THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.101.NO.136
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
MONDAY, APRIL 20.1992
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AND THE MUSIC PLAYS ON
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One year later: Family of slain American Indian still searches for answers
Orene and Willie Sevier listen to the jury's decision in a coroner's inquiry that the killing of their son, Gregg Sevier, was justifiable.
By Andy Taylor
Kansan staff writer
Gregg Sevier's bedroom looks the same as it did one year ago.
A couple of cowboy hats rest on pegs above a mirror.
His cassette tapes of heavy-metal rock groups and Hank Williams Jr. sleep in their plastic tape cases.
The bed is neatly made, and the furniture remains clean and dust free
But painful reminders in the Sevier house won't let the American-Indian family forget April 21, 1991.
Every day, Willie Sevier sees the red stain on his mattress, a splotch of his son's blood
Judy Hoffman, Gregg Sevier's sister, goes to bed at night seeing a stream of light trickle through a small bullet hole in her bedroom door — a bullet that came within several inches of hitting her forehead.
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the death of Gregg Sevier, who was shot and killed by two Lawrence police officers responding to a domestic-disturbance call at the Seviers' east Lawrence home.
Members of the American-Indian community are angry. They question the handling of the case — from the officers' decision to open fire on Sewier to the coroner's sinquest that found the officers' actions were justified
They remember the unsolved deaths of three other Lawrence American-Indian men in the past three years and think that racism was a factor in Sevier's death as well as in the others.
Lawrence police deny allegations of racism in the shooting, followed proper procedures in the Seyer shoot.
In response to the incident, a panel of police and law professionals was formed and in January recommended that Lawrence police refine its policy regarding use of deadly force.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the Seviers' civil rights were violated.
Gregg Sevier
And the members of the Sevier family, unable to remove that dark morning from their memory, are contemplating filing a lawsuit against the city. They say they want justice served
★★★
Willie Sevier and his wife, Orene
Sevier, wanted to have someone to "talk their son down."
Gregg Sevier, a 22-year-old American Indian, was sitting in his bedroom while his stereo thundered and screeched into the night. He had a large kitchen knife in his hand and a few beers in his system. Although his parents cannot say exactly why he had a knife, they think he was having problems with his girlfriend.
"He was frustrated." his mother said.
Concerned about their son's behavior, the Seviers called Lawrence police.
A transcript of a scratchy audio tape of a 911 call in the early morning hours of April 21 shows Orene Sevier's concern for her son.
"My son is in his bedroom, and he's having a real problem," she said to the police dispatcher. "My husband saw him with a butcher knife in there, and I just want someone to go in and him out. I don't want to alarm him or anything else. I just want someone to come out here."
The Sewers waited for the police on the front porch of their home while the music pounded through.
But they said that when Officer Ted Bordman, the first officer to respond to the call, bypassed the couple on their front porch and walked into the house without uttering a single word, they sensed something awry.
Her husband said, "I tried to talk to them, but they just walked right into the house."
"I had complete confidence in the police," Orene Sevier said. "When they didn't stop and talk to me, I knew something was wrong."
The Seviers said they thought that Bordman became alarmed when he unlocked the bedroom door with a plastic toothpick and saw their son holding the knife.
Officer James Phillips, who arrived a few minutes after Bordman, also walked into the house and yelled at Gregg Sevier to show him the knife.
"But they forgot about Gregg immediately," his mother recalls. "Their focus was on the knife, not Gregg."
"If these are people with professional training to handle different situations, they should have been in control when it got here. But it was not." The teacher said of state were they in? This is my question.
Gregg Sevier came out of the bedroom and stood in the hallway with the officers, who had pulled their 9mm semi-autoautomatic pistols from their holsters. While the blaring music continuated, he turned to put the knife down. Gregg Sevier stared through them and told his mother that he loved her.
"When Gregg said that, I looked around to see where Orene was," Willie Sevier said. "That's when they fired."
Hoffman was in bed, and she remembers the sounds of the gun blasts.
"I could see the flashes of light from underneath the door," she said.
Two bullets rammed into Gregg Sevier's heart.
Four more entered his chest, right arm,
waist and groin
Hedied instantly. The music played on.
Ron Olin, Lawrence chief of police, speaks in a mild, quiet manner. Wearing a gray suit and glasses, he looks more like a corporate executive than a cop.
He defends the officers' actions and the department's credibility.
"There is no question that officers Bordman and Phillips followed proper procedures," he said, referring to the use of force. "Of all the controversies with this case, the facts are not disputed. It is not disputed by anyone that Gregg Sevier came out of his room with a knife in his hand, said I love you, Mom, and with a raised arm attacked the officers."
Willie Sevier said he did not see his son lunge toward the officers. The officers said at the coroner's inquest that Gregg Sevier ran toward them with a knife.
Olin said Kansas law authorized the use of justifiable force when the suspect was likely to commit a violent act.
He also said the use of force by any police offi.
cer was not intended to cause death to the suspect.
"One does not shoot to wound or kill." Olin said. "One shoots to stop the aggressive snake."
He said it did not matter how many shots it took to stop the aggression.
Olin said the department followed procedures and placed the two officers on paid administrative leave immediately after the coroner's report were reinstated after the coroner's insult.
He said all internal investigations within the Lawrence Police Department were confident.
As a result of the shooting, the inquest and the
Continued on Page 8.
Downpour
Julie DeneshaiKANSAN
Rain poured on the men's two-mile relay Saturday at the Kansas Relays, drenching the runners. After the event was finished, other events were postponed for about 40 minutes and the finals of the men's
triple jump were canceled. Kansas finished seventh in the men's two-mile relay with a time of 7:59.06. For more Kansas Relays coverage, see Page 12.
Cultures merge at diversity festival
By Katherine Manweiler
Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
The aroma of exotic foods and the sounds of ethnic music filled the air Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds as more than 5,000 people gathered to celebrate the diversity of cultures in Lawrence.
Several KU student organizations participated in the fourth annual Festival of the Celebration of Cultures, which included food, exhibits and performances representing more than 25 cultures.
Gina Ross of Lawrence helped organize the festival. She said everyone needed to have more knowledge of different cultures.
"Because of the University, we get a lot of diversity in cultural life," she said. "Once we're all here, I think it's best to learn about each other. The University is the key thing that has improved the cultural living here in Lawrence."
"The big barrier we have is ignorance," she said. "By getting together and getting to know other cultures, it brings people together."
Ross said the University played an important role in providing a multicultural atmosphere for Lawrence
Ross said that although she saw progress in people's awareness of different cultures, she thought there was a way to go toward acceptance of them.
"There are a lot of people who discriminate against people just because they have different ideas," she said. "It makes me very sad to see that happen. Hopefully, through events like this, ignorance can be lessened."
University Scholarship Hall for Ec
Reality sponsored a table at the festi
fest promoting Peoplesest 92, a cie
ment of cultural unity at KU on April
25.
Tamara Plush, Dodge City senior and co-chair for USHER, said she thought there was a lot of discrimination against diverse cultures at KU.
"We believe the only way to get rid of the stereotypes which can lead to racism is to get to know each other," she said.
Plush said the festival was valuable
in educating people about other cultures.
"It surprises me sometimes how diverse this country is, and something like this really shows you differences in what people think is wonderful and exciting," she said.
Erik Lindsley, Kansas City, Kan., junior, worked at a table sponsored by Anime, a KU group that focuses on Japanese animation.
He said the international atmosphere at KU allowed people to learn about cultural diversity.
"I think that at KU, there is a wide opportunity to learn about other cultures, and many people don't take advantage of it," Lindsley said. "I think they should."
Restrictive Pennsylvania abortion law to undergo scrutiny by Supreme Court
Activists step up protesting efforts
By Greg Farmer
Kansan staff writer
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to begin hearings Wednesday on a Pennsylvania law that restricts abortion, activists on both sides protested to make their opinions clear.
In Topeka, police arrested 57 adult and juvenile anti-abortion activists Saturday at a women's clinic. Police had to remove 21 of the protesters from inside the clinic.
In Wichita, about 450 anti-abortion activists were met by about 100 prochoice supporters Saturday outside the clinic of George Tiller, the Wichita abortion-performing physician whose clinic became the headquarters of protests last summer. No arrests were made.
And, in Buffalo, N.Y., pro-choice supporters pushed an anti-abortion minister away from a clinic where protesters from both sides had begun to gather Saturday. No arrests were made, but large-scale protests are scheduled to begin today and run through the week.
The Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday that challenges the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law that severely restricts abortion. The law prohibits a 24-hour waiting period, parental consent and notification of the husband.
The court will hear one-hour arguments from each side, and justices will ask questions. The court is expected to rule on the case by July.
Robert Destro, a Catholic University professor affiliated with Americans United for Life, said, "The prospects for a victory are good."
Activists on both sides think the Supreme Court will decide the law is constitutional, thus overturning its 1973 ruling. A federal court legalized abortion without restriction.
Jenifer Dodd, president of Kansas Young Democrats, is a pro-choice supporter. She said she thought the Roe decision would be overturned.
"I certainly don't want to that happen," she said. "But when you look at the court on the court and the law they are reviewing, you have to see that the Roe decision is in severe jeopardy."
"...you have to see that the Roe decision is in severe jeopardy."
Jenifer Dodd Kansas Young Democrats
Dodd said the battle would move from the courts to the state legislatures if the Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional.
"Each state will have to decide whether it wants to restrict abortion," she said.
Kansas lawmakers already have taken steps toward forming a new abortion law.
The bill would continue to guarantee a woman's right to have an abortion until the fetus can survive outside the womb, but it would restrict late-term abortions and require doctors to notify a parent when girls younger than 18 seek an abortion.
Attorney General Bob Stephan issued an opinion Friday that said an abortion bill passed by the state Senate and of Representatives was constitutional.
Gov. Joan Finney had requested the opinion because she questioned the bill's constitutionality based on a technicality.
Finney had said she would sign or to the hill Thursday, which is her last day.
State Sen. Wint Wint Jr., R-Lawrence, said the Legislature would attempt to override if the governor decided to veto the bill.
The Senate originally passed the bill 27-13, and the house passed the bill 71-53. A two-thirds majority of each house, 27 in the Senate and 84 in the House, must vote in favor of the bill to override a veto.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.