Oregon bill cracks down on racially motivated 911 calls Victims of those police calls would be able to sue the caller for up to $250, under a measure overwhelmingly approved by the state Senate. Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon, left, and Rep. Janelle Sojourner Bynum high-five after members of the House of Representatives are sworn into office at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon on Jan. 9, 2017Molly J. Smith / Statesman-Journal via AP file June 4, 2019, 1:05 PM ByThe Associated Press Oregon moved to crack down on racially motivated 911 calls on Monday, responding to a series of publicized incidents across the country where predominantly white civilians called the police on black people going about everyday activities like napping or barbecuing. Victims of those police calls would be able to sue the caller for up to $250, under a measure overwhelmingly approved by the state Senate. The move is a joint effort by the Oregon Legislature's only three black lawmakers and is meant to "shine a spotlight on an issue African Americans have known for far too long," according to sponsoring Rep. Janelle Bynum. "When someone gets the police called on them for just existing in public, it sends a message that you don't belong here," said Bynum, the only black member of the House. A black family in Oakland had the cops called on them for barbecuing in the park. A Yale graduate student was questioned for sleeping in her dorm's common room. And a pair of black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks after one of them tried to use the restroom, sparking public outcry and the closure of 8,000 stores across the country for "racial bias" training. Bynum proposed the legislation after being on the receiving ends of such a call. She was canvassing door-to-door for her re-election campaign last year when a woman called 911 because Bynum looked "suspicious." She said although she was able to get an apology from the woman, she realized that most people have no way to hold these callers accountable. "This creates a legal pathway to justice for those of us who have to worry about getting the cops called on us for existing in public," she said. Victims of these calls must be able to prove the caller had racist intent, and that the caller summoned a police officer to purposefully discriminate or damage a person's reputation.' That's difficult to prove, said Sen. Alan Olsen, a Republican and one of the few critics of the bill. He adds it could discourage people from reporting crime, making "our communities less safe." Sen. Lew Frederick, a black lawmaker and one of the measure's co-sponsors, said people could still call the police if they suspect a person is committing a genuine crime. He added that the proposal is about making Oregon "a more equitable community" and formally recognizing the daily hardships faced by minority communities. People of color fear police for reasons a predominantly white Legislature could never understand, Frederick said. Unnecessarily dispatching the police only heightens those tensions between police and the black community. "It's not just an inconvenience when a police officer stops me," he said. "When a police officer stops me, I wonder whether I'm going to live for the rest of the day." Although the measure was approved by the House, the chamber still needs to sign off on a technical change before it heads to the governor.
Im like 90% for this bill, about 8% for how sad is it we need a law to keep people from calling the police for no reason other than another human is breathing over there, and 2% I hope its used correctly. It can be very hard to determine intent, sometimes its obvious, sometimes its not.
Really? I wonder where? Funny the article lists three in other states. And even these would seem sort of odd or even hard to fit in this state. Barbecuing in the park? Geez happens all the time, but even if you called 911 on someone, so what? They probably would be gone when the Sheriff arrived, 24 to 36 hours in the county I live in, 48 in the previous county. Maybe just laugh at you in Klamath. I don't quite get the Starbucks one, might be because I just don't go to Starbucks. But I went to the DQ yesterday! For a milkshake on the way back to Bandon from the Boat. Went to the restroom too, but I did not ask for the key until after I paid for the shake. Either way, I don't think the sheriff would show up until this evening there either. So this seems like something else going on here. Danged if I can tell.
Or they could just.... like.... you know... crack down on stupid 911 calls in general. People make tons of pointless and wasteful calls about all kinds of stupid shit.
Addressing a myth on our dime. Meanwhile Oregon's streets are overflowing with mentally-deranged people who have nowhere to turn for treatment, shelter...some will become mass murderers, some will just harm themselves. If only Oregon Legislators took their fucking jobs seriously and addressed Real problems like re-opening the mental healthcare facilities Kate Brown closed, rehabilitating the absurdly lazy/addicted/criminal/lazy homeless overpopulation to be productive members of society, repealing the oppressive over-regulation and fee-charging of citizens just for the purpose of keeping them poor and subservient...
Just remember, you can lose your job for trying to do your job if a non-white person posts a video on twitter which has a slant towards highlighting racial injustice. Regardless if you were correct or not. Regardless if you're actually white or not. We as people have a long way to go before all people stop seeing race as a defining characteristic.
You sound very privileged to NOT know. Police were called on me as a 15 year old UNARMED teenager for NO reason at all, just playing in Creston Park. They pulled their guns out and made us lay down on the ground. I could've been killed for no reason at all. Now, there's an Oregon story for you.... With your privileged ass....