Eugene Weekly

(Police taser gun video from KVAL) Continue reading →

(Police Sgt. Bill Solesbee, KVAL pool photo) After an anti-pesticide protest ended in a police tasering last May, the Eugene Police department issued a misleading press release that has been largely refuted by sworn police officer testimony this week. Continue reading →

(Video still of Ian Van Ornum and his defense lawyer by KVAL.) The trial of taser victim Ian Van Ornum began today with testimony of a Homeland Security officer and Eugene police officer and the judge’s ejection of an independent video taker from the court room. Continue reading →

The Eugene City Council voted 7-1 to move forward with street assessments for Maple and Elmira streets. The council left open the possibility of later voting to decrease the average $10,000 charge per home along the street by increasing the amount the city will pay for the street improvement project. Continue reading →

The Eugene City Council voted 7-1 to change the city’s position on a proposed law allowing bikes to carefully yield and roll through stop signs from opposition to neutral. A proposal to change the position to support the state legislation failed 5-3. Proponents said the law has worked successfully in Idaho for almost two decades and should also be enacted in Oregon. Continue reading →

The Eugene City Council voted unanimously tonight to approve a grant application for a world-class skateboard park under the Washington-Jefferson viaduct. Continue reading →

The Eugene City Council voted to reinstate the independent police auditor but censure her for “poor judgment” in showing a private attorney for an alleged victim of police abuse a photograph from the police. The photograph was of the citizen who filed the complaint against the police and then hired the attorney. Continue reading →

After decades of complaints about spiraling legal costs and potential conflicts of interest, Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz has decided to hire an in-house attorney rather than having all the city’s legal work done by a private law firm. Ruiz announced in a press release today that Eugene will have at least one in house lawyer starting July 1 and could expand to three attorneys working as city employees. City managers have given the private law firm of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick, P.C. exclusive contracts for almost all the city’s legal work for the past three decades. Continue reading →

Interim Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds’ attorney issued a statement denying an allegation that Reynolds improperly disclosed confidential information. Reynolds’ attorney Margaret Wilson said the interim auditor’s “conduct was professional and entirely consistent with her public duties.” Continue reading →

The allegations that resulted in the Eugene City Council putting interim Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds on leave are “disturbing and disruptive” and lack merit, Eugene’s previous auditor Cris Beamud said in a written statement. “I have had an opportunity to speak with Dawn Reynolds, and I do not believe that the allegations against her are meritorious,” wrote Beamud, who left Eugene last summer to head the police oversight system in Atlanta. Continue reading →