Rakeshia and Markishia (and their respective "mothers") have been arrested by Portland police. Why were the "mothers" arrested? One on charges of hindering prosecution, and the other for allegedly holding a victim by the hair while the daughter punched her. Mug-shots are included in the link. Hey, dey was jest plannin' ta chill at da welfare office, but some damn honky biatch done looked at 'em funny.
Rumor has it that all four may be released on personal recognisance after having their tubes tied. Just kidding - Oregon needs animals like this to care for, otherwise, state employees might have to seek gainful employment.
The beating by 3 black females of a 14-year-old white girl on a Tri-Met light rail train (which, of course, is not a "hate crime" - even though they were taped yelling "white girl" - "hate crime" only occurs if the perpetrator(s) are white) has even caught the attention of The Zero. And that's no easy task.
Ya gotta love the sneering Tina Duckett - that momma knows she ain't gettin' mo' dan a slap on da wrist. "Sheeit, foo! I be runnin' my Oregon Trail card dis time tamarra!"
But Tri-Met's suddenly taking all of this vewy, vewy sewiously: they're "stepping up" their non-existent "security", with an emphasis on their shiny Crime Trains - though they've maintained all along that the trains are safe and don't attract trouble. Their claims, however, are refuted by actual facts: a map of crime along light rail lines was published five years ago; apparently, people are afraid to update it with more recent figures. Still, it's illuminating.
MAX’s original Blue Line that runs east-west through the region has been plagued by crime for years. In 2007, Gresham’s Mayor Shane Bemis got so fed up, he assigned the city’s police officers to patrol trains within city limits. TriMet created a new East Precinct a short time later, assigning 14 TriMet police officers to the stations between Gateway and Cleveland Station.
Since then, TriMet has created a new Green Line, connecting Gateway to Clackamas Town Center to the south. It opened in September 2009.
Baseball bat assault
But even before the Green Line’s first trains headed south, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office expressed concern that the MAX line would bring more crime to the area. After all, reported crimes throughout Gresham nearly doubled within three years of the original light rail line opening in 1986.
When an off-duty sheriff’s deputy was attacked on the new Green Line in 2010, the sheriff’s office saw the incident as part of a disturbing crime surge centered on Clackamas Town Center.
In 2007, a teen armed with a baseball bat nearly beat to death an elderly Sandy man at a Gresham MAX station.
It's worth noting that, although voters approved construction of the Blue line to Gresham, once they saw what they got, they voted down proposals for a west-bound line and a northbound line. Metro, Tri-Met, and other agencies found ways to build them anyway.
Since that time, citizens have been systematically denied the right to vote on spending billions of tax dollars on light rail expansion in the Portland metropolitan area. The green line, where the latest attack occurred, was not subject to voter approval. The Portland-Milwaukie line, now under construction, was never subject to voter approval (although the Clackistani Rebellion forces may well change that). In fact, Clackamas county commissioners voted 3-1 specifically to deny voter approval of their decision to commit $25 million in county taxpayer funds to build the PMLR line.
That's a decision they likely regret today.
"Rakeshia and Markishia" - gotta watch those Swedes. They really get outta control sometimes.
This (among the other incidents mentioned) will certainly lead to much-increased ridership.
Posted by: ZZMike | January 15, 2012 at 05:29 PM
Tri-Met is really safe! How many times do their PR folks have to tell you?
Posted by: Max | January 16, 2012 at 12:38 AM