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  Sgt. Lynn Benton Police officer Lynn Benton has some soap-worthy headlines attached to his name. The FTM Gladstone sergeant has been implicated in the 2011 murder of his wife Deborah Higbee-Benton, but these are not the allegations for which he was recently fired.
Benton was fired last December following a memorandum (PDF) issued by Gladstone police chief Jim Pryde. This memo has just surfaced, thanks to an appeal The Oregonian filed with the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office which ordered the release despite the city of Gladstone’s decision to withhold the document.
In it Pryde recommends termination based on the following accusations:
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  Katey Pants Another essay from the astute Katey Pants:
The past month there has been a crisis of safety in the queer community. Gay bashings, rampant rumors of Nazi gangs patrolling our community, and the Westboro Baptist Churches arrogance in claiming space in our communities. The response to this violence from police and politicians in Portland has offered us- at best- bureaucratic solutions to fundamental structural problems. However, I want to posit a different view of safety, care, and community outside of state and police solutions. I hope to provide some philosophical reasoning behind this and also present concrete things that are happening in Portland and throughout the country where people everyday are creating alternatives to police to keep themselves and their communities safe.
A Moral and Practical Argument Against Calling The Police:
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Stop violence in and against our community!
For all of you who were waiting to find out the news about the Queer Town Hall that is being organized to discuss the recent acts in/against our community and the police response to said events, there is now a date, time and location set. Here the deets:
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 7pm-9pm The Q Center (4115 N Mississippi Ave)
Here […]
 Heather after the attack It’s been pretty quiet around this issue in the last few days until we know what exactly will happen next and who is doing what. As far as I know, some people very involved in the community are considering a town hall style meeting, and BlowPony folks such as Airick, Jose and Heather (who got her nose broken after Blow Po) are going to the Portland Police SMRT (sexual minorities round table) with the police next month. I will most more info on the time, date etc as it becomes available. Audrey, who was the victim of transphobic and sexist harassment and told by the police that she didn’t need to file a report, has successfully filed a report against her attacker and the issue is being dealt with (we hope) by the police/courts/authorities.
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 Stop hate and violence in and towards our community Pride is over, our hangovers have subsided, the messes have mostly been cleaned up – but what remains is the foul aftertaste of violence, harassment and threats towards individuals in our community. This is new – what is going on, queer Portland?
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Queers, Community, Safety: Lets take care of ourselves and each other
Katey Pants
Another essay from the astute Katey Pants:
The past month there has been a crisis of safety in the queer community. Gay bashings, rampant rumors of Nazi gangs patrolling our community, and the Westboro Baptist Churches arrogance in claiming space in our communities. The response to this violence from police and politicians in Portland has offered us- at best- bureaucratic solutions to fundamental structural problems. However, I want to posit a different view of safety, care, and community outside of state and police solutions. I hope to provide some philosophical reasoning behind this and also present concrete things that are happening in Portland and throughout the country where people everyday are creating alternatives to police to keep themselves and their communities safe.
A Moral and Practical Argument Against Calling The Police:
Continue reading »