AltWeeklies Wire

The Gunnew

How easy is it to buy a gun on the street from a complete stranger? We find out.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  08-04-2011  |  Crime & Justice

What We've Learned From the Fatal Police Shooting of Aaron Campbellnew

The Jan. 29 shooting of an unarmed African-American man was the reason Jackson came to Maranatha Church of God. And it’s why hundreds of angry Portlanders had already rallied downtown to protest years of alleged police abuses and failed leadership.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  02-24-2010  |  Crime & Justice

Cops' Recent Blowup with their Chief Surprised Many, and It Shouldn't Havenew

In her 3 1/2 years as Portland police chief, Rosie Sizer has been called many things. She once joked in a City Club speech she’d been called the B-word too many times to count. But she has also been praised as a transformative leader, a gifted communicator, a role model to women and a champion for minority rights.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  12-09-2009  |  Crime & Justice

Mentally Ill are Most Likely to Get Tasered by Portland Policenew

A new Independent Police Review Division report finds that subjects with mental illness are now the most likely out of all groups to get Tasered by Portland cops -- even more than people who are actually armed or who assault an officer.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  07-22-2009  |  Crime & Justice

A Portland Cop Says a Complaint About His Boss's Dirty Dance Stifled His Careernew

Officer Tom Brennan says his career as a Portland cop hit a dead end the night a superior officer ground his crotch against Brennan’s wife at Dixie Tavern.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  03-11-2009  |  Crime & Justice

He Joined the Gang When He Was 13, Now He Can't Get Outnew

Membership in one of the nation's most notorious criminal gangs can have its benefits: money, girls and a ready cadre of friends. But it may also be a dead end with no easy exit.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  02-18-2009  |  Crime & Justice

Why Doesn't Oregon Let Bounty Hunters Chase Down its Most Wanted?new

Since 1974, this state has banned bail bondsmen from operating inside its borders -- one of only four states in the country to do so. Critics say it's no coincidence that in Portland alone, there are thousands of wanted criminals walking the streets.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  07-02-2008  |  Crime & Justice

The Death of a Landlordnew

Plenty of people want to kill their landlord. Not many are accused of actually doing it, hacking him to pieces, offing a roommate at the same time, then dumping both bodies 30 miles away in the sticks.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  06-11-2008  |  Crime & Justice

Environmental Icon to Plead Guilty to Arson and Conspiracynew

Tre Arrow's decision last week to plead guilty to the longstanding federal charges comes as a blow to his fellow activists, some of whom have spent years fighting for his release while Arrow proclaimed his innocence.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  05-28-2008  |  Crime & Justice

New Lawsuit Targets Cops Who Killed Man on 'Shroomsnew

Give a 20-year-old enough magic mushrooms to make 30 people trip hard. Then put him up against three cops armed with Tasers, beanbag guns and Glocks. It's a recipe for disaster, and that's exactly what happened.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  04-02-2008  |  Crime & Justice

FBI Agent Uses His Daughter's Pic to Lure Accused Predatornew

It's a case straight out of crime TV. A high-powered Seattle lawyer finds a 14-year-old girl in an internet chat room and talks her into meeting him for some kinky sex in a hotel. But when he shows up at a Portland MAX stop for the promised spanking session, he gets handcuffed by FBI agents, who were posing as the girl online to snare sexual predators.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  02-13-2008  |  Crime & Justice

The Debt Effectnew

One of Oregon’s biggest collection lawyers faces new troubles from the debtors he’s sued.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  02-06-2008  |  Crime & Justice

Killing Time: Dead Men Waiting on Oregon's Death Rownew

The state's machinery of death is clearly in place. But since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions in 1976, Oregon has killed only two men. Meanwhile, 35 men sit alone this week in their cells on death row.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  01-23-2008  |  Crime & Justice

Hold the Linenew

Randy Leonard wants no 911 calls on hold. A WW records review finds that's a tall order.
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  07-05-2007  |  Crime & Justice

North By Northwestnew

Is Scott Caplan a cloak-and-dagger Portland lawyer, or did the CIA fool him into helping torture accused terrorists?
Willamette Week  |  James Pitkin  |  02-21-2007  |  Crime & Justice

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