Jack Radey shares his story about our local police

I came to this town from Oakland, California, in 1999.  I had lived in Oakland for 26 years, and have also lived in San Francisco, Berkeley, New York City, and Chicago.  I have seen some really rotten police departments at work. 

I have been arrested four times (not counting the last one, which was for a felony that was dropped before I was even taken to jail—but that’s another story). 

I have been chased, clubbed, gassed, sapped, dragged down a flight of stairs, and had guns waved in my face by police.  For a long time I was pretty sure I understood police. Lined up facing us, they all looked alike, and they were apparently all determined to hurt us for exercising our First Amendment rights. 

I had the opportunity in Berkeley to see many different police forces, from the professionals of the Berkeley PD to the bat s— crazy Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs and everything.  I was subject to long and detailed surveillance by the FBI. (My file is enormous, albeit mostly blacked out.) 

So when Bernadette Devlin said the world is made up of two kinds of people; those who have and those who have not seen a policeman from the front side, I would definitely qualify as one who has seen them from the front. 

I can’t count the number of demonstrations and riots, I was in.  Almost all of the latter were riots initiated by a police attack on a peaceful demonstration, though once the Oakland Police enlisted the Hell’s Angels to get the riot going.

I came to Eugene while Magaña & Lara were in the news, just after the downtown tree sit riot.  I have paid close attention to the EPD, both working with CALC’s Progressive Responses, Food Not Bombs, and the NAACP Legal Redress Committee, which I headed for a while. 

I spoke at City Council, warning of a cancer on the culture of the EPD.  This was after the Van Norman tazing, the tazing of the Chinese student in his bed, and the shootings of the Salisbury kid (and of Brian Babb.  The police union had endorsed Jim Torrey over Kitty Piercy for mayor, citing the latter’s support for “sustainability.”  The chief, though a pretty decent human being, bled blue and would not entertain the notion that an officer could do wrong.

But I did notice that the EPD’s approach to crowd control was remarkably laid back and calm.  They were very cooperative with large demonstrations (which were very peaceful) and when faced with small ones that wanted to claim the streets and were fairly obnoxious, were very laid back. 

As NAACP point person on police matters, I began talking regularly with officers, and with the auditor.  And I also did some research.  I read the report of Obama’s Commission on 21st Century Policing, and was amazed.  Here were police chiefs (many, not all), talking about the problems in policing the way I was.  Wait a minute. 

I then read “Re-engineering Training” a conference report about police use of force with about 300 participants.  And if anything, the bulk of them “got it.”  So from this, and talking to the auditor, I became aware of a struggle I was ignorant of, going on inside law enforcement, over the very issues I was concerned about – discrimination, violence, lack of accountability. 

So I figured, I needed to talk to some cops. 

I had repeated meetings: with the chief, watch captain. auditor, union head.  And I discovered that, to my astonishment, police were people, doing an exceptionally unpleasant and potentially hazardous job, and reacting like… human beings.  Some well, some not so well. 

But many had figured out that if you go around with contempt for the rest of the population, ready to use force if you’re irked, disrespecting people, and with a reputation for worse, your job becomes impossible to do, and an already stressful job becomes far more stressful.  Not all of them had come around to this position, and there were some charismatic individuals who had a good deal of influence and were outspoken champions of old-style policing.  

I figured if I was going to study this, I needed to throw the handle after the hatchet, and signed up for the 40-hour Police Citizen’s Academy—a series of two-hour evening sessions once a week, at which we learned about all the different aspects of the department, what they do, how they do it, different aspects of training, specialty squads, the DA’s office, the auditor. 

There were also three weekend sessions: one at the driving training facility, once at the range, once at the jail.  We met the happy ghouls from forensic evidence, the uptight librarians from evidence control, the sensitive officers from crisis negotiation, the deaf guy from the bomb squad, the border-line psychopaths from SWAT, the motorcycle officers, the dog handlers. 

With lots of chances to ask questions, including challenging ones, it’s valuable for anyone to learn about the department and why it does and doesn’t do certain things, but mostly it is a view of the wide variety of people who are cops.  Eye-opening.  

I have also gone on five “ride-alongs,” one of them a “sit-along” at the call center, two with patrolmen, one with a patrol sergeant and one with a patrolman for 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift.  I’m going to do more.  Anyone can Contact the department directly and sign up.  Its a 10-hour shift, you ride with a cop or sit with a call-taker getting 911 calls. 

Talk to ’em.  Listen to ’em.  See what they do, and how they do it.  

I applied for Police Commission and Civilian Review Board three times each. They mostly seemed to want people with college degrees and background in law, law enforcement, or something equally respectable, didn’t make the first cut. 

This last time I was appointed to the Police Commission.  Although the Commission does not handle complaints about the EPD, we get some.  I have made a point of meeting with some of those folks, and checking out their complaints.  Not infrequently their gruesome stories do not align well with the objective evidence (video cam footage from body cams and drones.) 

I have gone down to observe homeless feeding operations that complained of police harassment.  I’m not just listening to cops.

All of this has changed my perspective on policing in general, and the EPD in particular.  The department 26 years ago was pretty typical, some good, some bad, some just awful.  There was strong “us versus them” culture, fewer women, fewer people of color.  There were some real cowboys operating with support of their department. 

In the 27 years I’ve closely observe them, I have seen them change to being one of the most progressive departments I’ve ever seen or heard tell of.  This does not say they are all as I would wish. I don’t know all of them, but I do know that they are a very different department, facing the right way, and taking steps to move towards guardianship rather than warrior/occupying force. 

The leaders—chief, deputy chief, principal leaders in the department, and union—all are facing the way we would want.  Many of the old guard have retired, and more than a few of them got the clear message that this would be a great time for them to retire. 

At this point half the force has less than five years seniority.  And as one sergeant willingly admitted, “The kids coming in have different attitudes on race, gender, and poverty than a previous generation.”  I asked, “Are you saying the new cops are more ‘woke’?”  She said, “Yeah.”

More work is needed. Organizational culture does not change on word of command. People who “know the right way to do things” and have done them that way for 20 years are loath to change.  It takes steady, patient work.  For those who simply see blue and think “ACAB”, nothing has changed.  They still wear uniforms, still carry guns.  But if you have paid close attention, you might be able to see that we are winning.  

Now the people who want no police at all will not care how they police – that they do it at all is the problem. For those of us a bit more realistic, and realize the many important things police do,. and that it really makes a difference how and in what spirit they do them, it matters a lot.

I’ll close with an example.  In the bad old days, and today in many cities, there is a policy that if a person is demented – whether mental illness, drugs, rage, alcohol, whatever cause – AND is armed – AND is discharging the weapon (randomly, not at anyone),  the safest  thing to do is address the situation with a Glock .40 caliber. 

If the person is shooting at anyone, including cops, that would be the correct response, in my view. But I’m aware of at least six instances in recent years, one that I witnessed part of, where in such a case the officer has approached the person, with nothing in hand, and said, “Hey buddy, can I get you some help, just put that thing down and let’s sit and talk.” 

And both of them left the scene, intact.  That means that these officers risked their lives to save the life of an unpredictable person with a gun.  Have you heard any public praise for that?  I urge those of a progressive frame of mind to see past the angry yelling and check out what actually goes on and how our police operate. 

There may actually be a better way to get the kind of policing we want than standing across the street yelling at them.  Been there, done that, and it was pretty justified – then.  Now?  The old atrocities and old stereotypes just don’t hold up, here, to close examination.  This disappoints some.  Sigh.

Jack Radey is a member of the Eugene Police Commission.