Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem officials say police can’t help people being attacked by ICE. That isn’t true.

Last Thursday Maria, a citizen of the United States, was dragged from her car in NE Salem and assaulted by ICE agents. She did nothing wrong. Her "crime" appears to have been driving while brown. You can read her highly disturbing story in "Salem woman (a citizen) assaulted by ICE in traffic stop. There's a GoFundMe for her." Today the City Manager, Krishna Namburi (shown above), and the City Attorney, Dan Atchison, issued a statement about the use of force by federal agents that was mostly true, yet partly false. It was the false parts that rubbed me the wrong…
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Posted inNational politics Salem Police Department

Salem woman (a citizen) injured by ICE in traffic stop. There’s a GoFundMe for her.

I learned about outrageous behavior by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents here in Salem from a January 31 Salem Reporter story by Madeleine Moore, "U.S. citizen injured by federal agents who demanded to see 'papers,' union says." Excerpt: A woman who’s a U.S. citizen needed medical help Thursday, Jan. 29, after federal agents pulled her from her car after demanding to see her “papers,” one of the state’s largest unions said Saturday. Service Employees International Union Local 503 said the woman, a union member, was driving to run errands when four agents stopped her on a Salem street. The…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

City of Salem has to pay $1 million for excessive force in George Floyd protest

I guess it's a sort of poetic justice. Today the Salem Reporter has a story about how the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a $1 million damage award against the Salem Police Department after a woman was seriously injured by rubber bullets during a May 31, 2020 protest against police violence in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. So the Salem Police Department used excessive force during a local protest against the use of excessive force by the Minneapolis Police Department. While there's a certain amusing irony to this, the harm…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

City of Salem has to pay $1 million for excessive force in George Floyd protest

I guess it's a sort of poetic justice. Today the Salem Reporter has a story about how the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a $1 million damage award against the Salem Police Department after a woman was seriously injured by rubber bullets during a May 31, 2020 protest against police violence in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. So the Salem Police Department used excessive force during a local protest against the use of excessive force by the Minneapolis Police Department. While there's a certain amusing irony to this, the harm…
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Posted inPublic Safety Salem Police Department

Killing in Bush Park will spur efforts to reduce gun violence in Salem

After moving to Salem in 1977, I recall the shock after the first instance of gang violence. I recall that it was a non-fatal shooting, but could be wrong about that. Can't remember the year, but my wife and I guess that it was in the early to mid 1980s.  Before that time we here in Salem looked upon our town as different from Portland, the big city to the north that did have gangs who fought it out with each other. But though we were known as sleepy Salem, the upside was a feeling that gang violence was something…
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Posted inSalem Police Department Salem Reporter

How could a man twice sexually assault women at Minto Brown Park?

Yesterday I got an email from a woman who was understandably upset at learning that David Belluno, who sexually assaulted a woman at Minto Brown Park last Monday afternoon, had sexually assaulted a different woman at Minto Brown Park back in 2018.  David Belluno Her message said: Hi Brian, as I'm sure you've seen, the same criminal let go in 2018 attempted the same crime (attempted kidnapping, rape, assault, etc.) over the weekend in Minto Brown park. I know from your posts that you revere this park as much as I do. I was shocked to see this and I'm…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem Reporter editor criticizes secrecy of Salem city officials

Below is a indictment of what sure seems to be a coverup by officials at the City of Salem following a public records request by Salem Reporter concerning a suspicious $53,500 payment to former deputy police chief Steve Bellshaw. Written by editor Les Zaitz, I'd intended to only use excerpts from Zaitz' column, since I respect the right of Salem Reporter to make content available only to subscribers, of whom I'm one. But the more I thought about it, the more important it seemed to have this column read by as many people as possible. So I'm hoping Zaitz will…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

A surprising conclusion from my City of Salem public record requests

After the May 1 gun rights rally at Salem's Riverfront Park where the Proud Boys provided insecurity by intimidating citizens, who included a journalist, I submitted several public record requests to the City of Salem. One sought information regarding how it was that up until April 30, the city web site said permits would be required for events in parks beginning May 1, yet the gun rally didn't have a permit.  Another requested documents about communications regarding the gun rally between City Manager Steve Powers, Police Chief Trevor Womack, and Public Works Director Peter Fernandez.  In the end I learned…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Proud Boys debacle shows how Salem Police need to change

The Salem Police Department has a new chief, Trevor Womack. But it doesn't have a new way of going about policing. That's a big problem. Hopefully Chief Womack is up to the task of carrying out needed reforms, restoring confidence in the department, and altering the mission of the department in light of a national movement to shift policing from a militaristic warrior model to a peacekeeper guardian model. This is a complex job. It will take a lot of wisdom to carry out.  Womack, along with other police chiefs, has to deal with a lengthy history of policing in…
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Posted inChuck Bennett City of Salem Salem Police Department

Proud Boys return to Salem, threatening reporters again

Well, that didn't take long. Just six days after the Salem Police Department did absolutely nothing to prevent the Proud Boys extremist militia group from threatening a journalist and other citizens observing a gun rally in a public park, today a couple of Proud Boys banned media from taking photos or video in front of a public building in downtown Salem. And why wouldn't they? The Salem Police Department and other city officials have coddled the Proud Boys, seemingly because they're afraid of these armed right-wingers. The Proud Boys now know that Salem is a place these white supremacists are…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

“Typogate” adds a twist to Proud Boys gun rally

If there's one thing I've learned from quite a few years of delving into goings-on at the City of Salem, it is that often what city officials claim to be true, actually isn't.  Sure, sometimes that discrepancy can be attributed to a honest mistake. However, I know for a fact that sometimes City of Salem staff purposely shade the truth in a CYA (Cover Your Ass) fashion.  Lying is a blunter term than "shade the truth," of course. As I've written about in two previous blog posts (here and here), how the Salem Police Department handled a May 1 gun…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem Police Department misleads about Proud Boys rally

I was already deeply irritated at the Salem Police Department, after learning that they stood by and did nothing on May 1 while armed members of the Proud Boys right-wing militia group forced people they didn't like to leave the public Riverfront Park, harassed journalists, and reportedly beat up someone who was taking a photo of them. (See my previous post, "Salem police sit by as Proud Boys take over Riverfront Park.")Now I've even more irritated at the Police Department after reading their attempt to make it seem like they did everything right and nothing wrong as the Proud Boys…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem police sit by as Proud Boys take over Riverfront Park

Today the Proud Boys, a violent right-wing militia group, provided "security" for a gun rights rally at Riverfront Park here in Salem. The City of Salem allowed the rally to go on without a permit, as I reported a few days ago. So members of the public had just as much of a right to be at the park as the Proud Boys and other people attending the rally. But as you'll see below, the Proud Boys forced people to leave the park if they objected to someone being there. Meanwhile, apparently there was nobody from the Salem Police Department…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Patriot Prayer holding May 1 rally in Salem’s Riverfront Park

The right-wing wackos are coming back to Salem!   Well, judging from this notice, most never left our area, they've just been silently cooking up fresh conspiracy theories to keep their reality-denying minds firmly at home in Crazy Town. Newsweek had a story about the rally yesterday, "Far-Right Patriot Prayer Plans Oregon Return Alongside GOP Rep. Mike Nearman."  The far-right group Patriot Prayer is planning a return to Salem, Oregon, in May to hold a gun rights event. The rally is being promoted online by the group's leader Joey Gibson and is scheduled to take place on May 1 at…
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Posted inPolice reform Salem Police Department

So senseless: Salem police kill suicidal man

It's not as infuriating as the George Floyd murder by a Minneapolis police officer, but I'm still deeply bothered by a Salem police officer, Clinton Sealey, killing a suicidal man, Natzeryt Viertel. Neighbors say that Viertel struggled with mental health issues. He was threatening to take his life. He had a gun. That shouldn't be a death sentence. The Salem Police Department failed Viertel. He should have gotten help from the police, not bullets in his body. Almost certainly Chief Womack and others in the department will find excuses for why Viertel was killed. But those excuses won't bring Viertel…
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Posted inPolice reform Salem Police Department

Salem Police performance audit has weaknesses

Tomorrow night, March 15, the Salem City Council will have a work session on the draft performance audit of the Salem Police Department (SPD) that was prepared by a consulting firm. Here's the PDF file.Download Hillard Heintze Report for the City of Salem Oregon - 03-08-21 copy The consultants' report is nicely written and clearly laid out. But I've got some problems with it.  My main concern is on page 9: Although a formal, detailed staffing analysis was not part of the scope of our assessment, we noted the number of sworn officers and the total number of SPD employees…
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Posted inSalem Police Department

New Salem police chief says right things in City Club talk

Trevor Womack is the new chief of police in Salem, succeeding Jerry Moore, who retired. Today Chief Womack talked about his plans for the police department in a Salem City Club Zoom meeting. I came away impressed.  There was little, if anything, that I could criticize abut what Womack said either in his initial presentation or in the following lengthy Q&A period. And believe me, I'm not shy about criticizing City of Salem officials when I feel like they deserve it. Right off the bat, I liked Womack's openness when he spoke about his background and family life. He said…
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Posted in2020 election Salem Police Department

Freedom Celebration won’t include Salem Police Department

KSLM's right-wing radio talk show host Jeff Kropf has been plugging a Freedom Celebration to be held this Sunday, January 31. I've heard that Trevor Womack, the Salem Police Department chief, won't be attending even though he was invited.  UPDATE: I've heard that 400 people have registered for this event. Oregon's COVID rules for an Extreme Risk area (where this event will be held) say that a maximum of 50 people can attend an outdoor entertainment event. So it looks like the Freedom Celebration will be in violation of that rule. And it could be a super spreader event, given…
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Posted inDonald Trump Salem Police Department

The Proud Boys hate group is coming to Salem — five times

This time of year we like to hear "Santa Claus is coming to town." Such is happening on December 25, but it looks like Salem also is going to be visited by the Proud Boys, who are much more naughty than nice. And not just once, but up to five times.  The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the Proud Boys a hate group. Here's a report on the upcoming visits to Salem of the Proud Boys, courtesy of an alert shared today by a local activist who goes by Concerned Citizen. I've boldfaced parts of the message to highlight the…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem police stand by as Proud Boys march without a permit

In a presidential debate Donald Trump famously said about the Proud Boys, "stand back and stand by," when asked to denounce white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys. It looks like the Salem Police Department heard those words and decided it applies to them when it comes to enforcing city ordinances during Proud Boy marches in our city.  KATU News photo of November 14 Proud Boys rally in Salem Salem police officers have been standing back and standing by when the Proud Boys come to town, openly carrying firearms and marching through streets without a permit. Here's a letter…
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