On Tuesday, August 4, approximately 70 people gathered at the Oregon State Capitol Mall for a police reform rally entitled “Be Heard.” The event, organized by Jonathan Jones of Epilogue Cocktails and Kitchen, included members of Salem’s BIPOC community sharing stories of their interactions with the police, as well as their demands for the Salem Police Department [SPD].
Their demands included body cameras for all SPD officers, which would be on at all times when the officer is on duty. Jones demanded that if a body cam is turned off, the officer is immediately suspended pending an investigation and that the videos from all body cameras be saved indefinitely. They also called for whistleblower protections for officers who speak up against abuses of force, as well as, continued racial sensitivity and de-escalation training.
Body cameras are not currently mandated under state law. Although Oregon State Police does use them, many local law enforcement agencies, including SPD, do not.
Salem police’s union has recently come out in favor of body cameras to increase transparency and the union told the Salem Reporter that in a survey of officers they were “overwhelmingly in support of body cameras.” However, the union says that they cannot afford the hundreds of thousands it would take to fund the program, particularly in data storage.
This cost has halted efforts from law enforcement agencies across the state. SPD has considered body cameras previously, however, the cost prevented the safety protocol from being implemented. Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Portland Police both state that they cannot afford the equipment and storage costs.
Jones stated at the rally that with an annual budget of $48.8 million dollars, the SPD could find the money to fund body cameras. Jones stated that funds should be redirected from the recent militarization of the police force, such as more SWAT vehicles and equipment, and that the body cameras program should not result in a higher budget, but rather different funding priorities.
After Jones detailed these demands, other members of the community shared their experiences with police, including several Salem youth.
Tony Villaneda, from the youth organization Latinos Unidos Siempre, said that when he was 12 years old, several officers stopped him, pulled out their guns and ordered him to freeze. He said that they then detained him and it seemed like “they were looking for ways to get [him] in trouble.”
“I remember it like it was yesterday. It happened a few years ago, but it’s still in my brain,” Villaneda said about that incident.
Other youth shared how they think they were stopped on multiple occasions because of their clothes or car or their skin color or the area they were in.
“As a culture, we tend to only pay attention when the most horrific things happen… [But] these interactions as a 12-year-old, as a 17-year-old, are formative and life changing,” Jones said as to why preventing interactions like the ones the youth described are crucial.
Julianne Jackson, a community organizer and one of the leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement across Oregon, shared her experiences. She said that as a kid she had also had guns drawn on her by officers and how officers had shamed her for reporting her sexual assault.
She also shared that someone who abused her began to stalk her after the relationship ended. Jackson said that the man cornered her on the courthouse steps one one occasion and she called the police for help. They told her to leave, but she tried to explain that she did not think she could do this safely as she was afraid he would follow her. Jackson said that police told her that there was nothing they could do to help because it was public property.
“This system victimizes women and women of color especially,” Jackson told the crowd.
Jackson said that these reforms are not going to fix the police, but they are an important step for increasing accountability and are a matter of public safety. She said that if these interactions with the police were recorded on body cameras, they would no longer be “he said, she said” scenarios and it would be easier to hold officers accountable.
Jackson also shared that she understands why people want to abolish the police, however, stated that with current Oregon politics, that will not happen. Thus, she urged people to reform the system now and work on abolishment when it is politically feasible.
The next speakers shared how they struggled both with racism and ableism when interacting with the police. Rian Gayle, a Deaf, Black disability rights advocate, communicated with the crowd.
Gayle discussed how officers fail to handle people with disabilities appropriately when they interact. He explained to the crowd that officers are required to make accommodations for people with disabilities. For example, when interacting with a Deaf person, they are supposed to write back and forth. Gayle signed that often, officers fail to do this, instead forcing him to read their lips.
Gayle went on to discuss how body cameras are particularly beneficial when interacting with people with disabilities. Gayle signed that with auditory recordings, there is not a proper record of the conversation if the person is deaf.
“[With body cameras], we can see what the officer said to me and what I signed back,” Gayle signed to the crowd.
Around 7:45 p.m., Jones wrapped up the event and people began to leave. He told people to sign his body camera petition, which has over 1,870 signatures as of Thursday afternoon, and contact their local elected officials. He urged the crowd to “Continue to be loud in [their] opposition to white supremacy and police brutality.”
After Jones was done, he encouraged people to come up to the table at the front of the event and pick up some papers. These papers included general anti-racism resources, info about the Salem Police Foundation and a list of demands. These were in both English and Spanish.
