Tim Lewis shares his story about our local police

Presenter: Tim Lewis is a Whiteaker media activist who released a recording of Martin Siller, an EPD officer of seven years, talking on the phone. We won’t share that recording here, but it’s been characterized as anti-Black and anti-women.

It all started the night a riot was declared in Eugene. Tim got a call from Jetty Etty, who was worried that as federal agents fired chemicals into the crowd, protesters would flee into traffic and get hit. She said EPD refused to help, so she asked Tim to find some cones or safety barricades. Picking up the story at a press conference May 15, Tim Lewis:

Tim Lewis: I was arrested that night, on Jan. 30, by five police cars surrounding me, probably about 10 cops. And it was on that same night when Siller was driving around, talking all that s—. But they had enough power and support to have five police cars around me.

So anyway, that’s where it all began. And right now we have a July 22 court date. We’ve pled not guilty. And on July 22, we’re going to trial. That’s where that stands.

Presenter: In a legal proceeding, there’s a pre-trial phase called discovery where the defendants and their lawyers are allowed to see the evidence that will be brought against them. At the press conference, the media asked Tim to speak about all the items turned over in discovery—which they apparently didn’t even review. Tim Lewis:

Tim Lewis: Well, it’s a little sloppy, isn’t it? I mean, you’d think they would have gone through all that. But there was 409 elements that the prosecutor sent to my attorney, and most of them are videotapes, drone footage, and they still haven’t downloaded everything. So there’s more stuff there.

So I don’t know if they even have a possibility or the person-power to go through all that and to see what’s there. And whether or not they would take it out or not, I don’t know. But anyway, my attorney’s still going through a lot of this footage.

I have a great attorney by the name of Matt Watkins, my pro bono attorney. And also there’s his staff person, who was going through all that footage. They sent us 409 clips, overwhelming us. And she kept listening and listening at home, and then she heard this. She called me and said, ‘You’ve got to hear this.’

Presenter: Tim Lewis spoke about the importance of discovery.

Tim Lewis: Back in the day, right, in the 90s, we had a television show called ‘Cascadia Live.’ And a lot of times, you know, I and others would get cited or arrested for just being media people.

So at that time, I started learning to file for discovery. And we would look at the footage, VHS tapes of what the cops were videotaping and would utilize that on our own TV show.

And so that was something that we learned back in those days, and I think it’s something that people should also learn and keep doing today, where you can file for discovery, even on your own, and get footage and get reports from the cops.

And by the way, our slogan at that time was: ‘It’s not just entertainment, it’s evidence.’

Presenter: Tim was asked to describe his feelings about releasing the Martin Siller recording. Tim Lewis:

Tim Lewis: The question was how I feel about that video and putting it out there and why I did it.

Well, I think it’s something that I had access to and not a lot of people had access to. And I know a lot of poor people out there who are in our neighborhood and women and people of color and all this. And I had this little bomb that was going to create a stir, right? And I knew a person in my position had to do something with it.

And I struggled with it for a week. And so I think it was important for me to let the community know, start the dialogue. I don’t have all the answers, but hopefully this created enough of a buzz and an awareness of this (police) culture that all these people who are poor and who have just felt the brunt of the cops over all their lives and, you know, for centuries. It was my responsibility to do that.

Media: Any comments on the independent police auditor, do you feel that’s an effective check on the system?

Tim Lewis: No. Back in early 2000s, the people of this town voted 2-1 for police oversight—Civilian Review Board, and police auditor. (Eugene City Councilor) Bonny Bettman created a terrific plan and how that would operate, with teeth.

The city of Eugene at that time then formed a committee called PAORC (Police Auditor Ordinance Review Committee) which the mayor, Kitty Piercy, Mike Clark (who’s still on the City Council), Alan Zelenka, the police union formed this PAORC committee and for two months they whittled it down and whittled it down to where there’s no independent oversight and also all the decisions go through the city manager and the police chief.

And so back in about 20 years ago, when the people voted for a real strong Civilian Review Board, the city and the powers that be—especially the police—created a really very weak system. And what we have now is even weaker than that.

You know, they’re going to say, you know, ‘The auditor is going to look into this. Great. And he wants to hear everybody’s story.’ Don’t tell them your story. It goes right to the police. We have to work amongst ourselves. The police auditor won’t do anything…

Well, I think what we should do is, you know, people voted for it 20 years ago and it had teeth. Let’s resurrect what the people voted on 20 years ago.

I don’t know all the answers. I’m a cat who goes out and tells stories. And I go where there’s interesting stories to be had, where there’s conflict, there’s drama. That’s what I do. I usually I stick it out in my own neighborhood. I’ve been here a long time and I don’t have all the answers but I try to connect with people who might and bring people together who might converse and have some good ideas.

But I don’t have all those answers and that’s not my game. That’s not my bag my bag is telling these stories, all right? That’s really what I like to do and I’ll continue to do that. And I think there’s some terrific stories that are bad, good, and ugly out there, and I’d love to tell them.

Presenter: Tim Lewis calls for independent oversight of the police department. We’re interested in sharing your stories about EPD. As Tim says, the good, the bad, and the ugly—lo bueno, lo malo, y lo feo. Contact us by email: news@kepw.org. You’re listening to KEPW-WholeCommunity.News.