This story comes courtesy of the Mental Health Association of Portland...
Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer has asked internal affairs investigators who reviewed the Sept. 17, 2006 death of James P. Chasse Jr. to go back and examine a newly-released and enhanced jailhouse video that captures officers’ earliest statements about what occurred.
The video, released by Chasse’s family attorney and shared with the city, appears to contradict at least one Portland officer’s earlier account.
“I have asked the Internal Affairs Division to review all statements made by every member of the Police Bureau to determine if it would be appropriate to open a new investigation,” Sizer said in a written statement. “If appropriate I will do so.”
There’s no doubt police knocked Chasse, a 42-year-old man suffering from schizophrenia, to the ground that night, and later struggled with him before he died in police custody.
But did officers involve “tackle” him in a “bear hug” as several witnesses, including one Portland sergeant, originally reported, or did one of the officers shove him and then fall onto the sidewalk without landing on top of him as that officer had told investigating detectives?
The newly released videotape of officers talking at the jail after they carried Chasse in that night captures Portland Officer Christopher Humphreys telling a sheriff’s deputy that “we tackled him” and Chasse landed “hard,” according to the video released Thursday by Portland Attorney Tom Steeson, the Chasse family attorney, and first made public by the Portland Tribune.
Humphreys’ statements at the jail, coming within an hour of the police confrontation with Chasse, appear to contradict the account Humphreys gave to Portland detectives in the police investigation three days later. Humphreys told Portland detectives he shoved Chasse down with both his forearms against Chasse’s back, adding “which, it says we trained to do on foot pursuits. ” Humphreys said he fell onto the sidewalk, past Chasse, according to police transcripts.
As Humphreys is heard talking to jail intake staff in the video, his partner, Deputy Bret Burton is seen illustrating a “bear-hug” stance, which is not how police are trained, and mimics the sound heard when Chasse’s body landed on pavement. In the jailhouse video, the two officers also can be heard telling the jail staff how the whole incident occurred in front of Blue Hour patrons, conjecturing while some were eating their steaks.
The 13-minute video ends with police and jail sheriff’s deputies hauling Chasse out of jail. Chasse can be heard loudly moaning with a so-called jail spitsock over his head. Chasse died as police were driving him to a hospital. He sustained 26 fractures early in his encounter with police and died from broad-based blunt force trauma to his chest, according to the state medical examiner’s office.
The video, which was enhanced by professionals to make the dialogue intelligible, likely will play a role in the pending federal civil rights lawsuit the Chasse family has filed against the city, police and county.
Jason Renaud, who knew Chasse and is a volunteer with the Mental Health Association of Portland, called the video “horrible.”
“It shows the callous and sarcastic character of the people in the video,” Renaud said. “It shows Jim in a lot of distress…He’s still hog-tied, with that degrading spitsock over his face, shrieking in pain and in fear. This looks just terrible for the city.”
Renaud said Humphreys shouldn’t be an officer.
A version of the jailhouse videotape had been examined during the police internal affairs investigation. Steenson had obtained that videotape from the county shortly after Chasse’s death through a public information request. But his office paid out-of-state professionals to enhance the audio and reduce the background noise so the dialogue between officers and jailhouse deputies could be audible. The city, during the course of the pending civil litigation, also had made video enhancements, but Steenson made further enhancements, and released the outcome to the media and the city this week.
“Our system of justice depends on a careful and complete presentation of the evidence before an unbiased jury,” City Attorney Linda Meng said, in a statement issued today. “We believe that selective release of potential evidence before trial is not consistent with this principle.”
A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing in the case. The police internal investigation to determine whether or not the officers acted according to policy went before a bureau use of force review board earlier this month, more than two years after Chasse’s death. The board’s recommendations have been sent to the police chief, who has not issued any decision.
Burton, who worked as a deputy for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the incident, was since hired by Portland police.
Humphrey’s initial and informal jailhouse account of what occurred supports witness statements provided early in the investigation.
The criminal investigation by Portland detectives also had revealed conflicting stories by the three officers involved.
Based on interview transcripts, Sgt. Kyle Nice told detectives he saw Humphreys grab Chasse in a “bear-hug-type” hold and tackle him to the ground, which is not what Portland police train officers to do. He said Humphreys fell on top of Chasse in the midback area. Burton told detectives he saw Chasse and Humphreys collide but wasn’t sure how they landed.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
5 Reasons to Watch Your Political A$$
This posting is a bit off topic of what I usually write about, but I believe it's important, so I'll give myself a pass. As we move toward next Tuesday's election, I want to point out some valid thoughts.
1.) The Republican Party will stop at NOTHING to steal the election. All over this country voting machines are already screwing up. The word they are now using to explain this mess is "recalibrate" the machines that don't work right. Remember that word. It's the new "hanging chad".
2.) Their focus on "voter fraud" and ACORN instead of the faulty machines is a line of bs that they are using to manipulate the people they don't think are smart enough to see what they're up to.
3.) Their cries about the "liberal media"s unfair treatment is more bs. They don't even acknowledge that Fox News exists. I watched it for an hour this morning, and all that was on was HEAVY propoganda. Every rumor and sleasy lie imaginable was used as truth.
4.) They don't believe that we have it in us to fight back when they blatantly steal yet another election. So far they appear to be right.
5.) They are successfully purging low income people from the rolls, and getting away with it.
On November 5th, don't say you weren't warned.
1.) The Republican Party will stop at NOTHING to steal the election. All over this country voting machines are already screwing up. The word they are now using to explain this mess is "recalibrate" the machines that don't work right. Remember that word. It's the new "hanging chad".
2.) Their focus on "voter fraud" and ACORN instead of the faulty machines is a line of bs that they are using to manipulate the people they don't think are smart enough to see what they're up to.
3.) Their cries about the "liberal media"s unfair treatment is more bs. They don't even acknowledge that Fox News exists. I watched it for an hour this morning, and all that was on was HEAVY propoganda. Every rumor and sleasy lie imaginable was used as truth.
4.) They don't believe that we have it in us to fight back when they blatantly steal yet another election. So far they appear to be right.
5.) They are successfully purging low income people from the rolls, and getting away with it.
On November 5th, don't say you weren't warned.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Takin' It To The Legislature!!
I'm extremely concerned about state budget cuts coming down the pike. As I've mentioned before, the state always seems to look for budgetary solutions off the backs of people with disabilities. That's been factually happening in Oregon for far too long. It's time to stop playing nice, and let the legislature KNOW that such practice is no longer acceptable.
There needs to be strong leadership coming from the disability community. Not just some talk and letters that may or may not be read. Here are some of what's currently being tossed around as solutions. It comes from the DD (Developmental Disability) Coalition...
"The economic news is grim at both the State and Federal level. It is in the midst of this ongoing bad economic news that State agencies and the Governor are wrapping up the current budget and preparing for the next biennium. The Department of Human Services has already reported that the 2007 -2009 budget is over $71 million short due to increased costs and increased numbers of people seeking help.
The Department has identified 10 percent reductions in their proposal for next biennium. These proposed reductions will have a very negative impact on services to people with developmental disabilities. Some of the reductions include delays in providing Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA), elimination of vision and dental services, reduction in the Comp 300 (group home and foster care placements), delay in developing a new brokerage (a case management system for people waiting for services), reductions in the Employed Persons with Disabilities Program, removing funding from the Medically Fragile Program and family support, almost a 50 percent reduction in DD training dollars, and reductions in community mental health services, to name just a few."
We mustn't allow this ship to sail. Period!
There needs to be strong leadership coming from the disability community. Not just some talk and letters that may or may not be read. Here are some of what's currently being tossed around as solutions. It comes from the DD (Developmental Disability) Coalition...
"The economic news is grim at both the State and Federal level. It is in the midst of this ongoing bad economic news that State agencies and the Governor are wrapping up the current budget and preparing for the next biennium. The Department of Human Services has already reported that the 2007 -2009 budget is over $71 million short due to increased costs and increased numbers of people seeking help.
The Department has identified 10 percent reductions in their proposal for next biennium. These proposed reductions will have a very negative impact on services to people with developmental disabilities. Some of the reductions include delays in providing Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA), elimination of vision and dental services, reduction in the Comp 300 (group home and foster care placements), delay in developing a new brokerage (a case management system for people waiting for services), reductions in the Employed Persons with Disabilities Program, removing funding from the Medically Fragile Program and family support, almost a 50 percent reduction in DD training dollars, and reductions in community mental health services, to name just a few."
We mustn't allow this ship to sail. Period!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Oregonlive's Fear of The Truth
As I wrote earlier, I applied(?) to have a link to my blog set up on oregonlive.com some time back. The person who is in charge is named Alley Hector, and she has a blog that focuses on issues that effect people in the gay community in Oregon. She has blown me off twice now, so I may as well tell the story about it. That’s something I do.
I’d think that a lesbian would have an understanding of what it’s like to have your civil rights trashed, and would welcome a disability blog, but apparently I’m wrong about that. She seems to not want my blog associated with the other more important blogs on oregonlive. You know, those really deep blogs. The ones about beer, born again bird watching, hamburgers, etc. Those are the blogs she’s put out there, not some blog about people with disabilities.
It’s probably best that I’m not associated with those blogs any way. This blog is meant to be taken seriously. I tell real stories about the challenges real people face in our state and beyond. Nobody else is doing it, so I’ll continue myself.
I’d think that a lesbian would have an understanding of what it’s like to have your civil rights trashed, and would welcome a disability blog, but apparently I’m wrong about that. She seems to not want my blog associated with the other more important blogs on oregonlive. You know, those really deep blogs. The ones about beer, born again bird watching, hamburgers, etc. Those are the blogs she’s put out there, not some blog about people with disabilities.
It’s probably best that I’m not associated with those blogs any way. This blog is meant to be taken seriously. I tell real stories about the challenges real people face in our state and beyond. Nobody else is doing it, so I’ll continue myself.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Bruce Goldberg Wakes Up
Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of Bruce Goldberg, the DHS Director. There was the time I asked him to send me the projected DHS budget before a town hall where he ignored me.... but never mind that. Today he sent out his weekly message to DHS employees which hit the civil rights nail on the head. NIMBY (NOT IN MY BACK YARD) in regard to mental health facilities is an ongoing problem in Oregon, and he took it on pretty well. He also addressed the problem of not having consumers of services represent themselves in meetings which is smart...
October 24, 2008 DHS Director's messages on the web
To: All DHS employees
From: Bruce Goldberg, M.D., director
Our clients' voices
"We are not the worst moments of our lives."
~Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking
Recently I participated in a panel discussion about community treatment facilities for people with mental illness. It was clear from some of the questions to the panel that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about mental illness in our society. And, unfortunately, that misunderstanding can breed fear. I also was struck by something else as I sat in the front of the room next to several public officials: There was no one on the panel speaking from the perspective of a person who is living with mental illness.
The lack of that perspective in these types of forums is a mistake, because it allows people to marginalize, stigmatize and fear mental illness, and that creates barriers that prevent successful mental health treatment.
The reality is that people with mental illness live independently, hold down jobs and do quite well on their own. Others need more supervision for their illness, just as people with other illnesses do. Some people need intensive treatment in the hospital. Others move in and out of the hospital. And some individuals have committed crimes as a result of their mental illness.
One of those people is Ashleigh Brenton, who spoke last month in front of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners at a public meeting about a community treatment facility in Milwaukie. She said that people who meet her are surprised to learn about her criminal record and that at one point she was a danger to herself and others, which led her to spend time in the Oregon State Hospital. People are surprised because today she is a student at Portland State University who looks more like a kindergarten teacher than the stereotype of someone with mental illness.
"Mental illness is a chemical imbalance for the most part and it can be treatable and people can live very productive lives and give back to society," Brenton told the county commissioners.
Brenton's story is particularly important today because it's also an example of why community treatment facilities are so important. Her treatment was completed, she was stable and ready to be discharged from the hospital, but there were no openings in a community treatment facility for her, so her discharge was delayed. She said she wanted to speak out because she believes that stigmas against mental illness can contribute to lack of community support for local treatment options.
"Our community members are just too afraid of what they don't understand," she said.
Brenton is one of the nearly 400 people in Oregon who are living examples of the state's safe and successful program for integrating people who committed crimes as a result of mental illness back into the community. There are people like her in nearly every county in the state. Approximately 25 percent live independently
-- on their own or with their families. Another 25 percent live in a treatment facility. The rest are clients who live in a range of supported housing.
The fact is, people with mental illness who require treatment have been successfully living in your neighborhoods, in my neighborhood, for decades. The safety record of this program is stellar, with a recividism rate of just 2.2 percent compared to more than 30 percent for people coming out of the prison system.
Community placement is so successful that it is the cornerstone of the modern mental health treatment system we are building for all our clients -- both forensic and civilly committed. It is part of the continuum of care that starts and ends locally so that everyone in Oregon can get treatment that may help prevent their illness from requiring hospitalization and also get the support they need when their time in the hospital is finished.
In order to succeed we must work together to overcome the stigma of mental illness that results in fear and prejudice. And we must listen to people like Ashleigh Brenton when they tell us their stories.
October 24, 2008 DHS Director's messages on the web
To: All DHS employees
From: Bruce Goldberg, M.D., director
Our clients' voices
"We are not the worst moments of our lives."
~Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking
Recently I participated in a panel discussion about community treatment facilities for people with mental illness. It was clear from some of the questions to the panel that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about mental illness in our society. And, unfortunately, that misunderstanding can breed fear. I also was struck by something else as I sat in the front of the room next to several public officials: There was no one on the panel speaking from the perspective of a person who is living with mental illness.
The lack of that perspective in these types of forums is a mistake, because it allows people to marginalize, stigmatize and fear mental illness, and that creates barriers that prevent successful mental health treatment.
The reality is that people with mental illness live independently, hold down jobs and do quite well on their own. Others need more supervision for their illness, just as people with other illnesses do. Some people need intensive treatment in the hospital. Others move in and out of the hospital. And some individuals have committed crimes as a result of their mental illness.
One of those people is Ashleigh Brenton, who spoke last month in front of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners at a public meeting about a community treatment facility in Milwaukie. She said that people who meet her are surprised to learn about her criminal record and that at one point she was a danger to herself and others, which led her to spend time in the Oregon State Hospital. People are surprised because today she is a student at Portland State University who looks more like a kindergarten teacher than the stereotype of someone with mental illness.
"Mental illness is a chemical imbalance for the most part and it can be treatable and people can live very productive lives and give back to society," Brenton told the county commissioners.
Brenton's story is particularly important today because it's also an example of why community treatment facilities are so important. Her treatment was completed, she was stable and ready to be discharged from the hospital, but there were no openings in a community treatment facility for her, so her discharge was delayed. She said she wanted to speak out because she believes that stigmas against mental illness can contribute to lack of community support for local treatment options.
"Our community members are just too afraid of what they don't understand," she said.
Brenton is one of the nearly 400 people in Oregon who are living examples of the state's safe and successful program for integrating people who committed crimes as a result of mental illness back into the community. There are people like her in nearly every county in the state. Approximately 25 percent live independently
-- on their own or with their families. Another 25 percent live in a treatment facility. The rest are clients who live in a range of supported housing.
The fact is, people with mental illness who require treatment have been successfully living in your neighborhoods, in my neighborhood, for decades. The safety record of this program is stellar, with a recividism rate of just 2.2 percent compared to more than 30 percent for people coming out of the prison system.
Community placement is so successful that it is the cornerstone of the modern mental health treatment system we are building for all our clients -- both forensic and civilly committed. It is part of the continuum of care that starts and ends locally so that everyone in Oregon can get treatment that may help prevent their illness from requiring hospitalization and also get the support they need when their time in the hospital is finished.
In order to succeed we must work together to overcome the stigma of mental illness that results in fear and prejudice. And we must listen to people like Ashleigh Brenton when they tell us their stories.
Kinda Makes One Wonder
Although there’s no mention of Assisted Suicide/Death with Dignity in this article, I wonder if the “culture” in Oregon might have something to do with this? I wonder...
Suicides nearly double in Portland this year
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND -- In March, a middle-aged man jumped to his death from a parking garage in downtown Portland. Six months later, a 38-year-old woman leaped from the same one.
Though such public suicides are rare, they are becoming more common in the area that includes Portland's high-rise buildings and bridges that cross the Willamette River.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 20, the Portland Police Bureau's Central Precinct recorded 61 suicides or attempted suicides, compared with 33 during the same period a year ago.
Troubled by the numbers, Police Chief Rosie Sizer and Central Precinct Cmdr. Mike Reese contacted Multnomah County officials to discuss a course of action. Within the next month, Central Precinct police plan to start sharing their incident reports on every suicide attempt with the county so experts can provide follow-up care to those who survive.
What's causing more people to attempt the act is unknown, but caseworkers suspect the faltering economy is at least partly to blame. The state's Suicide Hot line has fielded many calls this year from people who are in tough financial situations.
"We're definitely getting a spike in calls from people who are more concerned about issues impacting their everyday life," said hot line director Leslie Storm.
Portland Officer Betty Woodward, who patrols downtown, told The Oregonian newspaper that the increased collaboration between police and county experts will be a "huge step forward."
Often, police call an ambulance and the survivor goes to a hospital, but the officers don't know what happens next. Woodward said she's tried to "hunt down" a person's doctor or caseworker, but it's not easy, and most officers don't have the time to search.
This is where the county will step in under the new plan.
Woodward, who has been trained in crisis intervention, said she has persuaded suicidal people not to leap, but also lost people she couldn't convince.
"When you arrive to a call, and it's too late, I don't have good words for that," she said. "You don't even get to try. You can't do anything. It's horrible, pitiful, an absolute waste."
Suicides nearly double in Portland this year
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND -- In March, a middle-aged man jumped to his death from a parking garage in downtown Portland. Six months later, a 38-year-old woman leaped from the same one.
Though such public suicides are rare, they are becoming more common in the area that includes Portland's high-rise buildings and bridges that cross the Willamette River.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 20, the Portland Police Bureau's Central Precinct recorded 61 suicides or attempted suicides, compared with 33 during the same period a year ago.
Troubled by the numbers, Police Chief Rosie Sizer and Central Precinct Cmdr. Mike Reese contacted Multnomah County officials to discuss a course of action. Within the next month, Central Precinct police plan to start sharing their incident reports on every suicide attempt with the county so experts can provide follow-up care to those who survive.
What's causing more people to attempt the act is unknown, but caseworkers suspect the faltering economy is at least partly to blame. The state's Suicide Hot line has fielded many calls this year from people who are in tough financial situations.
"We're definitely getting a spike in calls from people who are more concerned about issues impacting their everyday life," said hot line director Leslie Storm.
Portland Officer Betty Woodward, who patrols downtown, told The Oregonian newspaper that the increased collaboration between police and county experts will be a "huge step forward."
Often, police call an ambulance and the survivor goes to a hospital, but the officers don't know what happens next. Woodward said she's tried to "hunt down" a person's doctor or caseworker, but it's not easy, and most officers don't have the time to search.
This is where the county will step in under the new plan.
Woodward, who has been trained in crisis intervention, said she has persuaded suicidal people not to leap, but also lost people she couldn't convince.
"When you arrive to a call, and it's too late, I don't have good words for that," she said. "You don't even get to try. You can't do anything. It's horrible, pitiful, an absolute waste."
Unabashed Socialist or Why I Do What I Do
Last week I became a member of Leftyblogs (Oregonlive is another story)because I'm a Socialist, which is left of left here in Oregon. One of the first posts they put up was also from last week. It's titled "Death at Goodwill", and tells the story of a man with a developmental disability who was killed by a piece of heavy equipment in Tacoma. I wondered if my own nephew/son who works at a store here had received any safety training.
There were at least 31 clicks on the story without so much as 1 comment about it. I talked to my wife about that this morning, and we explored why that would be...
She: "I think we need to recruit people from the general community who have no idea about disability issues."
Me: "I disagree. That's the reason for my blog. I think you have to educate folks before you can recruit them. Those clicks were a combination of curiosity and/or a desire to learn more."
She: "Well; if no one's asking questions or making observations does it really even matter?"
Me: "I think it does. There hasn't been any education of the broad community about disability since forever. People need to feel comfortable with subject matter before they'll open up."
She: "well I'm going to recruit people who don't have a clue."
Me: "Good luck on that".
There were at least 31 clicks on the story without so much as 1 comment about it. I talked to my wife about that this morning, and we explored why that would be...
She: "I think we need to recruit people from the general community who have no idea about disability issues."
Me: "I disagree. That's the reason for my blog. I think you have to educate folks before you can recruit them. Those clicks were a combination of curiosity and/or a desire to learn more."
She: "Well; if no one's asking questions or making observations does it really even matter?"
Me: "I think it does. There hasn't been any education of the broad community about disability since forever. People need to feel comfortable with subject matter before they'll open up."
She: "well I'm going to recruit people who don't have a clue."
Me: "Good luck on that".
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Civil Rights and Barack
Here we go again. In various states (not ours this time around) there are Initiatives to thwart the rights of gay couples. Adoption by gay couples, and gay marriage seem to be the biggest issues folks will be voting on in November.
I heard some very disturbing words from Barack Obama this morning on C-Span from back in August. I didn't hear the whole conversation, as I was gathering garbage and recycling to go out today. What I did hear was his response to a question about civil rights which caught my attention. They were talking about gay people and he said "My confidence in my faith, and my confidence in my marriage are strong enough that I could afford the civil rights of gay couples." Those may not be his exact words, but certainly close if not.
What does his faith or marriage have to do with CIVIL RIGHTS?? The answer is "nothing". Civil rights are exactly what they say they are;RIGHTS! What if he was losing his faith and his marriage was on the rocks? Would he then not be able to afford civil rights to gay couples? I'm going to vote for him. Not because I believe he is this great "change agent" he portends to be. He is the lesser of two evils in this upcoming election. And he better pay attention to what rights are, or we're all in deep do-do.
Oh yeah... by the way; there's a show on the current state of the KKK at 4:00 PM today on the National Geographic channel, as told by Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center. You won't want to miss it. Toodles.
I heard some very disturbing words from Barack Obama this morning on C-Span from back in August. I didn't hear the whole conversation, as I was gathering garbage and recycling to go out today. What I did hear was his response to a question about civil rights which caught my attention. They were talking about gay people and he said "My confidence in my faith, and my confidence in my marriage are strong enough that I could afford the civil rights of gay couples." Those may not be his exact words, but certainly close if not.
What does his faith or marriage have to do with CIVIL RIGHTS?? The answer is "nothing". Civil rights are exactly what they say they are;RIGHTS! What if he was losing his faith and his marriage was on the rocks? Would he then not be able to afford civil rights to gay couples? I'm going to vote for him. Not because I believe he is this great "change agent" he portends to be. He is the lesser of two evils in this upcoming election. And he better pay attention to what rights are, or we're all in deep do-do.
Oh yeah... by the way; there's a show on the current state of the KKK at 4:00 PM today on the National Geographic channel, as told by Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center. You won't want to miss it. Toodles.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Gresham Elder Robbery
Usually the financial exploitation/abuse I write about has to do with caregivers taking advantage of vulnerable people. That's not always the case. Sometimes you hear about slimy community members looking for a "mark", or a victim they can rip off. This story tells of such a slimy person robbing an 84 year old man IN AN Albertson's PARKING LOT. Where the hell is their security?? From the Gresham Outlook...
Gresham police nab man suspected of stealing elderly resident’s wallet
Transit officer recognized Tyler Nathan Trump in surveillance video
By Mara Stine
A robber who allegedly stole a wallet containing $465 from the hand of an 84-year-old Gresham man is behind bars thanks to a police officer’s eagle eye.
Tyler Nathan Trump, 23, of Gresham is being held on $5,000 bail at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail on a charge of felony third-degree robbery.
Trump reportedly stole the wallet from a man named Earl, who asked that his last name not be printed, at Albertsons off Northeast 181st and Glisan Street on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 24. The suspect asked for $1 to buy his wife roses for her birthday and the elderly man, feeling sorry for him, had pulled out his wallet to give him some cash.
During the struggle over the wallet, the victim’s hand was bruised. Once the suspect pried it out of the victim’s grip, he fled the scene. However, video surveillance of the suspect allowed officers to ask for the community’s help identifying him.
While watching television news coverage of the robbery, Lee Graham, Gresham transit police officer, recognized the suspect from their many encounters on the light-rail line. Graham and his partner, Officer Charles Skeahan, had arrested Trump four times over 11 months, said Sgt. Mike LeDuc, a Gresham police spokesman.
After the victim identified Trump as the robber, the officers arrested Trump at his apartment in the 200 block of Northeast 162nd Avenue at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17.
Over the past four years, Trump has been arrested on charges of burglary, robbery, theft, criminal mischief, drug possession and riding light-rail without a fare, LeDuc said.
The victim is glad police caught Trump and hopes he is sentenced to some serious jail time.
“I told ’em to hang him,” Earl said.
Gresham police nab man suspected of stealing elderly resident’s wallet
Transit officer recognized Tyler Nathan Trump in surveillance video
By Mara Stine
A robber who allegedly stole a wallet containing $465 from the hand of an 84-year-old Gresham man is behind bars thanks to a police officer’s eagle eye.
Tyler Nathan Trump, 23, of Gresham is being held on $5,000 bail at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail on a charge of felony third-degree robbery.
Trump reportedly stole the wallet from a man named Earl, who asked that his last name not be printed, at Albertsons off Northeast 181st and Glisan Street on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 24. The suspect asked for $1 to buy his wife roses for her birthday and the elderly man, feeling sorry for him, had pulled out his wallet to give him some cash.
During the struggle over the wallet, the victim’s hand was bruised. Once the suspect pried it out of the victim’s grip, he fled the scene. However, video surveillance of the suspect allowed officers to ask for the community’s help identifying him.
While watching television news coverage of the robbery, Lee Graham, Gresham transit police officer, recognized the suspect from their many encounters on the light-rail line. Graham and his partner, Officer Charles Skeahan, had arrested Trump four times over 11 months, said Sgt. Mike LeDuc, a Gresham police spokesman.
After the victim identified Trump as the robber, the officers arrested Trump at his apartment in the 200 block of Northeast 162nd Avenue at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17.
Over the past four years, Trump has been arrested on charges of burglary, robbery, theft, criminal mischief, drug possession and riding light-rail without a fare, LeDuc said.
The victim is glad police caught Trump and hopes he is sentenced to some serious jail time.
“I told ’em to hang him,” Earl said.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Death at Goodwill
My nephew/son works at a Goodwill store in Oregon City. He's been with Goodwill for about 5 or 6 years. There are a few different things I'm concerned with about his job, but until today, safety wasn't one of them. I just came across this article from the Tacoma Tribune which has caused me to wonder about what sort of safety training the many people with developmental disabilities have received at the stores in Oregon...
Goodwill fined in death of developmentally disabled worker
ian.demsky@thenewstribune.com Published: October 17th, 2008 12:30 AM | Updated: October 17th, 2008 06:39 AM
State inspectors found Tacoma Goodwill Industries should have done more to prevent the death of Nick Miller, a developmentally disabled worker crushed by piece of heavy machinery.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor & Industries announced they were fining the nonprofit nearly $50,000 for three safety violations with nine specific deficiencies, the most serious of which contributed to Miller’s death.
The 27-year-old Miller, who had the cognitive ability of a 10-year-old in some areas, died April 15 on the loading dock of Goodwill’s Operation Center on South Cedar Street. He was killed by a machine that lifts trash into a compactor. He was crushed as the tipper came back down at the end of its dumping cycle.
The L&I citation said Goodwill failed to tailor its accident-prevention program to disabled workers and failed to properly supervise and enforce training programs for disabled workers. The agency noted that the company had been cited for similar deficiencies in the past.
Goodwill disputes the findings and will appeal, CEO Terry Hayes said in an interview Thursday.
“Honestly, we were surprised and disappointed,” she said. “In our view, the facts don’t fit the findings.”
Hayes said Goodwill had collaborated with L&I to correct the previous violations.
“Now they’re turning around and fining us for it?” she said.
For example, during previous consultations, the agency didn’t ask for a special section in its accident prevention program related to disabled workers, but now they want one, Hayes said.
Nor did anyone find problems with the trash-tipping machine in which Miller was killed when it was previously inspected, she noted.
L&I spokeswoman Elaine Fischer stood by the agency’s assessment, saying, “We found shortcomings in their safety program, and they’re documented in this citation. Of course, they have a right to appeal.”
David Bufalini, the attorney representing Miller’s family, said he was distressed to see the two most serious violations were repeats.
“You hope that employers take citations seriously when they’re related directly to worker safety,” he said. “These aren’t paperwork violations.”
State law prevents Miller’s family from filing a wrongful death lawsuit because Nick was an adult, and all of his income went toward expenses, leaving his estate with no monetary losses, Bufalini said.
But the family’s main goal has always been preventing anyone else from getting hurt, he said.
“The ultimate reward would be for Goodwill to acknowledged they screwed up, make the changes and pay the fines,” Bufalini said.
While explaining her frustrations with the citations, Hayes stressed Goodwill’s commitment to workplace safety.
In the six months between the accident and L&I’s findings, Goodwill has conducted additional training, reinspected all its machinery, hired an outside safety consultant and fitted three machines, including the one in which Miller died, with lockout devices.
She noted L&I figures show that on the whole, Goodwill has 20 percent fewer accidents than the average workplace in the state. Hayes said in June that the department’s independent review had no major findings. She declined to share the report with The News Tribune then and again Thursday.
Hayes also declined to talk about the circumstances that led to Miller’s accident.
Bufalini says he hopes a more detailed report from L&I’s investigation will shed light on events. “I’m waiting to see the report and I know the Millers are,” the attorney said. “They want the details. What’s lacking to their satisfaction is an actual explanation of what happened.”
Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872
Nine Violations
Here’s a breakdown of the violations the state Department of Labor & Industries found at Tacoma Goodwill Industries in connection with the death of Nick Miller.
Category: Repeat serious
Violation: Written accident-prevention program not tailored to the needs of developmentally disabled employees. It “lacked safe work practices and supervision to prevent injury.”
Fine: $14,300
Violation: Did not supervise, implement and enforce training programs for all workers, including disabled employees.
Fine: $14,300
Category: Serious
Violation: Did not ensure the tipping machine had proper emergency stop controls.
Fine: $7,000
Violation: Tipping machine did not have safeguards to prevent trapping/crushing hazard.
Fine: $7,000
Violation: Tipping machine did not have safeguards to prevent someone from getting caught between it and a guardrail.
Fine: $7,000
Category: General
Violation: No one from the Supported Work Group was on the company’s safety committee.
Fine: Zero
Violation: Safety committee did not cover three important topics.
Fine: Zero
Violation: At least four injuries not logged.
Fine: $100
Violation: Did not ensure all injuries and illnesses properly logged.
Fine: $100
Total fines: $49,800
Goodwill fined in death of developmentally disabled worker
ian.demsky@thenewstribune.com Published: October 17th, 2008 12:30 AM | Updated: October 17th, 2008 06:39 AM
State inspectors found Tacoma Goodwill Industries should have done more to prevent the death of Nick Miller, a developmentally disabled worker crushed by piece of heavy machinery.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor & Industries announced they were fining the nonprofit nearly $50,000 for three safety violations with nine specific deficiencies, the most serious of which contributed to Miller’s death.
The 27-year-old Miller, who had the cognitive ability of a 10-year-old in some areas, died April 15 on the loading dock of Goodwill’s Operation Center on South Cedar Street. He was killed by a machine that lifts trash into a compactor. He was crushed as the tipper came back down at the end of its dumping cycle.
The L&I citation said Goodwill failed to tailor its accident-prevention program to disabled workers and failed to properly supervise and enforce training programs for disabled workers. The agency noted that the company had been cited for similar deficiencies in the past.
Goodwill disputes the findings and will appeal, CEO Terry Hayes said in an interview Thursday.
“Honestly, we were surprised and disappointed,” she said. “In our view, the facts don’t fit the findings.”
Hayes said Goodwill had collaborated with L&I to correct the previous violations.
“Now they’re turning around and fining us for it?” she said.
For example, during previous consultations, the agency didn’t ask for a special section in its accident prevention program related to disabled workers, but now they want one, Hayes said.
Nor did anyone find problems with the trash-tipping machine in which Miller was killed when it was previously inspected, she noted.
L&I spokeswoman Elaine Fischer stood by the agency’s assessment, saying, “We found shortcomings in their safety program, and they’re documented in this citation. Of course, they have a right to appeal.”
David Bufalini, the attorney representing Miller’s family, said he was distressed to see the two most serious violations were repeats.
“You hope that employers take citations seriously when they’re related directly to worker safety,” he said. “These aren’t paperwork violations.”
State law prevents Miller’s family from filing a wrongful death lawsuit because Nick was an adult, and all of his income went toward expenses, leaving his estate with no monetary losses, Bufalini said.
But the family’s main goal has always been preventing anyone else from getting hurt, he said.
“The ultimate reward would be for Goodwill to acknowledged they screwed up, make the changes and pay the fines,” Bufalini said.
While explaining her frustrations with the citations, Hayes stressed Goodwill’s commitment to workplace safety.
In the six months between the accident and L&I’s findings, Goodwill has conducted additional training, reinspected all its machinery, hired an outside safety consultant and fitted three machines, including the one in which Miller died, with lockout devices.
She noted L&I figures show that on the whole, Goodwill has 20 percent fewer accidents than the average workplace in the state. Hayes said in June that the department’s independent review had no major findings. She declined to share the report with The News Tribune then and again Thursday.
Hayes also declined to talk about the circumstances that led to Miller’s accident.
Bufalini says he hopes a more detailed report from L&I’s investigation will shed light on events. “I’m waiting to see the report and I know the Millers are,” the attorney said. “They want the details. What’s lacking to their satisfaction is an actual explanation of what happened.”
Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872
Nine Violations
Here’s a breakdown of the violations the state Department of Labor & Industries found at Tacoma Goodwill Industries in connection with the death of Nick Miller.
Category: Repeat serious
Violation: Written accident-prevention program not tailored to the needs of developmentally disabled employees. It “lacked safe work practices and supervision to prevent injury.”
Fine: $14,300
Violation: Did not supervise, implement and enforce training programs for all workers, including disabled employees.
Fine: $14,300
Category: Serious
Violation: Did not ensure the tipping machine had proper emergency stop controls.
Fine: $7,000
Violation: Tipping machine did not have safeguards to prevent trapping/crushing hazard.
Fine: $7,000
Violation: Tipping machine did not have safeguards to prevent someone from getting caught between it and a guardrail.
Fine: $7,000
Category: General
Violation: No one from the Supported Work Group was on the company’s safety committee.
Fine: Zero
Violation: Safety committee did not cover three important topics.
Fine: Zero
Violation: At least four injuries not logged.
Fine: $100
Violation: Did not ensure all injuries and illnesses properly logged.
Fine: $100
Total fines: $49,800
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Compromised
I’m often reminded of what it takes to be a true advocate for people with developmental disabilities. It takes courage coupled with reckless abandon. It takes a full commitment to civil and human rights. It takes a willingness to be ostracized or criticized for what you say and do. It takes balls. It takes something almost unexplainable about compassion, spirituality, and a desire to see justice served.
Yesterday I attended a training/workshop on how to investigate abuse/neglect cases regarding people with developmental disabilities in Oregon. I found myself wondering how many of the other attendees were true advocates of these very vulnerable people. I know my wife is. I hope the people from the Office of Investigations and Training (a state office) are. I already have my doubts about the rest of the folks there. Why?
Because of “compromise”. The fear of losing one’s job due to doing or saying something that might cause a genuine problem at work. I may be crazy, but I just don’t see the value in such a belief system. If you know what the right thing is to do, and you don’t do it because of this fear, how do you live with yourself?
This is not speculation. I’ve seen it many times over the years; from county Protective Service workers to direct care staff. People are so concerned with their own presents and future that they are willing to turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to things they KNOW are wrong. You can read about it in the newspapers or on the internet all the time.
Maybe if there was a way for people to run into trouble BEFORE it becomes public knowledge that they dropped the ball, things would go better. There is none. They only risk things when they are SURE it’s safe to take such a step. That’s just not right.
Yesterday I attended a training/workshop on how to investigate abuse/neglect cases regarding people with developmental disabilities in Oregon. I found myself wondering how many of the other attendees were true advocates of these very vulnerable people. I know my wife is. I hope the people from the Office of Investigations and Training (a state office) are. I already have my doubts about the rest of the folks there. Why?
Because of “compromise”. The fear of losing one’s job due to doing or saying something that might cause a genuine problem at work. I may be crazy, but I just don’t see the value in such a belief system. If you know what the right thing is to do, and you don’t do it because of this fear, how do you live with yourself?
This is not speculation. I’ve seen it many times over the years; from county Protective Service workers to direct care staff. People are so concerned with their own presents and future that they are willing to turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to things they KNOW are wrong. You can read about it in the newspapers or on the internet all the time.
Maybe if there was a way for people to run into trouble BEFORE it becomes public knowledge that they dropped the ball, things would go better. There is none. They only risk things when they are SURE it’s safe to take such a step. That’s just not right.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Time Out? I Don't Think So
In some Parts of the country they STILL use "time out" rooms for students with disabilities who have behavior problems. This is something we did away with in Oregon a long time ago (I hope). This is a subtle form of abuse that you don't hear about very often. Why? Because it doesn't work! And... those using it know that people would be apalled if they knew it was being used. From the AP...
Experts question benefit of school time-out rooms
By MICHAEL J. CRUMB –
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After failing to finish a reading assignment, 8-year-old Isabel Loeffler was sent to the school's time-out room — a converted storage area under a staircase — where she was left alone for three hours.
The autistic Iowa girl wet herself before she was finally allowed to leave.
Appalled, her parents removed her from the school district and filed a lawsuit.
Some educators say time-out rooms are being used with increased frequency to discipline children with behavioral disorders. And the time outs are probably doing more harm than good, they add.
"It really is a form of abuse," said Ken Merrell, head of the Department for Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon. "It's going to do nothing to change the behavior. You're using it as an isolation booth."
Segregating children removes them from the positive aspect of the classroom and highlights that they're different from other children, said Stephen Camarata, director of the Kennedy Center for Behavioral Research at Vanderbilt University. And isolating an autistic child might be particularly counterproductive.
"They don't like being around other people so they might increase their negative behavior because they view it a reward," he said.
Though there is no data on the use of time-out rooms, Camarata speculates that they've become widespread as schools confronted a growing enrollment of children with behavior disorders.
"I believe it's because classrooms are much less flexible with more focus on compliance," he said.
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley, Calif., receives calls from parents across the country who complain about time-out rooms, said Cheryl Theis, an education advocate for the organization.
"Parents call and say their child's disability has been exacerbated by this and are traumatized by this," she said.
Merrell said he's encountered time-out rooms he felt were unsafe.
"I once consulted with a school in another state and had a weekly appointment with a child to do some counseling and when I got there they told me he was in a time-out room," he said. "He was in a janitor's closet with no windows, no ventilation, open cans of paint, a mop bucket with disinfectant and he had been in there for over an hour."
Merrell, who has published nearly 100 studies and 10 books on teaching social and emotional skills, said time-out rooms can be used effectively but seldom are. The key, he said, is to combine the time outs with social skills training.
Patti Ralabate, a special education analyst with the National Education Association, said time-out rooms are common but should be used sparingly.
"And when they are used, all of the educators involved need to have appropriate professional development to see how this is used and how to use them appropriately," she said.
Ralabate said a time-out room can be effective if it is intended to provide a space for a child to calm down and reflect on their behavior.
"If it is used to isolate the child, punish the child for a behavior, then we would view it as not productive and not positive," she said.
In Iowa, Doug and Eva Loeffler started to notice changes in their daughter in December 2004, soon after she began school in the Des Moines suburb of Waukee. It prompted them to take Isabel to University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for evaluations.
"We laid awake at nights thinking we'd have to institutionalize her," Doug Loeffler said. "We went to three evaluations at the hospital and all of a sudden we find out she's being mistreated."
Loeffler said they weren't told in school evaluation reports that their daughter had been restrained and placed in a time-out room. During one incident in December 2005, Isabel wet herself because she was locked in the room for three hours and not allowed to use a restroom, he said.
Loeffler said the time-out room rules required that before she could be released, she must sit on the floor with her legs crossed without moving a muscle for at least five minutes.
"If she said something, grimaced at them, they would restart the clock and she was not capable of doing that," Loeffler said. "That's why it was three hours."
Loeffler said the couple homeschooled Isabel until he took a new job and the family moved last year to California. Isabel has shown signs of progress and is back in public school, he said.
David Wilkerson, superintendent of the Waukee school district, declined to speak about the accusations because of the pending lawsuit. But he said time-out rooms are a "pretty common practice" and that the district complies with the state's guidelines for such rooms.
Loeffler said he is pressing ahead with the lawsuit and hopes to draw attention to the need for nationwide standards for time-out rooms.
Experts question benefit of school time-out rooms
By MICHAEL J. CRUMB –
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After failing to finish a reading assignment, 8-year-old Isabel Loeffler was sent to the school's time-out room — a converted storage area under a staircase — where she was left alone for three hours.
The autistic Iowa girl wet herself before she was finally allowed to leave.
Appalled, her parents removed her from the school district and filed a lawsuit.
Some educators say time-out rooms are being used with increased frequency to discipline children with behavioral disorders. And the time outs are probably doing more harm than good, they add.
"It really is a form of abuse," said Ken Merrell, head of the Department for Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon. "It's going to do nothing to change the behavior. You're using it as an isolation booth."
Segregating children removes them from the positive aspect of the classroom and highlights that they're different from other children, said Stephen Camarata, director of the Kennedy Center for Behavioral Research at Vanderbilt University. And isolating an autistic child might be particularly counterproductive.
"They don't like being around other people so they might increase their negative behavior because they view it a reward," he said.
Though there is no data on the use of time-out rooms, Camarata speculates that they've become widespread as schools confronted a growing enrollment of children with behavior disorders.
"I believe it's because classrooms are much less flexible with more focus on compliance," he said.
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley, Calif., receives calls from parents across the country who complain about time-out rooms, said Cheryl Theis, an education advocate for the organization.
"Parents call and say their child's disability has been exacerbated by this and are traumatized by this," she said.
Merrell said he's encountered time-out rooms he felt were unsafe.
"I once consulted with a school in another state and had a weekly appointment with a child to do some counseling and when I got there they told me he was in a time-out room," he said. "He was in a janitor's closet with no windows, no ventilation, open cans of paint, a mop bucket with disinfectant and he had been in there for over an hour."
Merrell, who has published nearly 100 studies and 10 books on teaching social and emotional skills, said time-out rooms can be used effectively but seldom are. The key, he said, is to combine the time outs with social skills training.
Patti Ralabate, a special education analyst with the National Education Association, said time-out rooms are common but should be used sparingly.
"And when they are used, all of the educators involved need to have appropriate professional development to see how this is used and how to use them appropriately," she said.
Ralabate said a time-out room can be effective if it is intended to provide a space for a child to calm down and reflect on their behavior.
"If it is used to isolate the child, punish the child for a behavior, then we would view it as not productive and not positive," she said.
In Iowa, Doug and Eva Loeffler started to notice changes in their daughter in December 2004, soon after she began school in the Des Moines suburb of Waukee. It prompted them to take Isabel to University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for evaluations.
"We laid awake at nights thinking we'd have to institutionalize her," Doug Loeffler said. "We went to three evaluations at the hospital and all of a sudden we find out she's being mistreated."
Loeffler said they weren't told in school evaluation reports that their daughter had been restrained and placed in a time-out room. During one incident in December 2005, Isabel wet herself because she was locked in the room for three hours and not allowed to use a restroom, he said.
Loeffler said the time-out room rules required that before she could be released, she must sit on the floor with her legs crossed without moving a muscle for at least five minutes.
"If she said something, grimaced at them, they would restart the clock and she was not capable of doing that," Loeffler said. "That's why it was three hours."
Loeffler said the couple homeschooled Isabel until he took a new job and the family moved last year to California. Isabel has shown signs of progress and is back in public school, he said.
David Wilkerson, superintendent of the Waukee school district, declined to speak about the accusations because of the pending lawsuit. But he said time-out rooms are a "pretty common practice" and that the district complies with the state's guidelines for such rooms.
Loeffler said he is pressing ahead with the lawsuit and hopes to draw attention to the need for nationwide standards for time-out rooms.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
An Unfair Fate
For the past 4 months I've been involved in a legislative work group, set up to ensure that people with developmental disabilities in Oregon are protected against, among other things, rape, within the law. Is there really a need for a bill to do this? Aren't these folks protected already in our state. The answer is a resounding "NO"! Don't believe me? Here's a story from out of Astoria, Oregon, published on KPTV.com...
ASTORIA, Ore. -- A jury found a man guilty of raping a mentally disabled woman, but the judge in the case set him free pending an appeal.
Wilfred Daniel may never set foot in prison after he appeared in Clatsop County Court for sentencing last Friday and had his eight-year sentence suspended pending an appeal.
The district attorney and the victim's family were furious.
Daniel was still being held by federal customs agents because there is a chance he may be deported.
But if not for that, he would be walking free until his appeal, which could take years.
The victim at the center of the case said she can’t believe this could even happen.
Sharon, 32, said Tuesday that she still remembers every harsh word from Daniel, threats to keep her quiet about him raping her, two years ago.
“He told me that when he got out of jail, he’d put me in jail and nobody would come and see me,” Sharon said.
Sharon has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old, but she found work through the Coast Rehab Facility at a former mill warehouse in Warrenton.
Daniel was Sharon’s supervisor and this is where she said he raped her several times.
Finally, Sharon spoke up and the district attorney filed charges. A jury found Daniel guilty on two counts of rape and one count of coercion.
But at the sentencing hearing, Judge Douglas Beckman said that he was unsatisfied with the jury’s access to information in the case, and he thought it would all be reversed in an appeal.
So Beckman set Daniel free pending that appeal.
Sharon’s foster mother of 15 years, Dot Lusby, was beside herself and said she wants answers.
“He ignored them. He didn’t come back here for a sentencing. He came back to hold his own little trial, and I think his mind was made up even before he put his robe on," Lusby said. “I think he has shown total disrespect for the jury and for the jury system.”
Sharon now has a new job and she’s in counseling, but she doesn’t understand why Daniel isn’t locked up.
"That’s not fair. He should be in jail for what he did to me," Sharon said.
Daniel’s family was at their house in Astoria Tuesday but said their lawyer does not want them to comment.
Beckman is a Plan B judge who is actually retired but is asked to come back to serve on the bench for 30 days each year.
Beckman's assistant said the judge is not allowed by law to comment on any of his rulings.
ASTORIA, Ore. -- A jury found a man guilty of raping a mentally disabled woman, but the judge in the case set him free pending an appeal.
Wilfred Daniel may never set foot in prison after he appeared in Clatsop County Court for sentencing last Friday and had his eight-year sentence suspended pending an appeal.
The district attorney and the victim's family were furious.
Daniel was still being held by federal customs agents because there is a chance he may be deported.
But if not for that, he would be walking free until his appeal, which could take years.
The victim at the center of the case said she can’t believe this could even happen.
Sharon, 32, said Tuesday that she still remembers every harsh word from Daniel, threats to keep her quiet about him raping her, two years ago.
“He told me that when he got out of jail, he’d put me in jail and nobody would come and see me,” Sharon said.
Sharon has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old, but she found work through the Coast Rehab Facility at a former mill warehouse in Warrenton.
Daniel was Sharon’s supervisor and this is where she said he raped her several times.
Finally, Sharon spoke up and the district attorney filed charges. A jury found Daniel guilty on two counts of rape and one count of coercion.
But at the sentencing hearing, Judge Douglas Beckman said that he was unsatisfied with the jury’s access to information in the case, and he thought it would all be reversed in an appeal.
So Beckman set Daniel free pending that appeal.
Sharon’s foster mother of 15 years, Dot Lusby, was beside herself and said she wants answers.
“He ignored them. He didn’t come back here for a sentencing. He came back to hold his own little trial, and I think his mind was made up even before he put his robe on," Lusby said. “I think he has shown total disrespect for the jury and for the jury system.”
Sharon now has a new job and she’s in counseling, but she doesn’t understand why Daniel isn’t locked up.
"That’s not fair. He should be in jail for what he did to me," Sharon said.
Daniel’s family was at their house in Astoria Tuesday but said their lawyer does not want them to comment.
Beckman is a Plan B judge who is actually retired but is asked to come back to serve on the bench for 30 days each year.
Beckman's assistant said the judge is not allowed by law to comment on any of his rulings.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Scary Choices
Here’s another reason why I’m not down with assisted suicide. It’s called “income”. If people who can’t afford treatment for cancer, assisted suicide is awfully tempting. As I’ve said before “a right to choose” assisted suicide can easily become “a duty to choose” the same. And... if you are a low income person (as almost all people with disabilities are), others may be tempted to make that choice for you.
This story of what is happening TODAY can be found on USA TODAY...
(USA TODAY) - At a time when they're already fighting for their lives, more cancer patients are now struggling to pay for their medicines.
One in eight people with advanced cancer turned down recommended care because of the cost, according to a new analysis from Thomson Reuters, which provides news and business information. Among patients with incomes under $40,000, one in four in advanced stages of the disease refused treatment.
Of late-stage colon cancer patients, 12% spent more than $25,000 out of pocket, according to the survey, in which 1,767 people answered an online questionnaire. This type of survey isn't considered scientifically rigorous, because it didn't use a random sample of people. But its findings are similar to a 2006 study in Cancer, which found that cost caused more than 20% of all cancer survivors - not just those with advanced cases - to delay or miss needed care.
Experts say the signs of stress are everywhere:
Nearly 20% of Americans have problems paying their medical bills, according to a report in September from the Center for Studying Health System Change.
One in four cancer patients or their families said they used up all or most of their savings to pay for treatment, according to a 2006 survey of nearly 1,000 survivors and their families by USA TODAY, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
One in 10 in that survey said they were unable to pay for basic necessities, such as food, heat and housing.
Many of the medical advances that allow cancer patients to live longer come at a high cost, says Joseph Singer of HealthCore, a Delaware-based health research company.
As costs rise, insurers are shifting a greater share to patients, says Neal Meropol of Philadelphia's Fox-Chase Cancer Center. Many plans now require patients to pay for 20% of their health care - a heavy burden in the case of drugs such as Erbitux, which costs $10,000 a month.
Charities that assist cancer patients say they're straining to keep up with the demand.
At CancerCare, a national group that provides social work and small grants for transportation expenses, requests for financial help increased 30% this summer compared with last, says executive director Diane Blum.
David Johnson, director of hematology and oncology at Nashville's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, says some of his patients have opted to stop treatment partly because of the cost. His own brother-in-law, a truck driver, turned down Erbitux when he was facing colon cancer four years ago. He says patients face a painful dilemma: "Do they pay out of pocket - sometimes in the thousands of dollars - or do they forgo the therapy to preserve for their family what modest assets they may have?"
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
This story of what is happening TODAY can be found on USA TODAY...
(USA TODAY) - At a time when they're already fighting for their lives, more cancer patients are now struggling to pay for their medicines.
One in eight people with advanced cancer turned down recommended care because of the cost, according to a new analysis from Thomson Reuters, which provides news and business information. Among patients with incomes under $40,000, one in four in advanced stages of the disease refused treatment.
Of late-stage colon cancer patients, 12% spent more than $25,000 out of pocket, according to the survey, in which 1,767 people answered an online questionnaire. This type of survey isn't considered scientifically rigorous, because it didn't use a random sample of people. But its findings are similar to a 2006 study in Cancer, which found that cost caused more than 20% of all cancer survivors - not just those with advanced cases - to delay or miss needed care.
Experts say the signs of stress are everywhere:
Nearly 20% of Americans have problems paying their medical bills, according to a report in September from the Center for Studying Health System Change.
One in four cancer patients or their families said they used up all or most of their savings to pay for treatment, according to a 2006 survey of nearly 1,000 survivors and their families by USA TODAY, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
One in 10 in that survey said they were unable to pay for basic necessities, such as food, heat and housing.
Many of the medical advances that allow cancer patients to live longer come at a high cost, says Joseph Singer of HealthCore, a Delaware-based health research company.
As costs rise, insurers are shifting a greater share to patients, says Neal Meropol of Philadelphia's Fox-Chase Cancer Center. Many plans now require patients to pay for 20% of their health care - a heavy burden in the case of drugs such as Erbitux, which costs $10,000 a month.
Charities that assist cancer patients say they're straining to keep up with the demand.
At CancerCare, a national group that provides social work and small grants for transportation expenses, requests for financial help increased 30% this summer compared with last, says executive director Diane Blum.
David Johnson, director of hematology and oncology at Nashville's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, says some of his patients have opted to stop treatment partly because of the cost. His own brother-in-law, a truck driver, turned down Erbitux when he was facing colon cancer four years ago. He says patients face a painful dilemma: "Do they pay out of pocket - sometimes in the thousands of dollars - or do they forgo the therapy to preserve for their family what modest assets they may have?"
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
Monday, October 13, 2008
Another View
As the state of Washington considers the whole "Death With Dignity" law up for vote next month,I hope the people will have an opportunity to read articles like the following. What terminally ill folks really need is a friend who can help them deal with the loss of bodily function. There is nothing undignified about that.
Fear is the single most frequent reason people with terminal illness choose assisted suicide. And please; don't try to give me that "He's some kind of conservative nutcase". I'm a right-to-choose liberal who plans to vote for Obama/Biden. From the Olympian... article
Fear is the single most frequent reason people with terminal illness choose assisted suicide. And please; don't try to give me that "He's some kind of conservative nutcase". I'm a right-to-choose liberal who plans to vote for Obama/Biden. From the Olympian... article
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Public Education
Yesterday I submitted an application to blog on Oregonlive.com. I figure, what the hell, maybe I can reach some more of the general public about the challenges folks with developmental disabilities face. Any time you can bring this stuff to light is a good time. Educating the public is something never really tried in our state.
Last night I received the following email from the person in charge of the whole operation... David, This seems like it could be a fascinating blog and a really great talking-point for our readers. Can you point me in the direction of some samples of your work?
I sent them back a link to DAWG Oregon, so they could check me out. Then I got to thinking about what they’d written. This person sees the whole disability issue as fascinating! I find THAT fascinating. They also believe that such a blog would be a really great talking point for our readers. I hope they are right. It’s about time people outside the disability community began to talk about this stuff.
When you consider all the never prosecuted abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, poverty, homelessness, hunger, drug and alcohol addiction, jail time and hatred these folks experience, I hope they’re right.
Last night I received the following email from the person in charge of the whole operation... David, This seems like it could be a fascinating blog and a really great talking-point for our readers. Can you point me in the direction of some samples of your work?
I sent them back a link to DAWG Oregon, so they could check me out. Then I got to thinking about what they’d written. This person sees the whole disability issue as fascinating! I find THAT fascinating. They also believe that such a blog would be a really great talking point for our readers. I hope they are right. It’s about time people outside the disability community began to talk about this stuff.
When you consider all the never prosecuted abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, poverty, homelessness, hunger, drug and alcohol addiction, jail time and hatred these folks experience, I hope they’re right.
Friday, October 10, 2008
How'd This Happen??
October 09, 2008
By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune
A 6-year-old Jacksonville Elementary schoolboy who nearly drowned Tuesday in a nearby irrigation ditch remained on life support late Wednesday as his parents questioned how school officials could have let this happen.
"I told them point blank that I hold them totally responsible for my child's condition," said his father, Phillip Baehne, 61, of Central Point.
Luke Baehne is on a ventilator at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. His doctors give him a 50-50 chance of survival, his father said. The hospital lists the boy in critical condition.
"He has swelling of the brain and he went without oxygen," said Baehne. "His heart and everything stopped. He was basically dead."
Standing next to his son's bed at the hospital, Baehne said dozens of tubes and wires were attached to the boy, monitoring his health and keeping him alive.
"It's touch and go right now," he said. "If it gets worse, he will die."
He said Luke is about 4 feet 4 inches tall, weighs about 42 pounds and has autism. He is enrolled in STEPS, a life-skills program through Southern Oregon Education Service District for children with autism or severe disabilities. STEPS is operated separately from other activities at the elementary school.
Baehne described his son as active and full of curiosity. He said his son likes to run, but will usually stop if someone yells out after him.
He said Luke was fascinated with water and liked being outdoors.
"He's a toughy, and believe me he's fighting for his life right now," he said.
While events leading up to Luke's disappearance from school are still being pieced together, some details have emerged.
After a recess at Jacksonville Elementary on Tuesday, school personnel began a frantic search for Luke when they discovered he was missing sometime around 1 p.m.
Jacksonville police received a call at 1:40 p.m. that the boy was in the water.
Gail Durst, a teacher's aide, found him floating in an irrigation ditch about 125 to 150 yards from the school grounds, according to Jacksonville Police Chief David Towe.
She wasn't strong enough to pull him out of the water, but managed to call 9-1-1 as she held his head up. Durst left her phone on at the edge of the irrigation ditch.
Durst was up to her knees in the water trying to keep the boy from slipping under. "She is still pretty shook up," said Towe.
He said he jumped into the water to retrieve the boy. He estimated that a nearby culvert was almost 3 feet in diameter and the water was running just a few inches below the top.
Towe said investigators hadn't determined where Luke had entered the water or whether he had slid down the bank. He said the area where the boy was found was roughly 6 feet square or slightly larger.
Baehne praised Durst and the hospitals that took care of his son. "Gail — without her, he would have been gone already," he said.
Baehne said the school had both his home phone and an emergency number, but failed to call him when they found Luke.
Instead, school officials went to the Old Stage Road bus stop where he normally picks up Luke, and he was told about the accident at 2:45 p.m.
"They said our boy was dead," Baehne said.
A few minutes later, a policeman apologized and said Luke had been resuscitated and gave Baehne and his wife, Crystal, a ride to the hospital, Baehne said.
Medford School District Superintendent Phil Long said he didn't know why the parents weren't called.
He said investigators with both the police and school are trying to determine the sequence of events.
He said Principal Rick Snyder and another school official went to the bus stop, but Long said they didn't say Luke was dead.
"They had encouraged the family to get to the hospital," he said.
He said the school district's main concern right now is the boy and his family.
The district will be reviewing how the tragedy occurred and whether anything should be changed.
"We will sort the pieces out and see if anything could have been done or should have been done," he said.
Jacksonville Elementary officials contacted by the Mail Tribune referred all questions to the superintendent.
Within the past 10 years the elementary school has expressed concern about the Medford Irrigation Ditch and the safety of children. As a result, the portion of the ditch near the school was covered.
Long said the school district does everything it can to make sure children are safe on campus.
"Once they are off the campus, the hazards are there," he said.
ESD Superintendent Steve Boyarsky said there were four teachers' assistants and one teacher in the classroom that day. They monitor the students at all times, he said.
"They are very concerned about student safety," he said.
He said 10 to 12 employees of both Medford schools and the ESD looked for the boy.
He said there is a fence around the school with gates that make it easy for the students to come and go.
An exact timeline is still being constructed to determine when Luke went missing.
The ESD is also reviewing its protocols in keeping track of special needs students to see if anything different needs to be done, he said.
Boyarsky said some of these students are medically fragile, are wheelchair-bound or require tube feeding.
The ESD runs 23 special needs classrooms in 10 school districts throughout Southern Oregon.
Baehne said he and his wife and two grown daughters are prepared for the worst with Luke.
"If he passes on, we're going to donate his organs to other kids," he said.
He said his family wanted to express appreciation to everyone who has offered sympathy or helped out the family during this crisis.
"We want to thank everybody for their prayers and their understanding about Luke," he said.
How'd This Happen??
October 09, 2008
By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune
A 6-year-old Jacksonville Elementary schoolboy who nearly drowned Tuesday in a nearby irrigation ditch remained on life support late Wednesday as his parents questioned how school officials could have let this happen.
"I told them point blank that I hold them totally responsible for my child's condition," said his father, Phillip Baehne, 61, of Central Point.
Luke Baehne is on a ventilator at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. His doctors give him a 50-50 chance of survival, his father said. The hospital lists the boy in critical condition.
"He has swelling of the brain and he went without oxygen," said Baehne. "His heart and everything stopped. He was basically dead."
Standing next to his son's bed at the hospital, Baehne said dozens of tubes and wires were attached to the boy, monitoring his health and keeping him alive.
"It's touch and go right now," he said. "If it gets worse, he will die."
He said Luke is about 4 feet 4 inches tall, weighs about 42 pounds and has autism. He is enrolled in STEPS, a life-skills program through Southern Oregon Education Service District for children with autism or severe disabilities. STEPS is operated separately from other activities at the elementary school.
Baehne described his son as active and full of curiosity. He said his son likes to run, but will usually stop if someone yells out after him.
He said Luke was fascinated with water and liked being outdoors.
"He's a toughy, and believe me he's fighting for his life right now," he said.
While events leading up to Luke's disappearance from school are still being pieced together, some details have emerged.
After a recess at Jacksonville Elementary on Tuesday, school personnel began a frantic search for Luke when they discovered he was missing sometime around 1 p.m.
Jacksonville police received a call at 1:40 p.m. that the boy was in the water.
Gail Durst, a teacher's aide, found him floating in an irrigation ditch about 125 to 150 yards from the school grounds, according to Jacksonville Police Chief David Towe.
She wasn't strong enough to pull him out of the water, but managed to call 9-1-1 as she held his head up. Durst left her phone on at the edge of the irrigation ditch.
Durst was up to her knees in the water trying to keep the boy from slipping under. "She is still pretty shook up," said Towe.
He said he jumped into the water to retrieve the boy. He estimated that a nearby culvert was almost 3 feet in diameter and the water was running just a few inches below the top.
Towe said investigators hadn't determined where Luke had entered the water or whether he had slid down the bank. He said the area where the boy was found was roughly 6 feet square or slightly larger.
Baehne praised Durst and the hospitals that took care of his son. "Gail — without her, he would have been gone already," he said.
Baehne said the school had both his home phone and an emergency number, but failed to call him when they found Luke.
Instead, school officials went to the Old Stage Road bus stop where he normally picks up Luke, and he was told about the accident at 2:45 p.m.
"They said our boy was dead," Baehne said.
A few minutes later, a policeman apologized and said Luke had been resuscitated and gave Baehne and his wife, Crystal, a ride to the hospital, Baehne said.
Medford School District Superintendent Phil Long said he didn't know why the parents weren't called.
He said investigators with both the police and school are trying to determine the sequence of events.
He said Principal Rick Snyder and another school official went to the bus stop, but Long said they didn't say Luke was dead.
"They had encouraged the family to get to the hospital," he said.
He said the school district's main concern right now is the boy and his family.
The district will be reviewing how the tragedy occurred and whether anything should be changed.
"We will sort the pieces out and see if anything could have been done or should have been done," he said.
Jacksonville Elementary officials contacted by the Mail Tribune referred all questions to the superintendent.
Within the past 10 years the elementary school has expressed concern about the Medford Irrigation Ditch and the safety of children. As a result, the portion of the ditch near the school was covered.
Long said the school district does everything it can to make sure children are safe on campus.
"Once they are off the campus, the hazards are there," he said.
ESD Superintendent Steve Boyarsky said there were four teachers' assistants and one teacher in the classroom that day. They monitor the students at all times, he said.
"They are very concerned about student safety," he said.
He said 10 to 12 employees of both Medford schools and the ESD looked for the boy.
He said there is a fence around the school with gates that make it easy for the students to come and go.
An exact timeline is still being constructed to determine when Luke went missing.
The ESD is also reviewing its protocols in keeping track of special needs students to see if anything different needs to be done, he said.
Boyarsky said some of these students are medically fragile, are wheelchair-bound or require tube feeding.
The ESD runs 23 special needs classrooms in 10 school districts throughout Southern Oregon.
Baehne said he and his wife and two grown daughters are prepared for the worst with Luke.
"If he passes on, we're going to donate his organs to other kids," he said.
He said his family wanted to express appreciation to everyone who has offered sympathy or helped out the family during this crisis.
"We want to thank everybody for their prayers and their understanding about Luke," he said.
By Damian Mann
Mail Tribune
A 6-year-old Jacksonville Elementary schoolboy who nearly drowned Tuesday in a nearby irrigation ditch remained on life support late Wednesday as his parents questioned how school officials could have let this happen.
"I told them point blank that I hold them totally responsible for my child's condition," said his father, Phillip Baehne, 61, of Central Point.
Luke Baehne is on a ventilator at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. His doctors give him a 50-50 chance of survival, his father said. The hospital lists the boy in critical condition.
"He has swelling of the brain and he went without oxygen," said Baehne. "His heart and everything stopped. He was basically dead."
Standing next to his son's bed at the hospital, Baehne said dozens of tubes and wires were attached to the boy, monitoring his health and keeping him alive.
"It's touch and go right now," he said. "If it gets worse, he will die."
He said Luke is about 4 feet 4 inches tall, weighs about 42 pounds and has autism. He is enrolled in STEPS, a life-skills program through Southern Oregon Education Service District for children with autism or severe disabilities. STEPS is operated separately from other activities at the elementary school.
Baehne described his son as active and full of curiosity. He said his son likes to run, but will usually stop if someone yells out after him.
He said Luke was fascinated with water and liked being outdoors.
"He's a toughy, and believe me he's fighting for his life right now," he said.
While events leading up to Luke's disappearance from school are still being pieced together, some details have emerged.
After a recess at Jacksonville Elementary on Tuesday, school personnel began a frantic search for Luke when they discovered he was missing sometime around 1 p.m.
Jacksonville police received a call at 1:40 p.m. that the boy was in the water.
Gail Durst, a teacher's aide, found him floating in an irrigation ditch about 125 to 150 yards from the school grounds, according to Jacksonville Police Chief David Towe.
She wasn't strong enough to pull him out of the water, but managed to call 9-1-1 as she held his head up. Durst left her phone on at the edge of the irrigation ditch.
Durst was up to her knees in the water trying to keep the boy from slipping under. "She is still pretty shook up," said Towe.
He said he jumped into the water to retrieve the boy. He estimated that a nearby culvert was almost 3 feet in diameter and the water was running just a few inches below the top.
Towe said investigators hadn't determined where Luke had entered the water or whether he had slid down the bank. He said the area where the boy was found was roughly 6 feet square or slightly larger.
Baehne praised Durst and the hospitals that took care of his son. "Gail — without her, he would have been gone already," he said.
Baehne said the school had both his home phone and an emergency number, but failed to call him when they found Luke.
Instead, school officials went to the Old Stage Road bus stop where he normally picks up Luke, and he was told about the accident at 2:45 p.m.
"They said our boy was dead," Baehne said.
A few minutes later, a policeman apologized and said Luke had been resuscitated and gave Baehne and his wife, Crystal, a ride to the hospital, Baehne said.
Medford School District Superintendent Phil Long said he didn't know why the parents weren't called.
He said investigators with both the police and school are trying to determine the sequence of events.
He said Principal Rick Snyder and another school official went to the bus stop, but Long said they didn't say Luke was dead.
"They had encouraged the family to get to the hospital," he said.
He said the school district's main concern right now is the boy and his family.
The district will be reviewing how the tragedy occurred and whether anything should be changed.
"We will sort the pieces out and see if anything could have been done or should have been done," he said.
Jacksonville Elementary officials contacted by the Mail Tribune referred all questions to the superintendent.
Within the past 10 years the elementary school has expressed concern about the Medford Irrigation Ditch and the safety of children. As a result, the portion of the ditch near the school was covered.
Long said the school district does everything it can to make sure children are safe on campus.
"Once they are off the campus, the hazards are there," he said.
ESD Superintendent Steve Boyarsky said there were four teachers' assistants and one teacher in the classroom that day. They monitor the students at all times, he said.
"They are very concerned about student safety," he said.
He said 10 to 12 employees of both Medford schools and the ESD looked for the boy.
He said there is a fence around the school with gates that make it easy for the students to come and go.
An exact timeline is still being constructed to determine when Luke went missing.
The ESD is also reviewing its protocols in keeping track of special needs students to see if anything different needs to be done, he said.
Boyarsky said some of these students are medically fragile, are wheelchair-bound or require tube feeding.
The ESD runs 23 special needs classrooms in 10 school districts throughout Southern Oregon.
Baehne said he and his wife and two grown daughters are prepared for the worst with Luke.
"If he passes on, we're going to donate his organs to other kids," he said.
He said his family wanted to express appreciation to everyone who has offered sympathy or helped out the family during this crisis.
"We want to thank everybody for their prayers and their understanding about Luke," he said.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Drowning in The Perfect Storm
The idea that people with developmental disabilities will suffer greater than the general public in these tough economic times frightens me to no end. I found the following on marketwatch.com. It spells it out pretty well...
Americans are being pinched by the perfect storm of bank defaults, financial takeovers, foreclosures, high gasoline prices, and ever tightening credit. If you believe that the middle-class is getting hit hard by this financial crisis then you must believe that the special needs community is being slammed.
According to an April 2008 Wall Street Journal article entitled When Crisis Hits the Disabled, it states for example that about 80,000 people with developmental disabilities nationwide are on waiting lists for various services to help them live in the community. While spending for these programs has increased annually, it's not growing fast enough to meet the demand according to Charlie Lakin, Senior Research Associate at the University of Minnesota. The Wall Street Journal goes on to state that options have narrowed for the disabled and "may narrow further as budget-strapped states try to hold down spending and the federal government looks for ways to control spending for Medicaid the main source of funding such programs."
Even during good economic times, the special needs community faces heavy challenges in dealing with employment and education. Only 40% of disabled persons are employed after high school compared to 65% in the general population and only 19% go onto post-secondary education compared to 65% in the general population and most live near the poverty line.
Americans are being pinched by the perfect storm of bank defaults, financial takeovers, foreclosures, high gasoline prices, and ever tightening credit. If you believe that the middle-class is getting hit hard by this financial crisis then you must believe that the special needs community is being slammed.
According to an April 2008 Wall Street Journal article entitled When Crisis Hits the Disabled, it states for example that about 80,000 people with developmental disabilities nationwide are on waiting lists for various services to help them live in the community. While spending for these programs has increased annually, it's not growing fast enough to meet the demand according to Charlie Lakin, Senior Research Associate at the University of Minnesota. The Wall Street Journal goes on to state that options have narrowed for the disabled and "may narrow further as budget-strapped states try to hold down spending and the federal government looks for ways to control spending for Medicaid the main source of funding such programs."
Even during good economic times, the special needs community faces heavy challenges in dealing with employment and education. Only 40% of disabled persons are employed after high school compared to 65% in the general population and only 19% go onto post-secondary education compared to 65% in the general population and most live near the poverty line.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Better Late Than Never
I don't know how I missed this last week. From the Oregonian...
Police say Portland 'caretakers' abused developmentally delayed pair
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
Thursday September 25, 2008, 11:01 PM
A Portland couple who offered to care for a developmentally delayed pair are now accused of defrauding the man and woman out of more than $50,000 in pension and Social Security payments while physically abusing them.
Police say the vulnerable couple, Charles and Tammy Whitworth, served as virtual indentured servants and endured nearly three years of financial, psychological and physical abuse, which included strangulation, assaults, and dog bites.
The Whitworths are free now and are home in Missouri, thanks in part to an alert Plaid Pantry clerk, as well as the strong collaboration of police and county investigators.
John Parmer, 21, a clerk at the Southeast 52nd Avenue and Holgate Boulevard convenience store, noticed a distraught woman with long gray hair using a pay phone out front one morning in late July.
"She had been crying," Parmer recalled. "I was keeping my eye on her."
The next morning, the woman returned. Again, she started crying while she was talking on the phone. He saw her put the receiver down and walk into his store. Through tears, she asked him to call 9-1-1.
Parmer didn't ask any questions. "I don't hesitate to call 9-1-1 if someone tells me to."
The police officers who responded to that July 30 call suspected something was seriously wrong and called in the bureau's elder abuse investigators. A nearly two-month investigation led to the arrests this week of Daniel Lee Anderson, 50, and Taryn Marie Anderson, 51, on an 84-count criminal indictment.
Troubling history
Even the experienced investigators said it took some time to recognize what was going on in the ranch-style house at Southeast 49th Avenue and Cora Street, where the Whitworths lived with the Andersons. They said Tammy Whitworth, 50, was hysterical when they first met her. They were able to talk to the Whitworths alone and learned their troubling history.
Investigators describe the Whitworths as vulnerable, low-functioning adults. Charles Whitworth worked for 33 years for Chrysler in St. Louis, Mo., but doesn't read or write. Police said his wife, Tammy, was socially isolated.
Police say the Andersons met the Whitworths in Missouri in 2006. At the time, the Whitworths were living in a house on their own when the Andersons offered to care for them. About six months later, the Andersons and the Whitworths abruptly left town.
"They just up and moved in the middle of the night," recalled Tammy's mother, Barbara Ross, in a phone interview from Missouri. "They went from owning their own house, a car and a truck, down to nothing."
Family members lost contact with the Whitworths. Relatives knew they were in Oregon but didn't know where. At one point, the family hired a private investigator who tried to locate them but had no luck.
"At some point, they (the Whitworths) were told their families didn't want anything to do with them," said Detective Celeste Fender. "They basically said, 'We're all you've got.' "
While living with the Andersons, the Whitworths said that they were assigned chores. Charles Whitworth, 62, was to walk the dogs, pull weeds from the yard and clean the house. Tammy was supposed to clean the kitchen.
"Basically, they were their maids," Fender said.
Fender and Officer Katie Potter worked closely with county adult protective services investigator Sheila Robinson on the case.
Not only are the Andersons accused of funneling Charles Whitworth's assets into their own bank accounts, but police and prosecutors say the Andersons would slap the Whitworths in the head, knock them into walls or sic their three daschunds on the couple if they didn't do their jobs right. Daniel Anderson is accused of trying to strangle the couple. It got so bad that the Andersons would even encourage physical abuse between the couple, forcing Charles to bite his wife, Fender said.
Ross said she received a collect call on July 30 from her daughter, Tammy. She was crying into the phone, saying she had enough of the abuse. Ross said she encouraged her to call police or have someone at the convenience store do so.
"Thank goodness she called her mom. She was brave enough to take that step," Fender said.
"They're evil, evil"
Police say the Andersons had Charles Whitworth believing that his mother died three years ago. But investigators quickly learned his mother was alive and phoned her from Southeast Precinct so he could speak to her. He broke down and cried at the sound of his mom's voice.
When confronted, the Andersons told police they had no idea where the Whitworths' money was going. When Fender asked Daniel Anderson why he had taken in a couple with no extra resources, she said he replied, "Well, Christians are known to do that."
Cases like this often go unreported because the vulnerable adults are kept in isolation, Robinson said. Though Dr. Bennett Blum, an Arizona-based forensic and geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in what he calls "undue influence" cases, said they are "tragically frequent." He said the Whitworth case carries all the hallmarks of vulnerable adult abuse: isolation, dependency, emotional manipulation and deception.
"The victimized couple in the eyes of the perpetrators were probably viewed as just tools," he said. "The accused were getting free labor plus money out of them, while using some classic torture techniques."
Daniel Anderson faces 31 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, 22 counts of first-degree theft, three counts of strangulation, seven counts of fourth-degree assault, seven counts of harassment and four counts of coercion. His wife faces 26 counts of criminal mistreatment, 22 counts of first-degree theft, three counts of fourth-degree assault, two counts of criminal mischief, and two counts of harassment and coercion. They both pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday.
The Andersons' lawyer, Bill Brennan, said the Whitworths' money appeared to be pooled with the Andersons' accounts to help pay household expenses.
"At first blush, I don't think these people are guilty of all this stuff by any stretch of the imagination," Brennan said. "As far as Taryn, this lady has diabetes, has heart problems and she's on oxygen. I don't see her being able to physically assault a flea, by virtue of her medical condition."
Once police got involved, the county helped place the Whitworths into an adult foster home and worked with Missouri officials to reroute Whitworth's Social Security and pension checks directly to them.
Shortly after Labor Day weekend, the Whitworths flew back to Missouri. They're living with Tammy's mom but plan to get their own place.
"The Andersons need to be in prison," Ross said. "They're evil, evil."
Daniel Anderson, who works as a local trucker, had declared bankruptcy in 1998 and was convicted of passing bad checks in Missouri in early 2006. After their Multnomah County court appearance Monday, Anderson and his wife were released to pre-trial supervision with a Nov. 12 trial date. They were ordered not to open any new checking, saving or other bank accounts and not possess anyone's financial information other than their own.
Neighbors said they moved out of their Cora Street home a few weeks ago after selling their furniture in a yard sale. They told their lawyer they could no longer afford the rent and were moving into an apartment.
Police say Portland 'caretakers' abused developmentally delayed pair
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
Thursday September 25, 2008, 11:01 PM
A Portland couple who offered to care for a developmentally delayed pair are now accused of defrauding the man and woman out of more than $50,000 in pension and Social Security payments while physically abusing them.
Police say the vulnerable couple, Charles and Tammy Whitworth, served as virtual indentured servants and endured nearly three years of financial, psychological and physical abuse, which included strangulation, assaults, and dog bites.
The Whitworths are free now and are home in Missouri, thanks in part to an alert Plaid Pantry clerk, as well as the strong collaboration of police and county investigators.
John Parmer, 21, a clerk at the Southeast 52nd Avenue and Holgate Boulevard convenience store, noticed a distraught woman with long gray hair using a pay phone out front one morning in late July.
"She had been crying," Parmer recalled. "I was keeping my eye on her."
The next morning, the woman returned. Again, she started crying while she was talking on the phone. He saw her put the receiver down and walk into his store. Through tears, she asked him to call 9-1-1.
Parmer didn't ask any questions. "I don't hesitate to call 9-1-1 if someone tells me to."
The police officers who responded to that July 30 call suspected something was seriously wrong and called in the bureau's elder abuse investigators. A nearly two-month investigation led to the arrests this week of Daniel Lee Anderson, 50, and Taryn Marie Anderson, 51, on an 84-count criminal indictment.
Troubling history
Even the experienced investigators said it took some time to recognize what was going on in the ranch-style house at Southeast 49th Avenue and Cora Street, where the Whitworths lived with the Andersons. They said Tammy Whitworth, 50, was hysterical when they first met her. They were able to talk to the Whitworths alone and learned their troubling history.
Investigators describe the Whitworths as vulnerable, low-functioning adults. Charles Whitworth worked for 33 years for Chrysler in St. Louis, Mo., but doesn't read or write. Police said his wife, Tammy, was socially isolated.
Police say the Andersons met the Whitworths in Missouri in 2006. At the time, the Whitworths were living in a house on their own when the Andersons offered to care for them. About six months later, the Andersons and the Whitworths abruptly left town.
"They just up and moved in the middle of the night," recalled Tammy's mother, Barbara Ross, in a phone interview from Missouri. "They went from owning their own house, a car and a truck, down to nothing."
Family members lost contact with the Whitworths. Relatives knew they were in Oregon but didn't know where. At one point, the family hired a private investigator who tried to locate them but had no luck.
"At some point, they (the Whitworths) were told their families didn't want anything to do with them," said Detective Celeste Fender. "They basically said, 'We're all you've got.' "
While living with the Andersons, the Whitworths said that they were assigned chores. Charles Whitworth, 62, was to walk the dogs, pull weeds from the yard and clean the house. Tammy was supposed to clean the kitchen.
"Basically, they were their maids," Fender said.
Fender and Officer Katie Potter worked closely with county adult protective services investigator Sheila Robinson on the case.
Not only are the Andersons accused of funneling Charles Whitworth's assets into their own bank accounts, but police and prosecutors say the Andersons would slap the Whitworths in the head, knock them into walls or sic their three daschunds on the couple if they didn't do their jobs right. Daniel Anderson is accused of trying to strangle the couple. It got so bad that the Andersons would even encourage physical abuse between the couple, forcing Charles to bite his wife, Fender said.
Ross said she received a collect call on July 30 from her daughter, Tammy. She was crying into the phone, saying she had enough of the abuse. Ross said she encouraged her to call police or have someone at the convenience store do so.
"Thank goodness she called her mom. She was brave enough to take that step," Fender said.
"They're evil, evil"
Police say the Andersons had Charles Whitworth believing that his mother died three years ago. But investigators quickly learned his mother was alive and phoned her from Southeast Precinct so he could speak to her. He broke down and cried at the sound of his mom's voice.
When confronted, the Andersons told police they had no idea where the Whitworths' money was going. When Fender asked Daniel Anderson why he had taken in a couple with no extra resources, she said he replied, "Well, Christians are known to do that."
Cases like this often go unreported because the vulnerable adults are kept in isolation, Robinson said. Though Dr. Bennett Blum, an Arizona-based forensic and geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in what he calls "undue influence" cases, said they are "tragically frequent." He said the Whitworth case carries all the hallmarks of vulnerable adult abuse: isolation, dependency, emotional manipulation and deception.
"The victimized couple in the eyes of the perpetrators were probably viewed as just tools," he said. "The accused were getting free labor plus money out of them, while using some classic torture techniques."
Daniel Anderson faces 31 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, 22 counts of first-degree theft, three counts of strangulation, seven counts of fourth-degree assault, seven counts of harassment and four counts of coercion. His wife faces 26 counts of criminal mistreatment, 22 counts of first-degree theft, three counts of fourth-degree assault, two counts of criminal mischief, and two counts of harassment and coercion. They both pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday.
The Andersons' lawyer, Bill Brennan, said the Whitworths' money appeared to be pooled with the Andersons' accounts to help pay household expenses.
"At first blush, I don't think these people are guilty of all this stuff by any stretch of the imagination," Brennan said. "As far as Taryn, this lady has diabetes, has heart problems and she's on oxygen. I don't see her being able to physically assault a flea, by virtue of her medical condition."
Once police got involved, the county helped place the Whitworths into an adult foster home and worked with Missouri officials to reroute Whitworth's Social Security and pension checks directly to them.
Shortly after Labor Day weekend, the Whitworths flew back to Missouri. They're living with Tammy's mom but plan to get their own place.
"The Andersons need to be in prison," Ross said. "They're evil, evil."
Daniel Anderson, who works as a local trucker, had declared bankruptcy in 1998 and was convicted of passing bad checks in Missouri in early 2006. After their Multnomah County court appearance Monday, Anderson and his wife were released to pre-trial supervision with a Nov. 12 trial date. They were ordered not to open any new checking, saving or other bank accounts and not possess anyone's financial information other than their own.
Neighbors said they moved out of their Cora Street home a few weeks ago after selling their furniture in a yard sale. They told their lawyer they could no longer afford the rent and were moving into an apartment.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
At Least They Didn't Deny This
There are no coincidences. This story comes out the day after I argued with Multnomah County Developmental disabilities that someone I knew had been in eerily similar circumstances as this woman. They don’t want to believe he had a broken thigh that went unexplained. Not long after he “slipped to the floor during transfer” he also died. The sad thing is, no one in his group home is verbal. From today’s Oregonian...
Portland jury convicts 2 in adult-care death
10/7/2008, 1:54 a.m. PDT
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Multnomah County jury returned a guilty verdict against a former nursing home supervisor accused of waiting too long to get medical help for a patient who was dropped while being transferred from a wheelchair to her bed.
Jurors also found a certified nursing assistant guilty for haphazardly placing patient Linda J. Ober in a sling, causing her to fall on Oct. 29, 2006. Ober, 60, broke both of her legs and died less than a week later.
Suzanne Ruddell, 59, was found guilty Monday of felony criminal mistreatment for failing to get Ober the help she needed. She waited five days before ordering an X-ray. Cammy Nye, 53, the nursing assistant, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
The criminal case, and a $3.5 million lawsuit filed last December against the Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center, sparked widespread concern from the public, especially at a time of rapid growth in the number of aging Americans in adult-care homes.
Juror Lizette Solomon told The Oregonian newspaper that the "indifference" Nye and Ruddell showed to Ober's health and safety was "unconscionable." Solomon said she couldn't understand why the nursing director didn't order X-rays sooner.
"It's dreadful," she said. "It's just very, very sad."
Erin Kirkwood, Nye's defense attorney, argued that Nye had 22 patients to tend to the day Ober began to slip out of the sling. The aide assisting Nye had testified that she thought Ober might not be positioned correctly in the sling, but Nye told the aide things were fine.
"If Ms. Nye thought she was in that sling wrong, she would have changed it," Kirkwood said.
Kirkwood also said her client did the right thing by immediately reporting what had happened. Nurse Verna Colleen Heide entered the room and is the one who decided Ober was fine after the incident, Kirkwood said.
In August, Heide, 64, avoided trial by pleading guilty to one count of criminal mistreatment. She was sentenced last month to three years probation and 160 hours of community service.
Constantin Severe, Ruddell's attorney, also placed blame on Heide, saying Heide never told his client Ober cried out in pain.
Deputy District Attorney Annamarie Shoen, however, said it would have been impossible for Ruddell not to know that something was wrong with Ober. Nursing home workers testified that they'd told Ruddell at least four times that Ober needed help because she was doing things such as screaming when she was moved.
"Linda Ober didn't need to die," Shoen said. "She didn't need to sit for six days in excruciating pain. ... Suzanne Ruddell, for whatever the reason, didn't do anything."
Nye and Ruddell are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.
Portland jury convicts 2 in adult-care death
10/7/2008, 1:54 a.m. PDT
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Multnomah County jury returned a guilty verdict against a former nursing home supervisor accused of waiting too long to get medical help for a patient who was dropped while being transferred from a wheelchair to her bed.
Jurors also found a certified nursing assistant guilty for haphazardly placing patient Linda J. Ober in a sling, causing her to fall on Oct. 29, 2006. Ober, 60, broke both of her legs and died less than a week later.
Suzanne Ruddell, 59, was found guilty Monday of felony criminal mistreatment for failing to get Ober the help she needed. She waited five days before ordering an X-ray. Cammy Nye, 53, the nursing assistant, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
The criminal case, and a $3.5 million lawsuit filed last December against the Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center, sparked widespread concern from the public, especially at a time of rapid growth in the number of aging Americans in adult-care homes.
Juror Lizette Solomon told The Oregonian newspaper that the "indifference" Nye and Ruddell showed to Ober's health and safety was "unconscionable." Solomon said she couldn't understand why the nursing director didn't order X-rays sooner.
"It's dreadful," she said. "It's just very, very sad."
Erin Kirkwood, Nye's defense attorney, argued that Nye had 22 patients to tend to the day Ober began to slip out of the sling. The aide assisting Nye had testified that she thought Ober might not be positioned correctly in the sling, but Nye told the aide things were fine.
"If Ms. Nye thought she was in that sling wrong, she would have changed it," Kirkwood said.
Kirkwood also said her client did the right thing by immediately reporting what had happened. Nurse Verna Colleen Heide entered the room and is the one who decided Ober was fine after the incident, Kirkwood said.
In August, Heide, 64, avoided trial by pleading guilty to one count of criminal mistreatment. She was sentenced last month to three years probation and 160 hours of community service.
Constantin Severe, Ruddell's attorney, also placed blame on Heide, saying Heide never told his client Ober cried out in pain.
Deputy District Attorney Annamarie Shoen, however, said it would have been impossible for Ruddell not to know that something was wrong with Ober. Nursing home workers testified that they'd told Ruddell at least four times that Ober needed help because she was doing things such as screaming when she was moved.
"Linda Ober didn't need to die," Shoen said. "She didn't need to sit for six days in excruciating pain. ... Suzanne Ruddell, for whatever the reason, didn't do anything."
Nye and Ruddell are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Oregon Hate Crime Information
I thought I'd post some info. on hate crime in Oregon. I find it interesting personally.
First I've published a table of the breakdown of crimes from cities in our state. This information comes from the Department of Justice's web page. Note that there were no hate crimes against people with disabilities prosecuted in 2006. I find this weird. below that I posted the 11 hate groups as seen on the Southern Poverty Law Center's web page.
First I've published a table of the breakdown of crimes from cities in our state. This information comes from the Department of Justice's web page. Note that there were no hate crimes against people with disabilities prosecuted in 2006. I find this weird. below that I posted the 11 hate groups as seen on the Southern Poverty Law Center's web page.
| (Click on image to enlarge) |  |
| name | type | city | state |
| American National Socialist Workers' Party | Neo-Nazi | OR | |
| Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | Ku Klux Klan | OR | |
| National Prayer Network | General Hate | Clackamas | OR |
| National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | Ku Klux Klan | Junction City | OR |
| Brotherhood of Klans Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | Ku Klux Klan | La Pine | OR |
| Daughters of Yahweh | Christian Identity | Portland | OR |
| National Socialist Movement - NSM | Neo-Nazi | Portland | OR |
| Northwest Hammerskins | Racist Skinhead | Portland | OR |
| The Apostles of Adolf Hitler | Neo-Nazi | Portland | OR |
| Volksfront | Racist Skinhead | Portland | OR |
| National Socialist Movement - NSM | Neo-Nazi | Sisters | OR |
| name | type | city | state |
| American National Socialist Workers' Party | Neo-Nazi | OR | |
| Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | Ku Klux Klan | OR | |
| National Prayer Network | General Hate | Clackamas | OR |
| National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | Ku Klux Klan | Junction City | OR |
| Brotherhood of Klans Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | Ku Klux Klan | La Pine | OR |
| Daughters of Yahweh | Christian Identity | Portland | OR |
| National Socialist Movement - NSM | Neo-Nazi | Portland | OR |
| Northwest Hammerskins | Racist Skinhead | Portland | OR |
| The Apostles of Adolf Hitler | Neo-Nazi | Portland | OR |
| Volksfront | Racist Skinhead | Portland | OR |
| National Socialist Movement - NSM | Neo-Nazi | Sisters | OR |
Friday, October 03, 2008
Dolly the Dashchund
I can’t help but wonder about what is really important to the people of Portland. As I’ve been going through my email this morning, I’ve come time and time again upon the story of Dolly the Dashchund. Dolly was apparently severely mistreated when she was brought to the Multnomah County Animal Services in August.
People who read the article were up in arms about the inhumane behavior of her former owners. There were comments about putting them to death or treating them the same way they treated their dog. Portlanders take animal abuse seriously.
But what about people abuse? What about the hundreds of people with developmental disabilities in Oregon who are abused yearly? Do these same protectors of dogs get hopping mad when the story comes to light about a woman being raped with a toilet brush handle and dying of infection? Does their blood boil when they pick up a newspaper and learn that people are dying from medical neglect right down the road from them?
Every time these types of stories are brought out in the open, there is a quietness in our city. For whatever reason, there is no uproar. I really don’t get it.
People who read the article were up in arms about the inhumane behavior of her former owners. There were comments about putting them to death or treating them the same way they treated their dog. Portlanders take animal abuse seriously.
But what about people abuse? What about the hundreds of people with developmental disabilities in Oregon who are abused yearly? Do these same protectors of dogs get hopping mad when the story comes to light about a woman being raped with a toilet brush handle and dying of infection? Does their blood boil when they pick up a newspaper and learn that people are dying from medical neglect right down the road from them?
Every time these types of stories are brought out in the open, there is a quietness in our city. For whatever reason, there is no uproar. I really don’t get it.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
You Go Joe!
Finally... at the federal level they are doing something around the crimes committed against people with disabilities. This is a great Bill!
Contact: George Jesien, Executive Director 301-588-8252 gjesien@aucd.org
Senator Biden Introduces Bill to Prevent Crimes Against People with Disabilities
SILVER SPRING, MD (October 1, 2008) — The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) applauds Sen. Joe Biden for introducing the “Crime Victims with Disabilities Act” (S. 3668) today. The bill will help to increase the awareness, investigation, prosecution, and prevention of crimes against individuals with a disability, including developmental disabilities, and improve services to those who are victimized. The legislation provides grants to state to facilitate collaboration among the criminal justice system and a range of agencies and other organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities.
An estimated five million crimes are committed against individuals with developmental disabilities annually. Over 70 percent of these crimes are not reported.
“People with disabilities are often especially vulnerable to becoming victims of crime, and yet, this population is often silent or ignored,” said AUCD’s Executive Director George Jesien. “In addition to people with disabilities being more likely to be victimized, violent crimes can cause disabilities – emotional and physical — that may last a lifetime. We need reliable data to increase our knowledge and information about crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities.
Without good data it is difficult to develop the needed strategies to reduce the incidence of crimes. This bill is a step in the right direction to help protect individuals with disabilities by ensuring that crimes are reported, and that reported crimes are actively investigated by both law enforcement agencies and other organizations that serve and support individuals with disabilities. “
AUCD stands ready to help move this important measure toward enactment.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), located in Silver Spring, MD, promotes and supports a national network of interdisciplinary centers on disabilities. The members of AUCD represent every U.S. state and territory and include 67 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), 34 Interdisciplinary Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Programs and 21 Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (DDRC). Together, these organizations advance policy and practice through research, education, leadership, and services for and with individuals with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities, in support of independence, productivity, and satisfying quality of life. For more information, visit AUCD’s website www.aucd.org.
Senator Biden’s statement follows:
The Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2008
Statement of Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
October 1, 2008
Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2008.
Adults with disabilities experience violence or abuse at least twice as often as people without disabilities, and adults with developmental disabilities are at risk of being physically or sexually assaulted at rates four to ten times greater than other adults. In fact, an estimated 5 million crimes are committed annually against persons with developmental disabilities and an estimated 70 percent of these crimes are not reported.
Adding insult to injury, individuals with disabilities suffer additional “victimization” within the justice system, due to lack of physical, programmatic, and communications accommodations needed for equal access.
The Crime Victims with Disabilities Act takes a common sense approach to fixing this problem by providing funds to increase the investigation, prosecution, and prevention of crimes against persons with disabilities and by facilitating collaboration among criminal justice agencies and other agencies and organizations that provide services to people with disabilities to improve services to those who are victimized.
Collaboration among criminal justice agencies and agencies and organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities is necessary to ensure that crimes are reported and investigated properly, prosecutors are properly trained, appropriate accommodations are provided to disabled victims, and communication between criminal justice agencies and organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities is effective.
The bill funds a modest grant program that would allow States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to develop programs to facilitate collaboration among criminal justice agencies and agencies and organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities for these purposes. The bill authorizes $50,000 for each planning grant and $300,000 for each implementation grant for a total authorization for the grant program of $10 million for the first year.
The bill also authorizes $4 million over four years to fund research to assist the Attorney General in collecting valid, reliable national data relating to crimes against individuals with developmental and related disabilities for the National Crime Victims Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department of Justice as required by the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act.
Currently, the Bureau of Justice Statistics does not specifically collect this data, leaving many crimes against persons with disabilities unreported in the survey and making it difficult to address this problem adequately.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Council on Independent Living, the National Disability Rights Network, the National Child Abuse Coalition, Easter Seals, the Arc of the United States, and United Cerebral Palsy have endorsed the bill. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill which will protect some of the most vulnerable members of our society – individuals with disabilities who are victims of crime.
Contact: George Jesien, Executive Director 301-588-8252 gjesien@aucd.org
Senator Biden Introduces Bill to Prevent Crimes Against People with Disabilities
SILVER SPRING, MD (October 1, 2008) — The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) applauds Sen. Joe Biden for introducing the “Crime Victims with Disabilities Act” (S. 3668) today. The bill will help to increase the awareness, investigation, prosecution, and prevention of crimes against individuals with a disability, including developmental disabilities, and improve services to those who are victimized. The legislation provides grants to state to facilitate collaboration among the criminal justice system and a range of agencies and other organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities.
An estimated five million crimes are committed against individuals with developmental disabilities annually. Over 70 percent of these crimes are not reported.
“People with disabilities are often especially vulnerable to becoming victims of crime, and yet, this population is often silent or ignored,” said AUCD’s Executive Director George Jesien. “In addition to people with disabilities being more likely to be victimized, violent crimes can cause disabilities – emotional and physical — that may last a lifetime. We need reliable data to increase our knowledge and information about crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities.
Without good data it is difficult to develop the needed strategies to reduce the incidence of crimes. This bill is a step in the right direction to help protect individuals with disabilities by ensuring that crimes are reported, and that reported crimes are actively investigated by both law enforcement agencies and other organizations that serve and support individuals with disabilities. “
AUCD stands ready to help move this important measure toward enactment.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), located in Silver Spring, MD, promotes and supports a national network of interdisciplinary centers on disabilities. The members of AUCD represent every U.S. state and territory and include 67 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), 34 Interdisciplinary Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Programs and 21 Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (DDRC). Together, these organizations advance policy and practice through research, education, leadership, and services for and with individuals with developmental and other disabilities, their families, and communities, in support of independence, productivity, and satisfying quality of life. For more information, visit AUCD’s website www.aucd.org.
Senator Biden’s statement follows:
The Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2008
Statement of Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
October 1, 2008
Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2008.
Adults with disabilities experience violence or abuse at least twice as often as people without disabilities, and adults with developmental disabilities are at risk of being physically or sexually assaulted at rates four to ten times greater than other adults. In fact, an estimated 5 million crimes are committed annually against persons with developmental disabilities and an estimated 70 percent of these crimes are not reported.
Adding insult to injury, individuals with disabilities suffer additional “victimization” within the justice system, due to lack of physical, programmatic, and communications accommodations needed for equal access.
The Crime Victims with Disabilities Act takes a common sense approach to fixing this problem by providing funds to increase the investigation, prosecution, and prevention of crimes against persons with disabilities and by facilitating collaboration among criminal justice agencies and other agencies and organizations that provide services to people with disabilities to improve services to those who are victimized.
Collaboration among criminal justice agencies and agencies and organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities is necessary to ensure that crimes are reported and investigated properly, prosecutors are properly trained, appropriate accommodations are provided to disabled victims, and communication between criminal justice agencies and organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities is effective.
The bill funds a modest grant program that would allow States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to develop programs to facilitate collaboration among criminal justice agencies and agencies and organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities for these purposes. The bill authorizes $50,000 for each planning grant and $300,000 for each implementation grant for a total authorization for the grant program of $10 million for the first year.
The bill also authorizes $4 million over four years to fund research to assist the Attorney General in collecting valid, reliable national data relating to crimes against individuals with developmental and related disabilities for the National Crime Victims Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department of Justice as required by the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act.
Currently, the Bureau of Justice Statistics does not specifically collect this data, leaving many crimes against persons with disabilities unreported in the survey and making it difficult to address this problem adequately.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Council on Independent Living, the National Disability Rights Network, the National Child Abuse Coalition, Easter Seals, the Arc of the United States, and United Cerebral Palsy have endorsed the bill. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill which will protect some of the most vulnerable members of our society – individuals with disabilities who are victims of crime.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Can I Get a Witness...
I often write about the bad conditions people with disabilities live in. Those who think I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill might want to reconsider after reading this piece from Feedblitz.com.
MORE BAD NEWS ABOUT NURSING HOMES
Hey America, how do you like this news? The Washington Post reports that more than 90percent of U.S. nursing homes were cited for violating federal care standards in each of the past three years, according to the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services. For-profit facilities -- the most common type of nursing home -- had more violations, on average, than did other types of homes and they were more likely to be deficient.
The problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition as well as abuse and neglect of patients. Inspectors received 37,150 complaints about conditions in nursing homes last year, and they substantiated 39 percent of them, the report said. About one-fifth of the complaints verified by federal and state authorities involved the abuse or neglect of patients.
Who are the "for-profit nursing homes? Try Medical Facilities of America (which trades under too many different names to list), The Carlyle Group (owner of HCR Manor Care), Avante, Beverly, Brian Center, Eldercare, Heritage Hall, SunBridge, and many, many others.
All for-profit nursing homes are not bad places. However, I would closely investigate any for-profit nursing home BEFORE placing a loved one in their care! I would want to make sure the facility was not putting "profits over people."
MORE BAD NEWS ABOUT NURSING HOMES
Hey America, how do you like this news? The Washington Post reports that more than 90percent of U.S. nursing homes were cited for violating federal care standards in each of the past three years, according to the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services. For-profit facilities -- the most common type of nursing home -- had more violations, on average, than did other types of homes and they were more likely to be deficient.
The problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition as well as abuse and neglect of patients. Inspectors received 37,150 complaints about conditions in nursing homes last year, and they substantiated 39 percent of them, the report said. About one-fifth of the complaints verified by federal and state authorities involved the abuse or neglect of patients.
Who are the "for-profit nursing homes? Try Medical Facilities of America (which trades under too many different names to list), The Carlyle Group (owner of HCR Manor Care), Avante, Beverly, Brian Center, Eldercare, Heritage Hall, SunBridge, and many, many others.
All for-profit nursing homes are not bad places. However, I would closely investigate any for-profit nursing home BEFORE placing a loved one in their care! I would want to make sure the facility was not putting "profits over people."
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