PORTLAND-AREA POLICE CHIEFS DENOUNCE RACIST AUTO STOPS

* Charles Moose and more than 20 Oregon law enforcement leaders will sign a
resolution that race must never be used to rationalize police actions

Portland-area police chiefs and union leaders plan to send a unified message
today that they will not tolerate police actions based on a person's race.

Leaders of the Oregon State Police, 23 Portland-area police departments and
police unions expect to sign a resolution that takes a strong stand against
"race-based profiling," said Portland Police Chief Charles Moose.

The message by the law-enforcement community breaks ground nationally, U.S.
Department of Justice officials said Thursday.

"To my knowledge, this is the first time that police executives and union
officials together have come up with this type of resolution," said Robert
Lamb, regional director for the U.S. Department of Justice's Community
Relations Service. "This is an unprecedented starting point for further
discussion on this issue."

Their action comes as police departments across the country grapple with the
persistent perception among minorities that police target them
disproportionately when making traffic stops. In fact, Moose and other
chiefs from around the nation gathered this week in Washington, D.C., to
discuss allegations of discriminatory police stop-and-search procedures and
other race-related issues.

Attorney General Janet Reno on Thursday called racial profiling a crucial
issue for law enforcement and called for more collection of data to see how
big the problem is.

The resolution, drafted by Moose, also calls for more data.

Moose said the resolution is intended to reassure citizens that race-based
policing will not be allowed.

"If we're perceived to be engaging in this behavior," he said, "I expect to
get this document back in my face."

Just as significant is the message it sends to rank-and-file police
officers, he and others said.

"It is a statement internally that if you have a police officer out there
who uses his badge for racially motivated conduct, it will not be tolerated
by policy agencies or the leadership of the unions," said Oregon State
Police Superintendent LeRon Howland.

Spencer "Mike" Neal, a Portland attorney who specializes in police
misconduct cases, dismissed the resolution as politics. Race-based policing
will continue, he said, unless supervisors take a strong action against it.

"Talk is cheap," said Neal, who as a Filipino American has experienced
racially motivated police stops, he said. "When I start seeing people being
disciplined for those things, then I'll believe it."

But Howland vowed action.

"Personally, if one of my troopers engages in that kind of conduct, we will
deal swiftly with it," he said. "He or she will not be wearing the badge of
an Oregon state trooper."

He, other chiefs and union leaders said no one should be surprised that the
police unions agreed to support the resolution.

"I can't imagine any police association or union across this country that
would advocate anything but avoiding any kind of discrimination," said Greg
Pluchos, president of the Portland Police Association.

Jim Botwinis, president of the association representing state troopers, said
he hopes the message will reassure citizens that rank-and-file officers do
not tolerate racially biased policing.

"We are not going to stick our heads in the sand and say that no police
officer in Oregon is doing it," he said. "But the lion's share conduct their
jobs in conformance with the laws of the land."

Attorney Ingrid Swenson, who as a lobbyist with Oregon Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association has spoken out against race-based policing, called the
resolution an excellent step. "It raises the profile of this issue, both for
the public and the police officer," she said.

She and Moose say that the next step is for state leaders to approve about
$180,000 to continue the work of 60 law enforcement officials and civil
rights and civil liberties groups monitoring a 1997 law giving police
broader powers to stop and search motorists.

Ron Louie, Hillsboro's police chief, also said departments should continue
to hire officers who share the values expressed in the resolution, as well
as develop close communication with the community.

In his 25 years as a police officer, he said, he's seen the hurt and
resentment in the faces of minority motorists who feel they've been stopped
because of their race. And as a Chinese American, he understands those
feelings.

"I know what it was like to be with a carload of kids in San Francisco," he
said, "and get yanked over by police because we all had black hair."

This resolution underscores that that is not acceptable, he said.

"This sends a message that we're walking the talk."

You can reach Gwenda Richards Oshiro at 503-221-8219 or by e-mail at
grichardsoshiro@news.oregonian.com.