8/31/23 News Update

COURTHOUSE RACISM <<Two public defenders filed lawsuits against Washington County on Tuesday alleging racial discrimination by deputies in the county courthouse and corrections center. The first case filed by Metropolitan Public Defender Chloé Clay — who is Black — alleges unlawful discrimination in place of public accommodation and seeks $375,000 in damages, as first reported …

8/27/2023 News Roundup

THE FASH <<What started out as a request to remove or reshelve 11 books for children and young adults, which some residents deem pornographic and obscene, has now morphed into the potential dissolution of the county’s only library. If this happens, current librarians said everything that’s not nailed down goes to the State Library, from …

8/26/2023 News Roundup

SHOOTING <<Oregon State Police are investigating a shooting involving Grants Pass police officers that occurred in Josephine County on Thursday around 8:52 a.m. According to officials with OSP, officers found Dennis McGuire, 69, armed with a firearm after locating the victim, 63-year-old Robert Mills near the M Street Market at 1000 SE M Street. Details …

8/25/2023 News Roundup

THE FASH <<In early 2021, Sammich Schott-Deputy was living in a Safe Rest Village not far from the Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland, wearing a GPS ankle bracelet as part of court-ordered probation. Inside the same courthouse that kept records about Schott-Deputy’s whereabouts and their upcoming court hearings, attorneys for far-right blogger Andy Ngo argued …

8/24/2023 News Roundup Part 2

HOMELESSNESS <<Deschutes County is contracting armed security guards to patrol rural homeless encampments north of Bend. The contract — worth a maximum of $25,000 — would require Compass Security and Investigations to visit the encampments in Juniper Ridge twice a day, checking on county-provided toilets and hand-washing stations. Guards carrying firearms would also assess potential …

8/24/2023 News Roundup Part 1

RIOT COPS  <<The consulting firm hired by the City of Portland in May 2022 to perform an independent review of how the city government handled the racial justice protests and ensuing riots that rocked Portland in 2020 delivered its official report to the Portland City Council on Aug. 23. Attorney Nicholas Mitchell with Independent Monitor …

8/20/2023 News Roundup

HARDESTY <<An apology letter to former Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was issued earlier this week by Mayor Ted Wheeler on behalf of the city of Portland, as part of a legal settlement with Hardesty. Hardesty, who served on the Portland City Council from 2019 to 2022, sued the city and police union in 2021, …

8/19/2023 News Roundup

SHOOTING <<A Portland police officer was justified in fatally shooting Immanueal Jaquez Clark-Johnson, 30, last year, a grand jury ruled Wednesday. Officer Chris Sathoff responded to a call about an armed robbery shortly after midnight on Nov. 19, 2022, near Southeast 50th Street and Powell Boulevard. Officers followed a car matching the description of the …

8/18/2023 News Roundup

SHOOTING <<A grand jury dismissed charges against a Portland police officer involving a fatal shooting in November 2022. Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced on Thursday that a grand jury returned a ‘not true’ bill and found the force by Portland officer Chris Sathoff that resulted in the death of Immanuael Jaquez Clark-Johnson, 30, …

8/17/2023 News Roundup Part 2

SPEEDY TRIAL <<Court cases across Oregon are taking longer and longer to resolve. This has a variety of consequences, including the fact that pretrial defendants are spending more time behind bars. It’s a particularly acute problem in Multnomah County, according to Oregon Judicial Department reports reviewed by WW. Less than half of criminal cases in …