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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 16, 2006 Police talk may bring new rules Law-enforcement agents hear residents’ concerns By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings MEDFORD — The night riot police descended on an anti-Bush demonstration in Jacksonville and fired a pepperball gun into the crowd has not faded into the darkness. Several local activists brought up law enforcement’s response to the candlelight vigil in October 2004 during a forum about policing styles sponsored by the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union at the Medford Public Library on Saturday afternoon. By the conclusion of the two-hour forum, local law enforcement officials had committed to working with the activists to create policy for how demonstrations are dealt with in the future. “I think we need to work on our planning process,” said Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters, one of three speakers at the event. Ashland Police Chief Mike Bianca and Lt. Michael Moran of the Medford Police Department also participated in the forum, which aimed to define community policing and traditional policing models, then explain how elements of those theories are applied within each department. “We wanted to make it a forum for people to become informed,” said ACLU coordinator for educational programs Jan Lofthouse. “It’s timely right now because of the ordinance that’s going on. There are a lot of questions.” A group of residents calling themselves the Ashland Committee on Policing and Public Safety drafted a city ordinance on community policing during summer 2005 and presented it to the Ashland City Council on Oct. 4. The ordinance defines community policing as a model that views the police department as a service entity with officers who develop cooperative relationships with citizens rather than enforce laws in an authoritarian manner. Instead of talking about how community policing approaches affect day-to-day police work, audience questions centered on police responses to specific scenarios, including panhandling and demonstrations. “We veered off a little bit,” Lofthouse said. But the forum did create a partnership between law enforcement officials and community organizers, a cooperation Winters said embodies the ideals of community policing. “If, through dialogue, we can come up with a better chain of command and have a safer event, we should,” Winters said. Grady Boyd and Shelley Elkovich, both of whom are plaintiffs in a lawsuit charging the law enforcement response to the Oct. 14, 2004 anti-Bush demonstration in Jacksonville was too severe, will have separate meetings with Winters, Moran and Bianca. Elkovich first approached law enforcement officials to create a protocol before the Jacksonville incident, she said. She and Boyd spoke with Winters and other officials to outline a peaceful evening demonstration in Jacksonville. The discussions led organizers to believe everything was under control. However, when Bush’s plans changed and the Secret Service required demonstrators to move away from the restaurant where the president dined, the event escalated from a candlelight vigil to a riot. Approximately 100 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies worked together to control an estimated 250 demonstrators — mostly anti-Bush — on the streets of downtown Jacksonville. Two people were arrested and a less-than-lethal weapon was fired into the crowd. Boyd hopes the planned conversations will open up lines of communication “that if, for some reason something like this happens again, you can come and talk to me.” “We’re leaving here committing to set up meetings to collaborate on possible protocols around demonstrations,” Boyd said. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 225 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams