Notice Oregon bill cracks down on racially motivated 911 calls

[dviss1]

YAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dviss1]

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.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

People will die because of this law.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

People will die because of this law.

people have died because morons called the police when no crime was happening too.

 

[The Professional Fan]

People will die because of this law.

People will die because of Trump's rhetoric

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

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.

 

[tlongII]

Get off my lawn!

 

[MarAzul]

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

These events prompted the Oregon Legislature into action?

 

[Chris Craig]

These events prompted the Oregon Legislature into action?

There have been many instances here in Oregon

 

[GhostOfPGA]

I’d hope this bill does well but knowing assholes, it will be used as a loophole eventually.

 

[MarAzul]

There have been many instances here in Oregon

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.

 

[Lanny]

People will die because of this law.

People will live because of this law.

 

[Natebishop3]

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.

 

[MARIS61]

There have been many instances here in Oregon

There have never been any instances here in Oregon.

 

[MARIS61]

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...

 

[MARIS61]

 

[BonesJones]

That Tweet might be the dumbest thing I've ever read.

 

[H.C.]

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.

 

[dviss1]

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.

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....

 

[dviss1]

People have been killed over of Trump's rhetoric

FTFY. See Charlottesville.

 

[dviss1]

People will die because of this law.

Explain.

 

[dviss1]

I’d hope this bill does well but knowing assholes, it will be used as a loophole eventually.

How? You sound silly.

"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."

 

[dviss1]

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.

I keep reading this over and over and I'm not understanding what you're talking about...

 

[Road Ratt]

After thinking about this for some time. This is a terrible idea.

I could get behind a bill that would allow for criminal charges for people who make these types of calls, but this feels more like a revenge bill. Making the bill allow for criminal charges, if it is determined through an investigation that it was racially motivated, charges could then include the ability to sue for damages and/or jail time. Seems more reasonable to me.

 

[Lanny]

There have never been any instances here in Oregon.

You really should learn before you assert a falsehood.
Sponsoring Rep. Janelle 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."

 

[Lanny]

How? You sound silly.

"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."

Yeah, I don't think the new law will actually get very many people convicted. I'm hoping it dissuades people from being assholes in the first place.
NO ONE should have to live in fear of some asshole getting the authorities checking them out just because they are different.

 

[dviss1]

There have never been any instances here in Oregon.

I think you have a mental problem... But maybe I do for entertaining any debate with you...

This made national news:

Oregon hotel employees who called cops on black guest put on leave
Two employees accused of racially profiling a black guest in the lobby of a Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in Portland, Oregon, are on leave Friday morning. The hotel apologized a second time to Jermaine Massey, who in widely shared Instagram videos claimed he was targeted for "calling his mother while black."

Massey was returning from a concert Saturday night when he said he went to a quiet corner of the hotel lobby to take a phone call from his mother when a security officer – now dubbed "Hotel Earl" by the internet – approached him and things got heated, reports CBS News correspondent DeMarco Morgan.

The 71-year-old security guard, Earl Wesley Meyers, had asked Massey for his room number. Massey said he didn't remember it and requested privacy for his phone call. Instead, Meyers called for the police to escort him off the property.

In a video posted to Instagram Massey said, "He even went so far as to say he's there to protect the safety of the guests. As if I weren't a guest and I was causing a disturbance and I was a safety threat."

According to Massey, white guests in the lobby were not similarly questioned. Instagram video shows Massey telling Meyers that he was a guest at the hotel. He produced his room key for a manager who said in the video, "He (Meyers) wouldn't have asked me to call 911 without any cause."

Responding officers warned Massey he could be arrested for trespassing if he stayed. According to the police report, the 34-year-old, who said he was "a former FBI agent ... became loud and started yelling that the hotel was racist."

"You know judging someone based off of the color of their skin – you never know how it feels until you've actually been there. I could have went to jail had I responded a different way," Massey said in a video.

In the past year police have been called on a group of black people barbecuing, a girl selling bottled water on the sidewalk and Bob Marley's granddaughter after she and her friends left their Airbnb.

Massey checked into a different hotel Saturday after he was kicked out without a refund. On Thursday, the DoubleTree announced it was reviewing its protocols and trainings and had launched an investigation. "We have a zero-tolerance stance on discrimination of any kind," it said in a statement.

"I plan to try to seek justice and make sure that that's not happening to anybody else," Massey said in a video.

Massey's attorney said in a statement his client was publicly humiliated and now wants the hotel to publicly answer to two questions: Why was he approached by security and interrogated? And why was he called a threat to the safety and security of guests?

 

[dviss1]

After thinking about this for some time. This is a terrible idea.

I could get behind a bill that would allow for criminal charges for people who make these types of calls, but this feels more like a revenge bill. Making the bill allow for criminal charges, if it is determined through an investigation that it was racially motivated, charges could then include the ability to sue for damages and/or jail time. Seems more reasonable to me.

I would rather have this.

 

[H.C.]

I keep reading this over and over and I'm not understanding what you're talking about...

Dominique Moran was fired over asking a group of black men to pay for their meal.
The Black men made a video and posted it to social media saying. 'Can't a black man grab a bite after a workout?'
Internet mob ensued.
Harassment ensued.
She was fired from her job as the manager.
Went viral. MSM picked it up.

More came out.
A black man did some digging and found out this group of black men have bragged on their own social media accounts about dining at dashing at this specific chipotle.
More came out.
It was found that she was telling them. 'You have to pay'.
More came out, shes not white. But mexican-american.
But because she looks white, shes deemed the white devil by internet mob and MSM.

We as a society have a long way to go before we see anything other than skin color.
People of all pigmentation need to check themselves.

Suing for money isn't going to do anything.
Best thing imo is for the police to show up and then join the bbq.
Or like they have done. Police get called on kids playing basketball in the street. They show up and play with them.
Suing isn't going to solve anything. Only create more resentment and hate both ways.


ps. I want to call these black men, children. But it was pre-defined for me by them.
Frankly IMO only a child, no matter the pigmentation would dine and dash.

 

[dviss1]

Dominique Moran was fired over asking a group of black men to pay for their meal.
The Black men made a video and posted it to social media saying. 'Can't a black man grab a bite after a workout?'
Internet mob ensued.
Harassment ensued.
She was fired from her job as the manager.
Went viral. MSM picked it up.

More came out.
A black man did some digging and found out this group of black men have bragged on their own social media accounts about dining at dashing at this specific chipotle.
More came out.
It was found that she was telling them. 'You have to pay'.
More came out, shes not white. But mexican-american.
But because she looks white, shes deemed the white devil by internet mob and MSM.

We as a society have a long way to go before we see anything other than skin color.
People of all pigmentation need to check themselves.

Suing for money isn't going to do anything.
Best thing imo is for the police to show up and then join the bbq.
Or like they have done. Police get called on kids playing basketball in the street. They show up and play with them.
Suing isn't going to solve anything. Only create more resentment and hate both ways.


ps. I want to call these black men, children. But it was pre-defined for me by them.
Frankly IMO only a child, no matter the pigmentation would dine and dash.

That has nothing to do with proving to authorities that she was being racist. You actually have to prove it. Something that is hard to do.

Chipotle fucked up here plain and simple. They could've waited til more evidence surfaced and they didn't.

Also, I don't want the fucking police at my BBQ.

And when you say:

"We as a society have a long way to go before we see anything other than skin color."

It WREAKS of not understanding what it's like to be me.

Frankly, you can't CHOOSE how you see me. I CHOOSE how I want to be seen. And I want to be seen as a black man.