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Black Lives Do, Indeed Matter:
The amount of activity that has happened in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by
Minneapolis police could fill up several issues of this newsletter-- even if just focusing on Portland.
A worldwide movement against systemic racism and police brutality sparked by the recording of
Floyd's death has led to increased awareness, amplification of Black voices, and, in some cases,
changes to police funding and policies (see Protest article this issue & Legislature article this issue). At least on a short-term basis, it has
also led to
nominal limits on tear gas use and protections for journalists, legal observers and medics present at
Most of the protests have been led by or at least featured speakers from Portland's relatively small Black community. During one early protest, thousands of people lay down on one of Portland's bridges for 9 minutes to echo how long the Minnesota officers were on Floyd's neck. Defying the odds of either being exposed to COVID-19 or being injured by police violence, the crowds continued to be large until late June. Then, after President Trump and Attorney General Barr sent over 100 federal agents in (calling the mission "Operation Diligent Valor"), the attack on civil rights propelled the crowd number back into the thousands in July. As with Portland Police before them, daily confrontations involved the feds responding with overwhelming force to some bottles being thrown, property damage and small fires. Even though the majority of protestors are not engaged in any criminal activity, the response has been disproportionate and indiscriminate. The chemical agents affect everyone, not just those participating in the protests. They affect houseless people (see Houseless article this issue), neighbors who live near the buildings at the heart of the protest (such as the area around the Portland Police Association headquarters in North Portland), and the inmates at the Justice Center downtown, who are housed on several floors of the PPB's Central Precinct. The police claim that if they did not use tear gas, the "only" other option is to use batons and go hands- on-- which they did start doing after the court's tear gas restrictions. They claim they cannot pick out the few people engaged in criminal behavior because it is too dangerous for the (heavily armed and armored) officers. City Council and the media have echoed the focus on police violence, prompting some backlash from police and their supporters who say the failure to condemn those engaged in property damage is the same as condoning it. This time worn concept of "good protestor/bad protestor" is a classic way to try to divide the movement, which is universally calling for an end to the way the police behave. While some call for reforms and others call to abolish the police, people are united against the institutions which are put in place to enforce state power with violence, which more often than not harm people of color way out of proportion to their presence in society. The most recent stop data from the Bureau once again show roughly 18% of those stopped on foot/bicycles or in cars are African American in a city that is 6% Black. Force data show even higher disparities (see TAC article this issue). Damian Lillard, a basketball legend who plays for the Portland Trailblazers, joined a march in early June, a rare instance of a local celebrity taking a risk and a stand. Mayor Ted Wheeler was hit with tear gas at the fence put up around the federal building in mid-July. While Wheeler complained about the painful experience and later apologized for Portland's use of the chemical, he made no move to fully ban the use of tear gas by Portland Police. This means the existing limitations from the lawsuit and in state law (see Legislature article this issue), which allow use of chemical agents if a riot is declared or if there is a threat of harm, respectively, still govern the PPB. The Bureau's response has been to declare riots almost every day since those restrictions went into effect. In late July, a lawsuit trying to ban tear gas use by the feds was thrown out because the judge said the State was not the right party to file suit. The suit against the City also banned the use of Long Range Acoustic Devices, military grade amplifiers which can emit painful audio, except for making announcements. However, LRADs were reportedly used again for pain compliance over the weekend of July 24. In addition to the general exciting atmosphere of many white people waking up to the problems faced by African Americans on a daily basis, the attacks on journalists also seem to have opened some of the reporters' eyes to the problems accountability activists have been talking about for years. The awareness includes not only the weaponry but the Bureau's lack of clear commands to disperse, coupled with their not actually leaving a route for people to get away. Moreover, rural Oregonians protested in towns including Ontario, Pendleton, Monmouth and Medford (Oregonian, June 6). Dozens of people have been arrested at the protests, many for the dubious charge of interfering with a police officer (PPR #33), with similar charges for those arrested by federal police. It is unclear whether the charges will be pursued. After the May primary, when Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill's preferred successor, former federal prosecutor Ethan Knight, lost roundly to progressive candidate Mike Schmidt, Underhill announced he would resign on August 1. About a week after being sworn in, Schmidt indicated he will only prosecute those who are accused of violent crimes, dismissing minor charges he indicated were targeting First Amendment activity. In addition to bridges, police precincts/offices, and federal buildings, protestors have visited many corners of the city. Organizers included both old and new groups led by African American Portlanders. June events mostly started at the appropriately titled Revolution Hall in SE Portland and headed downtown, to North/Northeast Portland, onto freeways, into Southwest, and elsewhere. Generally decentralized neighborhood gatherings continue on a spontaneous or ongoing basis, including car caravans organized by Donna Hayes, whose grandson Quanice was killed by the PPB in early 2017 (PPR #71). One other aspect of the protest response which has fallen off the news radar: early on, Mayor Wheeler requested Governor Kate Brown activate the National Guard "to protect city facilities." To her credit, Brown recognized having armed Guardspeople on Portland's streets was a bad look in a movement for Black lives. However, probably in part due to threats from the President to send troops to city streets, Brown compromised and let (reportedly) unarmed Guard members do paperwork for the PPB while officers patrolled protests.
Not all Portland cops were out for the full three months. Wheeler allowed people to take time off to grieve George Floyd's death. Intended to comfort Black, Indigenous and People of Color city workers, 249 of 483 employees who took time off were Portland Police (Willamette Week, July 8). At last count, only 33 officers are African American. White allies should comtemplate Floyd's murder, but it feels as if the white cops took advantage of a program designed for people of color. One of the most outrageous developments is that Portland officers have been allowed to wear "internal ID numbers" rather than nametags on their outermost garments (as required by Directive 312.50). The end result is a situation in which you need to know an officer's name to confirm the ID number, making accountability near-impossible. Overall, Portland is facing a number of crises related to the uprisings and the subsequent protests. Some people fear de-funding the police will lead to more crime, though the broad movement's demands specify that money from bloated police budgets be redirected to community needs, including alternate approaches to crime prevention. The arrival and continued presence of the federal police indicates that the country is either on the precipice of, or already soaking in, fascist tendencies (we'd say it's the latter). Politicians are still debating minor tweaks to the system while giving lip service to the transformative moment we find ourselves in. One thing we certainly can say as an organization that has been pushing for police accountability for 28 years: while we've seen waves of activism pushing for change before, we've never seen anything like this. |
September, 2020
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#81 Table of Contents
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the ongoing protests in Portland,
which continued daily for over 80 days starting on May 28. The
protections came from court orders after people were hit with chemical agents and other weaponry.
Both Don't Shoot Portland (via the Oregon Justice Resource Center) and the ACLU filed lawsuits
to restrict both Portland and Federal police. In the weeks since the court orders went into effect,
though, the police have continued to use those tactics. The federal police, who famously began
patrolling Portland's downtown "to protect federal property" in early July, shot a man holding a
boom box in the head with a "less lethal" round, causing brain damage, and broke the hand of a
Navy veteran with a baton while pepper spraying him. These are just some of the most egregious
examples of the police using excessive force against people protesting police use of excessive force.
Brown struck a similar
deal in late July involving Oregon State Police, who were deputized as US
Marshals to guard the federal courthouse. Federal cops have not been seen since the deal was cut,
though Portland Police and state troopers have continued violence at protests.