[Seattle-editorial] Brame Feature - Ready for a Vote?

[Brandon Faloona]

I've added a few links and info about Saturday's event to the bottom of
the proposed Brame feature, and Jeremy has been editing it as well.

I have pasted the current version below. You can edit and preview at:
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/SeaEdBrandfCurrent

Today and Saturday are the days of rememberance, so a quick vote on this
feature might be good. Any ideas for a photo or graphic?

brandon

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title: TACOMA REMEMBERS CRYSTAL BRAME; MEDIA SCRATCHES THE SURFACE<br>
subtitle: David Brame: Police Chief, Domestic Terrorist, and "a great
guy"<br>

<p>Tacoma will <a
href="http://www.tribnet.com/news/story/3077599p-3101077c.html">remember
and honor Crystal Brame</a> on Friday and Saturday, but America will
likely forget the 10, 20 or perhaps 40 other victims of lethal domestic
violence <a
href="http://www.now.org/issues/violence/050203timeline.html">that
occurred the same week</a>. The high profile of Crystal Brame's
killer/husband, the Tacoma Chief of Police, and the scrambling denials of
Tacoma's political elites has grabbed the attention of the local press.
Meanwhile, the big story of government and media's systemic complicity in
male violence goes to the back page.

<p>From a "police family", Brame rose quickly through the ranks, despite a
warning from a police psychologist and allegations of rape. Unfortunately,
Brame is not a fluke: <a
href="http://inlet.org/clippings03/cops_batterers.htm">police officers are
more likely to be batterers than the general population</a>. Protected by
a police code of silence, the blind eye of his superiors and his <a
href="http://www.tribnet.com/news/story/3061905p-3085382c.html">"sensitive
guy"</a> demeanor, Brame apparently controlled and battered his wife for
years. Brame even admitted to raping a co-worker, all without losing his
high standing in the community.

<p>Systemic complicity in the death of Crystal Brame includes:

   <ul><li>Ex-police chief Ray Fjetland determined that the rape victim’s
complaint against Brame was “not sustained”, even though he had
received a sworn statement from Officer Reggie Roberts that Brame had
admitted to raping her.

   <li>Ray Corpuz, Tacoma’s City Manager who promoted David Brame to
police chief (and has put himself on paid administrative leave),
proclaimed ignorance when pressed for exactly what he knew. "The word
'rape' was never used," Corpuz said, as he defended ignoring Brame's <a
href="http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=pramila08&date=20000508">"personal
matter"</a> regarding an "an incident with a woman".
</ul>

<p>Even though Crystal Brame's murder raised the profile of domestic
violence, coverage often ignores the systemic nature of this problem. The
day Crystal Brame died, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an opinion
piece titled <a
href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/119746_dviolenceop.html">"Brame
case offers lessons for helping battered women"</a>.  The article strips
domestic violence of its deeply gendered nature: it presents domestic
violence "abusers" as gender-neutral, failing to mention, for example,
that 90% of abusers are male.

<p>
<b>Saturday May 10: Vigil and Rememberance</b>. Speakers and Entertainment
at Wright Park in Tacoma from 1 to 4 pm

<p>
Statewide Domestic Violence Hot Line: 1-800-562-6025 | <a
href="http://www.wscadv.org/help/">Programs in WA State</a><br>
<a href="http://www.womenandpolicing.org/">National Center for Women &amp;
Policing</a> (<a
href="http://www.womenandpolicing.org/violenceFS.asp">Police Family
Violence Fact Sheet</a>)<br>
<a href="http://www.dawnonline.org/">Domestic Abuse Womens Network</a>
24hr crisis line 425-656-7867<br>
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/newtakhoman/">The New Takhoman</a>

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