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Anti-War Protests Marred by Police Violence

When a war rages overseas, it is common for police to step up their tactics back home. Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles Police just days after the end of the "Gulf War" in 1991. Here in Portland, the police reacted with mixed responses to anti-war demonstrations beginning before the first major assault on Iraq on March 19.

At a march on February 15 (which did not have a permit), police attacked a line of protestors who were blocking traffic in front of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA) downtown.

Rather than attempting to extricate the demonstrators one at a time, police stepped up with pepper spray and pushed people out of the street.


The city claims they spent $1 million in overtime policing the protests, but no reporters pointed out that the cops' 12-hour shifts were due to the "Orange Terror Alert," not the demonstrations.


One month later, a "splinter march" headed up the Morrison Bridge after walking past a massive 30,000+ person peace rally in Waterfront Park. The police headed off this group, knocking one man down with a vehicle and spraying others with pepper spray.

On March 20, the night after the U.S. began its attack on Iraq, police clashed with demonstrators a number of times. Some reports showed a few demonstrators throwing objects at police and damaging property, but compared to the size of the original crowd (over 7000 people) these were isolated incidents. The media also noted that some demonstrators blocked traffic, but such actions were non-violent. Although some business representatives and people in the community criticized the police for being too relaxed on this evening, there were also numerous complaints of misconduct. The final showdown occurred with a group of nearly 100 protestors at a sit-in near the Burnside Bridge where police removed people from the crowd with little violence and no chemical weapons. Individuals who chose to leave voluntarily were generally allowed to go until one transgendered woman was taken into custody. Her story is posted on indymedia ([noted 2022, link no longer active] www.portland.indymedia.org). She describes harassment and humiliation at the hands of the police in front of numerous witnesses, in apparent violation of Portland's non-discrimination laws which protect transgendered individuals. Her accusations include police making demeaning comments and touching her crotch area.


Referencing still from Portland indymedia included in the print version:

The young woman cowering between a traffic sign and a newspaper box was hit repeatedly with pepper spray by Officer Hanousek and Officer Mark Kruger (#28044) in actions caught by independent videographers (she also appears on p.1 holding the sign in the lower front of the Portland Tribune photo).


The following day, after pressure from the Portland Business Alliance (a downtown business consortium) to squelch demonstrations, the Police Bureau came out ready to fight. Although the weekly Portland Peaceful Response Coalition march was unharmed, riot police lined up in front of numerous buildings, including the PCPA. After that event, a small group attempted to march in the streets and were immediately met with police pepper spray and arrests.

Over the next week, police began throwing people to the ground merely for stepping off the sidewalk. (Nordstrom's shoppers were, of course, spared.) A Unitarian minister was arrested for "interfering with a police officer" when he refused to identify himself. The same man had, one day earlier, been pushed back by an officer's baton while he was wearing his ministerial robe.

Many people who might not formerly have known about such police conduct may have been shocked by such activity directed at people expressing their political views. People will need to speak out as local and national legislation moves forward to suppress dissent.

On April 17, National Lawyers Guild attorney Alan Graf filed suit about the recent actions- including an attack on a KATU (Channel 2) engineer- in addition to his ongoing lawsuit regarding the August 22, 2002 anti-George Bush protest (see PPR #28).


The March 28 Portland Tribune showed a picture of double-fisted Officer Joseph Hanousek (#10230) using 2 canisters of pepper spray against unarmed activists.


For lawsuit info or if you have evidence of misconduct at a rally, call [503-452-2375-- old number].

The Police Accountability Campaign (www.police accountabilitycampaign.org) has also been collecting information on incidents at the demonstrations including verbal abuse, use of pepper spray, property confiscation and excessive force. To get a "Protestors' Police Conduct Documentation Form" contact PAC at [503-287-2255-- 2022 note: PAC no longer active].

In other news, Detective Peter Simpson, editor of the Portland Police Association newsletter the Rap Sheet, has now been transferred to the Tactical Operations Division, meaning he is likely involved in planning of responses to peace demonstrations. This is worrisome as his attitude toward those who were hit with rubber pellet projectiles and chemical agents was reflected in the February issue: "Being pepper sprayed, shot with less lethal munitions or arrested is simply the cost of doing business and they should go quietly into that good night."

  People's Police Report

May, 2003
Also in PPR #29

Police Review Board Challenges System
Anti-War Protests Marred by Police Violence
Legislative Bills Include Crime of Terrorism
Only One Portland Police Shooting Since Dec.
"Do the Right Thing" Awards 2003
Chief Learns Lessons at Home and Abroad
"War on Terror" & Police Spying in Portland
Updates PPR 29
  • Off-Duty Beating Whistleblower Punished
  • Altered Records in Officer Domestic Dispute Case
  • PPB Expands Arsenal of Tasers
Quick Flashes PPR 29
  • New PPB/Federal Task Force Lacks Oversight
  • Copwatch News from the Southwest
  • Rose City Copwatch Formed
  • Sheriff Uses Fear to Get More Funds
  • Moose Can't Write Sniper Book
  • Rights to Legal Counsel Prior to a Breath Test
  • Cedar Mill Man Hit with Beanbags and Tasers
Rapping Back #29
 

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.


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