Portland cops tried unsuccessfully to get people to move from the intersection. Protesters handed out food and clothes to the houseless
Portland cops tried unsuccessfully to get people to move from the intersection. Protesters handed out food and clothes to the houseless Doug Brown

Dozens of Portlanders shut down a block in the Pearl District this afternoon to feed and give clothes to the houseless while protesting the police in the area where James Chasse was brutalized by Portland cops in 2006.

The Black Friday protest—dubbed “Not One Dime” and organized by Don’t Shoot Portland at the NW 13th and Everett intersection—had a block party vibe to it, with music and dancing. It started at 1 p.m. and lasted for four hours. Activists and folks from Sisters of the Road nonprofit cafe brought turkey, bagged sandwhiches and other food to hand out to houseless folks. Clothes available for houseless people were stacked on folding tables in the intersection.

Police were mostly hands-off except for an early confrontation by officers on bicycles, who retreated after a few minutes, and a few times where they announced via loudspeakers a block away that the protest was illegal because of the blocked traffic. Cops blocked traffic on all four sides from the intersection and didn’t arrest anybody. Portland police officers confirmed to me that they were preventing people from bringing in more food or clothes to the event and people said they were threatened with arrest if they tried, which is almost certainly illegal for the police to do.

Here are my pictures and video:

Piles of clothes for houseless people to take
Piles of clothes for houseless people to take Doug Brown

Soon after protesters set up in the intersection, bike cops tried to get people to move.
Soon after protesters set up in the intersection, bike cops tried to get people to move. Doug Brown
Bike cops in front of a table of donated clothes
Bike cops in front of a table of donated clothes Doug Brown
The police then retreated, blocking traffic from a block away
The police then retreated, blocking traffic from a block away Doug Brown
Dont Shoot Portlands Teressa Raiford talking about James Chasse and the Portland Police Bureau
Don’t Shoot Portland’s Teressa Raiford talking about James Chasse and the Portland Police Bureau Doug Brown
Food for the houseless
Food for the houseless Doug Brown
Cops blocking traffic (and preventing people from bringing in more food)
Cops blocking traffic (and preventing people from bringing in more food) Doug Brown
The protest
The protest Doug Brown

Police preventing people from bringing more food in and threatened arrests (but didn’t end up arresting anybody):

Somebody whos not pleased with Portland Mayor Charlie Hales
Somebody who’s not pleased with Portland Mayor Charlie Hales Doug Brown
Sandwiches for the houseless
Sandwiches for the houseless Doug Brown
Food.
Food. Doug Brown
DPB_6378.JPG
Doug Brown
DPB_6381.JPG
Doug Brown

Ibrahim Mubarak, the co-founder of Right 2 Dream Too
Ibrahim Mubarak, the co-founder of Right 2 Dream Too Doug Brown
Looking at the cops
Looking at the cops Doug Brown
Responding to the cops
Responding to the cops Doug Brown
Dont Shoot Portlands Teressa Raiford
Don’t Shoot Portland’s Teressa Raiford Doug Brown

2 replies on “Photos & Video: Protesters Shut Down Pearl District Block and Pass Out Food and Clothes to Houseless”

  2. cops are way past crooked. I attained a copy of the lease agreement with white stagg llc and the city. It showed they’ve been blocking off that sidewalk under the Burnside bridge for 3.5 years when it is not even part of the lease. PBOT does not have a permit for them blocking it off. They took it down in response to me pushing buttons, but I went there and the cops came along and basically threatened me almost before I had a chance to explain that they’ve been aiding someone illegally block a public right of way. They could not tell me any specific law which would grant them the right to arrest me nor why they were enforcing that law on that particular sidewalk.

    The no-trespassing signs are scarecrows; they do not apply to the sidewalk. To top it off officers Wands and his partner confessed they’d arrest everyone out here if they could because they are causing ‘livability issues ‘ for others. For brevity, I won’t even get started on that one. I go to their precinct and tell them I – as a man without property – have been harassed and they just laugh at me like that is not possible for someone without property to have rights.

    Funny thing is that area – which is completely out of the way of traffic and pedestrians – used to be a central place for people to come down and mingle with homeless and pass things out. This of course was before Hales street sweeps in 2013 which caused a massive influx; you make people fight for a place to sleep and yeah they’ll do so. But it was peaceful before that.

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