Cover Story
by Katie Childs
Believing that police can eliminate gangs altogether is unrealistic, Officer Lawerence said.
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Portland police face many dangers during drug arrests
A traffic stop turns into a multi-car track down with a canine when
a man runs from a car in East Portland. -Katie Childs, photo
Each night they patrol the East Precinct, stretching from the Columbia River on the north, Lincoln Cemetery to the south, 174th Avenue to the east and 82nd Avenue to the west. And each night they discover fresh gang graffiti tagging walls and fences and new hangouts for gang members or unknown drug dealers. Officer Lawrence said he covers apartment complexes in his precinct he would never enter without someone else to watch his back. Officer Lawrence, once a member of a Marines special-operations team, is familiar with danger and not quick to back down. Yet the power of one man cannot reform a city that does not want to be reformed. Believing that police can eliminate gangs altogether is unrealistic, Officer Lawrence said.
One of the biggest problems he deals with is tweekers -- methamphetamine addicts. Meth drives most of the theft, prostitution and random violence he encounters, he said. According to the National Institute of Justice's 2000 annual report, 64 percent of males arrested in Portland were under the influence of an illegal substance. Of the males arrested for violent crimes, 53 percent were on marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, opiates or PCP. Of those arrested for property crimes, 75 percent were on at least one drug.
Most drug addicts do not begin using drugs as potent as crystal meth or heroin. Marijuana, like alcohol, is a common gateway drug for many of the perpetrators Officer Lawrence confronts. According to the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug, carrying 60 percent of all illicit drug use. Marijuana opens the door for harder, more addictive drugs. Yet Officer Lawrence has found the general attitude of Portland residents is to leave marijuana users alone.
They tend to view marijuana use as "a victimless crime," Officer Lawrence said, because adults can make their own decisions and only harm themselves.
A person must be carrying at least one ounce of marijuana to get jail time in Portland. Oregon has decriminalized marijuana to some degree. The conduct (first time possession for personal consumption) is treated like a minor traffic violation. The officer then has to go to court, losing valuable time on the streets. With the number of officers already less than optimal, and with little jail space to spare, the cost of prosecution is often too great.
Portland's medical marijuana law has not helped Officer Officer Lawrence curb drug abuse in Portland. The law makes convicting growers harder, even if they grow over their limit. Calling marijuana a cure for anything is "a crock," Officer Officer Lawrence said. The carcinogens in the drug will harm more than help. Those seeking pot for pain have probably been addicts for years, he said.
Another hindrance to Officer Officer Lawrence has been the underground market created because marijuana is illegal.
Officer Officer Lawrence has no intention of giving drug abusers a break. When he arrests someone for drug-related crimes, he works to get that person the longest prison sentence possible. This may mean filing charges through federal channels rather than city or state.
Oregon state law says anyone in possession of one ounce to 110 grams of marijuana can receive 10 years in prison on felony charges and $100,000 fine. Any cultivation or sale over one ounce is also a felony worthy of jail time and a hefty fine.
Prison is the best solution for drug addicts, Officer Officer Lawrence said. People often cannot free themselves from drugs without becoming free from other decaying areas of their lives, he said, such as prostitution, a broken home or the inability to keep a job. If prison life is bad enough for a criminal, then he'll reform to get on with his life. Change must be personally driven, he said. "If you want prison to be life-altering for the good, it can be."
Only once has Officer Officer Lawrence seen a girl complete a rehabilitation program and progress enough to be around other drug addicts. Now she volunteers with the mission where she completed her program, helping others in her recovery. She is a rarity.
Officer Officer Lawrence compared his police work to Forest Gump's box of chocolates; except instead of chocolates, officers never know if they'll get a gun pulled on them or encounter a meth addict having a psychotic episode. His constant mindset is "be nice to everyone but have a plan to kill them."
Officer Officer Lawrence's work doesn't end when he leaves the office. He checks his rearview mirror while driving home to make sure no one is following him. When he's out in public with his wife and two children he stays alert for drug addicts and troublemakers. In the police world, this behavior is known as "officer safety." Officers can never let their guard down off duty, Officer Officer Lawrence said, because criminals do hunt you down.
While Officer Lawrence was working as a narcotics officer in Columbia County, Ore., one man he had dealt with came to his house. Officer Lawrence wasn't home at the time. His wife answered the door. The man began to intimidate his wife and wanted to enter the house. She shut the door in his face and called Officer Lawrence at the office. The man refused to leave until Officer Lawrence arrived. The man continued to intimidate Officer Lawrence until he was arrested, now not only for trespassing but also for intimidating a witness and resisting arrest.
Officer Lawrence sees little hope for many drug addicts. "I've become jaded" through this job, Officer Lawrence said. "I have less faith in humanity. I've met people who their greatest crime is oxygen theft. The only thing they're going to do with the rest of their lives is make people miserable." But as long as people want to escape reality, he said, we'll have mind-altering drugs.
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