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Police Accountability vs. Police Violence On March 19th, in an ironic convergence of events, a hearing was taking place at City Hall regarding the consultant's report on the "Independent" Police Review Division (see article in this issue) while just up the street PPB officers were interacting with a group of young people participating in an anti-war demonstration. This group had marched to the Wells Fargo Center in order to expose the bank as a war profiteer. A large number of bike cops were arrayed in a line on 5th Avenue opposite the demonstrators. A police loudspeaker proclaimed that the demonstrators needed to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk. One officer picked up his bike and jammed it into a young man. As the police began pushing demonstrators out of the street and onto the sidewalk, people were massed together with no place to go. At that time, at least one officer chose to start pepper spraying the crowd. At least four or five young men suffered the result of the pepper spray and, while there were several medics attempting to assist, pain had clearly been inflicted upon the eyes and faces of those sprayed. A man videotaping the incident was also hit in the face by the spray which was flying about. The officer who was pepper spraying the crowd had a blank where his name should have been displayed on his outermost garment (directive 312.50) and, when asked his name, he refused to answer. Assistant City Attorney Dave Woboril was standing on the sidewalk and, according to the March 20 Oregonian, "provided on-the-ground advice to police commanders." One can only wonder what that advice was in that the pepper spraying was not necessary and occurred when the police had people massed up to the extent they could not move. This is particularly disturbing in light of a new crowd control directive that was issued that day, restricting broad use of pepper spray to situations where a crowd is about to break through police lines. A few minutes later, four officers from the riot squad (Rapid Response Team) were on a corner a block away "gearing up." One complained that "There used to be 11 of us and now there are only 4." A citizen witness pointed out to them that they were the ones with the weapons, and during a brief discussion about what their fellow officers had just done to the group of young protestors, one of them stated that he had children of his own. He did not respond to the question as to whether or not he would like to have had them sprayed in the face and eyes with pepper spray.
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May, 2008
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#44 Table of Contents
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