| PART FIVE OF 11th SEPTEMBER 2000 UPDATE
...This isn’t the easiest of listening (you want easy listening-you catch up on your Archie Shepp) but what ‘Dicknail’ does have is angst. So much angst, in fact, that I doubt these babes even realise they’re playing rock music half the time, it simply seems to be the medium through which they can best express their pain. Like, some people go slash their arms every week with scissors, some people go around pouring petrol over destitute bums and some people play music. Hole play music, music as exhilarating as anything I’ve heard. Which is all anyone can ask for from rock music anymore. Expression. (Everett True reviewing Hole’s new single for Melody Maker’s May 4th 1991 edition. He voted it single of the week.) Then in Sept 1991, Hole’s ‘Pretty On The Inside’ was released. That’s the one that David Fricke (of Rolling Stone) said roared with paralytic anger, whereas ‘Live Through This’ was like being stuck in tortured limbo. For all the hoo-ha about it, Hole’s ‘Pretty On The Inside’ sold only sixty thousand copies worldwide (most of those in England), and everyone, including Courtney herself, admitted that the band’s bucks ridden signing to Geffen Records, artistically merited though it may well be, is based in the record biz’s eyes largely on the fact that she’s married to Kurt Cobain...(‘On The Road To Nirvana’ by Gina Arnold p 292). Courtney Love changed direction musically as soon as she and Kurt got together. In November 1991 there was the appearance of ‘Violet’ which was reported as “a new number” in Melody Maker’s November 30th 1991 edition. That same month she also recorded ‘Violet’, ‘Drown Soda’ and ‘Doll Parts’ for John Peel of BBC Radio. HOLE: Live Through This. City Slang. We may as well get this bit over with. It sounds like Nirvana. Even if Courtney had never met Kurt (a thought which must occasionally appeal to them almost as much as it appeals to some of us), I’d have to think about that. It does. And it’s great..... (Review for ‘Live Through This’ in Melody Maker’s April 9th 1994 edition). In November 1991 she told Melody Maker: “I’m getting more into songwriting as a craft, so maybe our next album will be more like a tribute to the Beach Boys. We are still evolving and there’s a pop consciousness out there that I really don’t know anything about. I think we can learn that craft and add to it what we have...” (March 14th 1992 edition of Melody Maker). This article was reporting on the departure of Jill Emery from the band and attributed this to musical differences, Emery being reported as joining an LA death metal band in preference. So at least Emery was true to herself, as opposed to getting involved with a musician, almost immediately getting pregnant and immediately changing musical styles to eventually produce a record very similar to the work of the guy she hooked up with, re: ‘Live Through This’ and Courtney Love. Who, four years later had to get Billy Corgan to help her transform what were originally the lyrics: “Like a reptile, I am under your skin, don’t mess with it, I will always win. Like a snake, I am under your skin, don’t mess with it, baby, I will always win”. Which were originally inspired from the play Hamlet, and were a boast about killing Kurt, as sung at Reading in August 1995 into ‘Dying’ and contributing towards no less than four other songs on that record, re: Billy Corgan. Courtney Love watered down ‘Sugar Coma’ to become ‘Boys On The Radio’ for ‘Celebrity Skin’. But at least the record was appreciated by Steve Sutherland, Caitlin Moran and Everett True, even though John Peel thought it was “rubbish” when he mentioned it on the coverage of The Glastonbury Festival June 1999. He did add that he had liked her earlier records and: “I like her as a human being, oddly enough”. Hole are in the studio recording material for a new single due out in June. Most likely contenders at this point are ‘Beautiful Friend’, which was written last October and is the first new recorded Hole material to reflect the poppy direction Courtney Love has said she wants the band to move in. The other song is ‘Doll Parts’ which the band originally recorded for a John Peel session. They also opened their Camden Underworld show with it last November. The new version is an acoustic recording...(Melody Maker’s April 25 1992 edition.) The bootleg video of Hole at the ULU London, December 12th 1991, included some lyrics which later became ‘Beautiful Son’ so I think between the above report and winter 1992 (when ‘Beautiful Son’ was recorded), ‘Beautiful Friend’ became ‘Beautiful Son’. Here are a few interesting articles: Wanted: More complaints about the police They’re a measure of public trust, says expert on criminal justice By Kimberly A.C. Wilson PI Reporter The position won’t be filled until early next year, but advocates for police accountability already know what they want to see when a new civilian director takes over internal investigations for the Seattle Police Department. More complaints. Some experts on police oversight regard citizen complaints as a barometer of a healthy, responsive internal affairs unit. The volume of complaints is a measure of public trust, said Sam Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Low numbers can signal a squeaky clean force, but it’s also an indicator of community frustration. Fewer people bother to file complaints when there are barriers to reporting rogue behaviour, said Walker, who is writing a book about cities that have civilians auditing police departments. “Closed and unresponsive departments have low numbers of complaints”, he said. In its 1998 annual report, the Seattle Police Department claimed a 62 percent drop in the overall volume of complaints for police misconduct, including unnecessary use of force - from 634 in 1994 to 238 complaints last year. Looking to accentuate the positives in the wake of allegations about a homicide detective stealing money from a crime scene, police Chief Norm Stamper and Mayor Paul Schell pointed to the declining complaints as a measure of greater accountability and trust. ...On October 1 1996, an elderly man was fatally shot by police during a standoff at his South Seattle apartment. While investigating the shooting, now-retired homicide Detective Sonny “Earl” Davis Jr. allegedly stole more than $10,000 he found stashed in a sewing machine. After his partner talked, Davis returned $10,000 of the money the following morning, prosecutors say. To officers reluctant to see a civilian take control of internal affairs, the theft illustrates how a good Police Department deterred a cop from crime. But to King County prosecutors whose first case against Davis ended in a hung jury on a theft charge last month, there’s a broader problem. A supervisor helped to conceal the crime and despite the partners protestations, Davis was never disciplined. Davis will be retried for the theft next spring. (Seattle Post Intelligencer Saturday November 20, 1999). I sent the bulk of my work to Stamper on September 29th 1999. He never replied. Maybe it got lost in the post. Police offer clues to year’s low homicide rate By Paul Shukovsky PI Reporter There’s a murder mystery in Seattle: There haven’t been many to solve. So far this year, 12 people have died at the hands of another person, an astonishingly low number of homicides. Last year at this time, 27 people had been killed, and that number was considered low. Veteran homicide Det. Sgt. Don Cameron has a few theories as to what’s going on. “Maybe it’s the phases of the moon” he said with a laugh. Cameron’s colleagues on the fifth floor of the Public Safety Building downtown also have lots of speculation. One possibility Cameron said: The Seattle Police Department’s gang has done a good job of putting people behind bars... (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Thursday July 4, 1996). Or maybe the murder rate dropped because Det. Sgt Donald Cameron advises suspects to “get rid of” evidence because “it will never do you any good”, which is what Courtney Love told Grant Det. Sgt Cameron advised her to do with the Rome note. So...She burned it! (Grant website). Cameron has never commented on this. How can it be, that Cameron advised Courtney Love to get rid of a note because he thought it would do her no good? The very fact that he thought it was detrimental to her should have indicated to him that there was something wrong. This was a note written in Rome, where Kurt suffered a near fatal overdose. This was a note which Kurt himself said was NOT a suicide note. As such, it probably contained solid evidence that Kurt was leaving Courtney Love. And Det. Sgt Cameron advised Courtney to “get rid of it”. So...she burned it. Also, don’t forget the above statement by Officer Levandowski, who went to Kurt Cobain’s property, 171 Lake washington Blvd, after the Rome incident and who reported that Kurt had told him there was stress in his and Courtney’s relationship, (see part 2 of this update for a scan of this police report). Also that when Courtney called the police on March 18th 1994, when the police arrived, Kurt told them he was NOT suicidal but that he was trying to keep away from Courtney Love. Integrity of evidence key to police investigations By Mike Barber and Vanessa Ho PI Reporters The investigation into whether two Seattle police detectives mishandled $10,000 at a 1996 Crime scene is warranted because even a hint of impropriety strikes at the integrity of the criminal justice system, law enforcement experts said yesterday. King County prosecutors familiar with the internal police probe won’t discuss the case, but other prosecutors and lawyers agreed to talk about it in general terms. Any mishandling of evidence “attacks the credibility of the entire justice system” said Pierce County Prosecutor John Ladenburg. “It all comes down to what the law refers to as the ‘chain of custody’(of evidence) rules,” Ladenburg said. “The state has the burden of proving the chain of custody- who held evidence, when they held it, for how long? to preserve the integrity of a case. Seattle police are stunned and reeling this week after Don Cameron, a highly regarded 38-year veteran homicide sergeant, and Earl M. “Sonny” Davis, a 30 year veteran scheduled to retire today, were relieved from duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation. According to sources, the allegations surrounding the Seattle probe are that Davis found $10,000 while helping search the home of Bodegard Mitchell, an 84 year old South Seattle man shot and killed Sept 30, 1996, by police after wounding an electrician and a police officer. Sources said the allegations are that Davis offered half the money to his partner who refused and informed Cameron. Cameron, the allegations suggest, made Davis return the money within a day, but failed to report the matter. The money was never used as evidence in a coroner’s inquest into Mitchell’s death, which found that police were justified in the shooting. The money was later returned to Mitchell’s family. Davis has called the allegations “ludicrous” Cameron has denied the allegations through his lawyer, Anne Bremner. From his vantage point, Seattle criminal defense lawyer John Henry Brown said “the crime scene has to be sacrosanct. Everyone has to be able to assume the police are honest”. At crime scenes, police and prosecutors must handle evidence in a way that makes sure it is safeguarded. What is useful becomes part of a case. What is not, including cash and valuables, must be returned to its rightful owner or to family members: Officers must document each piece and record every movement from the crime scene to lab storage to court. Often a single piece of evidence will generate a mountain of paperwork along its journey. Police use even stricter policies in handling items such as cash, drugs or guns. When drugs and guns are destroyed, for example, two officers from different departments are often present. If a gun is found at the scene of someone’s death, don’t check it for prints for at least one month. That’s what the SPD did in Kurt’s case, they didn’t check it for prints for a whole month. And, when Grant voiced his suspicions about Kurt’s death, the SPD went right ahead and: 1 Gave the Rome note back to Courtney Love telling her to get rid of it, because it wasn’t going to do her any good. 2 Completely ignored the fact that Kurt’s credit card had been used, after he was dead. 3 Completely overlooked the fact that Kurt had told a police officer on March 18th 1994 that he WASN’T suicidal. 4 Ignored the fact that all of the people who knew Kurt didn’t believe he was suicidal. 5 There are so many things, we all know what an incompetent job they made of it. ....The allegations concerning Davis and Cameron evolved two weeks ago from a casual conversation between Steiger and Barbera Fleming, a deputy prosecutor he was working with on a murder case. Fleming is new to the prosecution’s Most Dangerous Offenders Program, which responds with detectives to homicide scenes. She reported the information to her superiors, who contacted the Seattle police. Sources say Steiger told colleagues that he considered the conversation private and never intended it to result in a formal investigation. But such allegations should alarm Flemming because they go to the heart of the trust she must have in the cops who make the cases she prosecutes, observers say. They point to the OJ. Simpson murder trial, where sloppy evidence handling by police, especially of bloody items, played a key role in casting doubt on the integrity of investigators. ....Meanwhile, as the investigation continues, even Browne found it hard to believe Cameron was under investigation. “In my 20 years of experience dealing with Don Cameron, I have nothing but respect for him. I think he’s an honest person”, Brown said. (Seattle Post Intelligencer March 26 1999). Stamper: WTO riots didn't force decision By J. Martin McOmber and Jack Broom Seattle Times reporters. Norm Stamper made the decision to announce he was stepping down as Seattle’s police chief last Tuesday evening at the end of one of the most trying days in his 34- year career. Nearly four months earlier, when the World Trade organization still held the promise of presenting Seattle’s best face to the world, Stamper said he had settled on retiring in January. But he had kept it to himself. But by Tuesday night after police and protestors had battled on the streets for hours amid tear gas and rain of rubber bullets, he knew he had to tell Mayor Paul Schell he was leaving. Stamper waited until Saturday before relaying his intention to Schell through one of the mayor’s top aides. The two met face to face the next day at the mayor’s condominium, and Schell talked him into staying on the job through March. Stamper appeared almost relieved this morning as he sipped a nonfat Latte in a cafe near his home and talked about his decision to retire after nearly six years in charge of Seattle’s 1,800 member force. (Seattle Times, December 12th 1999). Stamper resigned, having never made any attempt to defend his Police Department’s reputation against Grant’s claims of a shoddy homicide investigation. Mixed Reaction among police officers By Tracy Johnson and Jack Hopkins PI Reporters As word of Norm Stamper’s resignation spread through the Seattle Police Department, officers took the news with mixed sentiment. On the streets and inside the department’s precincts, some couldn’t repress all-out glee. Others were disappointed to learn that their chief of nearly six years was on his way out. Many simply shrugged with indifference. And some wondered if Stamper had resigned to shoulder criticism aimed at Mayor Paul Schell, even though the chief denied his decision was politically motivated. “I can’t say I’m surprised by it considering what has happened”, said Alex Jenkins, an officer for nine years. “This last week was sad. To have to lose your chief, your leader, by resignation is sad. But he did what he thought was best, and I support his decision”. West Precinct patrolman Chris Young said he was glad to see Stamper take responsibility for the embarrassment police suffered at the hands of World Trade Organization protesters. “Somebody had to”, Young said. Long before dawn yesterday, one officer picked up a copy of the newspaper and jubilantly phoned his precinct to share what he called “the good news”. He flagged down his colleagues in a passing patrol car and passed the front page through the passenger window. For a moment they huddled in silence, then a loud whoop ripped the night air. East Precinct Capt. Toni Malliet said “There’s a lot of scepticism about motivations behind the resignation and the timing of it. For it to come so soon after WTO came as a surprise to me”. The department has been plagued recently with what Malliet called “serious issues”, including a veteran detective’s theft trial and criticism of internal investigation... (Seattle Post Intelligencer, December 8 1999). Back to In Defence Main |