In Old Town, where open drug dealing is a daily fact of
life, it's not unusual for police officers to question
people who are simply walking down the street. Sometimes
they're Couch Street regulars with long rap sheets and
pocketfuls of heroin; other times they are innocent passersby.
Either way, aside from the grumbling of a few criminal-defense
lawyers, the cops' actions usually don't get much attention.
Blanchette Villavicencio may change that. Already,
her experience has prompted an Internal Affairs investigation
at the Portland Police Bureau and complaints from prominent
leaders who provide services to the poor.
On June 29, the 33-year-old church secretary was walking
down Broadway on her way to check out the lunch special
at a nearby restaurant when she heard Officer Edward
Cummings yell to her. "I knew I didn't do anything wrong,"
she told WW. "I walked over to his car and said,
'Can I help you?'"
Fluent in Spanish, Villavicencio had translated for
the police before and thought her services might be
needed again. However, Cummings, a 23-year veteran of
the force, told her she looked like a suspect he was
seeking. (She never found out what the suspect may have
done, but she did see a picture, which she says was
that of an older Native American person.) Within seconds,
according to Villavicencio, she found herself handcuffed
and on her way to the Old Town police station.
She was stunned. Since October, she had been the receptionist
at the Downtown Catholic Chapel, the first smile greeting
visitors in an organization committed to helping the
downtrodden. Prior to that, she had worked at Transition
Projects and gotten to know many social-service providers
in the area.
Once at the station, Villavicencio says, Cummings demanded
she sit down and be quiet as he rifled through her wallet.
After more than a half-hour, she says, she was released.
"He wanted to harass somebody," she believes. "I can't
think of a nicer way to put it. He saw I was a person
of color--that's all I can figure. This happens to people
in this community whether they're law-abiding or not."
Under the law, police officers can engage in what's
called "mere conversation" with anyone they want. But
they can't "stop" or "detain" a person against his or
her wishes unless they have a suspicion that the individual
is involved in some sort of criminal activity.
In this case, according to police spokeswoman Cheryl
Kanzler, the mug shot gave Cummings grounds to detain
Villavicencio. Kanzler refused to show WW the
mug shot, reveal the identify of the person in the photo
or even say what the person was wanted for.
On July 2, local lawyer Spencer Neal filed an Internal
Affairs complaint against Cummings on Villavicencio's
behalf. Kanzler refused to comment on the case, citing
the internal investigation, which will probably take
months to complete.
Villavicencio acknowledges that police need to question
suspects but thinks officers unfairly target people
in Old Town, many of whom are there for social services.
Those with criminal histories "can't complain about
it too much," she says.
Neal says such incidents are common. "I have complained
to you of other incidents in this area in the past,
and you have chosen to ignore them," he wrote to Chief
Charles Moose on July 2. "As a result, your inattention
has thereby emboldened these officers in the bureau
who like to abuse their positions."
Some of Villavicencio's friends also believe her case
illustrates an ongoing problem with police. "The police
need the support of people in the community," Father
Loren Kerkof, of the Archdiocese of Portland, wrote
in a July 4 letter to Mayor Vera Katz. "But that support
is eroded every time a person experiences attitudes
and actions that appear to be arrogant, overbearing
or unnecessarily violent."
Katz also received letters from Guruseva Mason, a domestic-violence
counselor at Transition Projects; Seth Rosenberg, a
social worker at the Veterans Medical Center; and Howard
Erlich, director of social services at William Temple
House.
However, the mayor's office does not believe racial
or ethnic harassment by police is a big concern to the
citizens of Portland, according to staffer Elise Marshall.
In the last year and a half, the office has logged only
six complaints on the issue, apart from those relating
to Villavicencio.
Marshall also said that she doesn't believe this case
shows evidence of racial profiling. "She looked like
the person in the picture," Marshall said. But she added
that the mayor's office is looking into whether Villavicencio
was treated fairly.
Villavicencio says poor treatment of minorities is
common.
"We all have great concern for the people we've been
blessed to serve," Villavicencio says. "It's an opportunity
for us, as social-service workers, to say we see this
[harassment] too often."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Willamette Week | originally
published August 11,
1999
