Credit: K. Marie

Good morning, Portland. Link time.

First up, check out our feature on Christmas. Specifically, critiquing Christmas-related events in Portland. It’s fun!

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K. Marie

Portland police: A high threshold for what constitutes a “threat” when the statement is made by one of its own:

When one sergeant policing a protest on a public sidewalk last November approached an activist who was legally filming cops and said, incorrectly, that the man “could be arrested,” the PPB determined the sergeant didn’t actually “threaten” to arrest him.

“’Could be arrested’ is not sufficient enough to cross the line into an actual threat,” Traffic Division Captain Mike Crebs told a civilian oversight board last week, explaining his decision to clear the sergeant of an allegation, filed by activist Ben Kerensa, that the cop had made an improper threat. “I felt there had to be some kind of declaration that, ‘You’re going to be arrested if you don’t stop filming.’ That never occurred.”

Multnomah County fired a research analyst who gave a presentation on racial disparities in the criminal justice system, Dirk VanderHart reports.

80 homeless people died on city streets in 2016, a new county report shows. 88 homeless people died on the streets in 2015.

The Portland Timbers traded Darlington Nagbe to Atlanta, “in what might be the most stunning trade in franchise history,” our Abe Asher wrote.

Did you feel the earthquake yesterday? There was a 4.0 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter near Molalla.

“The Fred Meyer at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Foster Road will close by Jan. 20, the grocer’s corporate parent said Wednesday, citing underperformance,” the Oregonian wrote. “The closure will leave many area residents with limited shopping options. Though a Walmart operates at 82nd Avenue and Holgate, and a WinCo recently opened near 82nd and Powell, neither is within easy walking distance for anyone who lives south of Foster.”

Some more Portland police news: “A Portland police officer has been charged with official misconduct for alleged sexual activity while on duty and is set to enter a plea and be sentenced Thursday. The criminal information charging Christian Robert Berge, 46, with one count of first-degree official misconduct was signed Monday and filed Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.”

TriMet just ratified a new labor contract. Portland Tribune: “The new contact includes salary and benefit increases expected to cost $2.243 million over the last contact. TriMet does not anticipate increasing fares to pay the additional cost, however.”

Bye.

Of course.