loving girls was immature, that it was normal to switch over to the opposite sex for a "real" relationship and leave your girlfriends behind. But not everyone makes that shift. Some of us try but it doesn't take. I'm grateful that I've been lucky enough to fall in love and partner with someone of the same sex, and also have deep connections with my girlfriends. One night in sixth grade, months after Elise was out of the picture, I was at the movies with my two best friends. Karen and Laura were getting us Jujubes and Cokes while I went to fix my hair. Elise Siegel happened to be in the women's bathroom. She told me about her problems with her new boyfriend while we ratted our hair in the mirror. My coarse curls teased up easily into a big bubble, the bigger the better that year. I smoothed a few strands over the top, pulled a can of Aquanet out of my purse and sprayed until the sticky mist anchored it all into place. Elise was having trouble getting her glossy hair to rat up very high. I might have stayed and helped her, but I had to get back to my girlfriends. Sally Sheklow has been a part of the Eugene community since 1972 and is a member of the WYMPROV! comedy troupe. Her column, which began here at EW, is gaining national attention and was recently picked up by The Desert Post of Palm Springs and The Citizen of Cincinnati. letters In The Register-Guard (6/27), Munir Katul, a member of Eugene's Police Commission, claims that the anarchists need to be dealt with like any other "violent hate group." The only way this reads to me is: Any actions taken against the anarchists are justified. I live in the Whiteaker neighborhood, so I know the anarchists are not a "hate group." They gather every morning in "the hood" to feed the community coffee and waffles, and in the evening they feed homeless people homemade vegetarian meals in the park. They run a "Free Skool" and are generally kind and considerate people. So it angers me that Munir, and others who have never met any anarchists, lump all the anarchists together as violent. Anarchists have a rich history of fighting against racism and for the rights of immigrants and women. Some anarchists have used violent methods against the State to draw attention to the issues, but it is unfair to say that all anarchists are violent. Just like it is unfair to say all communists or all socialists are violent. Munir is wrong when he claims the anarchist movement is unlike the civil rights movement or the movement against the Vietnam War. During that time period, protesters routinely smashed property and threw things at the police to make their point. Certainly not all the protests were violent, but some of them were. It was not peaceful resistance alone that made those movements effective. The situation today is by far worse than that of the '60s and the Vietnam war-era. Today we not only have inhuman wars, but we also have massive poverty, starvation, environmental degradation, teen suicide, imprisonment, police brutality, drug abuse, immiseration and alienation. If breaking some windows draws attention to these issues, then I'm all for it. Social justice activists in this country have been using strictly peaceful methods for decades, and they haven't achieved much. As the human condition worsens, it is necessary to adopt new, more effective tactics. Travis Palmer Masochism Unveiled Although I agree that most of our country's institutions are in need of radical reform, I think it is obvious that the anarchists' utopian expectations -- that a majority of Americans are going to take their message seriously, quit their jobs, destroy the government, abandon technology and begin living freely and creatively in a land without laws -- are profoundly unrealistic. I can only conclude that they do not actually want political change, that they would actually be disappointed if the rest of us joined them, and that the messianic delusions they seem to harbor about being martyrs for a just cause are merely a coverup for the fact that they enjoy being alienated and persecuted by their perceived enemies. That's right: The anarchists are really masochists, but admitting this to themselves would result in the forfeiture of the grounds for their pleasure. In the meantime, some of us "progressives" are actually trying to win the hearts and minds of Americans so we can make some real changes for the better. I wouldn't wish the anarchists out of Eugene, and I'd love to see protests going on everywhere, every day, but if the anarchists can't promote a more inclusive and practical political agenda, they can't expect to be taken seriously by serious people. Bradley Butterfield Damage Is Done Kelly's statement, based on what he heard from a wide range of citizens at the public forum, was a balanced observation that in no way could be construed as libelous. The police union's threat of a libel suit, even though withdrawn, sent a shock through the community and cannot help but be viewed as a form of intimidation for exercising the right of free speech guaranteed us by the Constitution, particularly as it came from those paid by taxpayers to enforce the law. One wonders if the police received legal counsel for this action, and if so, from whom. It certainly did their cause no good. It is clearly true that "eternal vigilance is the price of freedom," and it is essential that our elected officials make a clear and forceful statement upholding the right of free speech and the right of citizens to be free from intimidation in exercising that right. I urge all Eugeneans to insist that such official reaffirmation be made publicly, loud and clear, and that it be rigorously enforced. Wanda S. Ballentine Condemn Hate In a recent letter to The Insurgent, Robin Terranova says: "Now we must deepen our analysis and avoid the path of compromise and reform." Perhaps City Councilor David Kelley should have checked with the anarchists' fearless leader before calling for reform of the Eugene Police Department. The ramblings and absurd contradictions of Terranova, John Zerzan, and other self-styled anarchists would be amusing if their message and related actions weren't so similar to the Aryan Nation and other hate groups. It goes beyond mere silliness when activists threaten and vandalize progressive, community-based organizations such as O.U.R. Credit Union and Eugene Weekly. While our community must respect people's right to speak freely, we should unequivocally condemn the message of hate that was so much a part of the recent demonstrations. We should also make clear our community doesn't tolerate violence, destruction, or threats from any group -- whether they are racist, anti-gay, or "anarchist." Paul Conte Powerful Words There is enough wonderful music available, I think, that we can do without a piece -- no matter how scholarly or beautiful -- if it damages some of our fellow human beings and perpetuates hate in others. Diana Clancy Park Pesticides Thomas Gilpatrick Sexist Image When the text informs us that the camera is for "one-time use" and that "there's no place it won't fit in" the ad is using access to the female body as a metaphor for the "access" the camera provides. We want to draw attention to the misogyny at work in this ad because we trust that EW would not have dedicated such a large advertising space to it if they had been aware of its sexism. We would also hope that Oregon Country Fair would not willingly associate themselves with such a conventional, unprogressive promotion. In a culture full of misogynist media images of women, we count on publications like EW to be more responsible. Debora Coen and Michelle Kohler Rare Refuges These roadless areas, some located just miles from Eugene in the Willamette and Umpqua National Forests, are priceless in their value as refuges for rare and endangered species, sources of vital clean water, genetic banks of biodiversity and places to seek sanctuary for our own weary bodies. The deadline to let your voice be heard by the USDA/Forest Service is July 17. Speak up now. For all our relations. Meera Subramanian Speed Trap Rip-Offs I have lived in the College Hill area for many years. A few years ago, the speed limit on Jefferson Street was lowered to 25 mph from the previous 35 mph. I thought this was to set up another speed trap for local drivers who find themselves drifting five or so miles over the speed limit at just about anytime of day. I have seen one and sometimes two motorcycle cops working the area and slapping people with $100 tickets for going six miles over. Today (6/28), the trap was in full action. At 8:25 am there were four cops working six blocks from 18th to 26th; two in action with their radar guns and two in the act of writing tickets all over the six blocks. Is this what my tax dollars go for? This is a total rip-off for anyone who has also taken the trip to the courts to see how much justice is available for those who attempt to fight tickets: NONE. This is carte blanche for the police department and guess what, cops? The people know it. In a time when the police are looking for dollars for new buildings and more cops, no wonder people vote down these issues. If this is what the police need to do to raise revenues, I think we should fire half of them and teach the other half what serve and protect really means. Michael Brewer Save Bicycling Going for the easy solution and eliminating the $4 million (not even 3 percent) is short-term thinking that overlooks, for one, how bicyclists and pedestrians divert traffic away from roadways -- and from expensive road-expansion programs. In its study, Mean Streets 2000, the Surface Transportation Policy Project links a 42 percent drop in walking in this country in the last 20 years with dangerous roadways. Its analysis shows states spending, on average, 55 cents per person of federal transportation funds on pedestrian projects compared with $72 per person on highways. The OTC's short-sighted plan, which would require a repeal of the Bicycle Bill, threatens the funding of bicycling and pedestrian projects at a time when rising gas prices, sprawling development, and increasing congestion are making Oregonians painfully aware of the costs of over-reliance on automobiles. We must not pay road maintenance bills by paving over the Bicycle Bill. Please write before July 13 the OTC at 355 Capitol St. NE, Room 101, Salem, OR 97301-3871, fax (503) 986-3291, orkaren.k.elliott@state.or.us Tracy Miller Guns are Stupid Today, the NRA is a trade group representing the makers of firearms and munitions and it is a big business. Hence, any laws that would stifle their target (pun intended) customers from buying their product is bad for business. I doubt many of them really care or understand that 2nd Amendment. So all the flag waving is just a marketing ploy. Yeah, yeah -- here come the UN helicopters with Chinese commandos -- Janet Reno is their squadron cadre. It gets old. Every rifle or handgun should be registered and licensed at point of sell or transfer as a gift. There should be a criminal background check. A flat fee for the process should go to pay for those who are permanently scarred physically or psychologically by those accidents that "happen." Also to help survivors whose loved one shouldn't have gone to that turkey shoot or pistol marksmanship event. "I didn't know there was one in the chamber." Guns are dangerous, stupid and very unnecessary. So if you're dumb enough to "need" one for protection, then good luck. Greg Hume LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and will print as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401. |
