Kayse Jama of Portland is a Somali immigrant and African community leader in Portland, who claims he has been stopped by police four times in the last 18 months. So, he says, they are racist. This occured at a City Council hearing Tuesday. Portland Mayor Tom Potter, who knows Jama from the 2004 campaign, expressed sympathy then, and the next day said the stops, "smacked of racism." But as you read the article you will see: a) Jama's claim of four stops in 18 months cannot be verified; and b) his past record suggests good reason why he has been stopped by Portland Police while driving, in the past. Here's The Oregonian's story.

Detective Paul Dolbey, a Portland police spokesman, said officers had two contacts with Jama since 2002. And court records show Jama has been cited for four minor traffic violations in six years. He was cited in February 2000 for operating an unregistered vehicle and later convicted.

He was cited for driving without insurance in June 2002 and convicted. The case stemmed from an accident at Northeast Halsey Street and 104th Avenue, according to Dolbey and court records. In April 2005, he was cited for driving without insurance and operating without a required light. The case was dismissed. And in January, he was cited for failure to use lights and carry proof of insurance. A trial is scheduled for May. At the January stop, Jama said the officer kept him and his wife in their car for 45 minutes. "I'm a decent citizen," said Jama, who lives in an apartment on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. "What I experienced and see is racial profiling."

Funny thing. What I see is a bit of a nincompoop, who uses the "racial profiling" canard to make excuses for his inattention to basic vehicular citizenship. The law requires vehicle registration, proof of insurance, having your lights in working order, and using them after dark. It is called the rule of law. It is not racism.

Memo to Portland Mayor Tom Potter. You sir, are a nincompoop, as well. What "smacks of racism" is your unwillingness to hold Jama to the same standards as anyone else. Review the facts of Jama's negligent record. Don't play to the immigrant voting block and the PC peanut gallery at the expense of your professional integrity, and that of your city's police force. If you want to help Kayse Jama, encourage him to attend an educational class on the legal and operational requirements of motor vehicle operation in Oregon.

TECHNORATI TAGS: PORTLAND, OREGON, RACIAL PROFILING, RACISM, DEMAGOGUERY, MAYOR TOM POTTER, KAYSE JAMA