Cecilia Brown Cecilia Brown is an award-winning multimedia journalist based in Portland. She recently finished producing season four of Listeners Podcast, and in 2020 was named Best Oregon Filmmaker by the McMinnville Film Festival for her short documentary Root Shocked. She’s also interested in stories related to immigration, race, and health, and in this short […]
Cops
Posted inNews
Mayor Wheeler Condemns Feds’ “Indiscriminate” Use of Tear Gas, Despite Portland Police Using Identical Tactics
Mayor Ted Wheeler, shortly after being tear gassed Wednesday. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland After being repeatedly tear gassed Wednesday by federal police, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is in agreement with protesters: Law enforcement’s response to nightly demonstrations is disproportionately violent. “The tear gas… it’s indiscriminate,” Wheeler told reporters, standing in a swarm of protesters on the street […]
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City Council Votes to End Portland Police Cooperation With Federal Officers
Federal officers stand next to Portland police during a July 4 protest. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to cease any cooperation between city law enforcement and the federal agents sent to Portland to stifle protests against systemic racism and police brutality. “I’m bringing this resolution forward today, because in the midst of […]
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I Know How to Cover a Portland Protest. So Why Am I Shaking?
Portland police officers in downtown Portland in the early hours of July 18. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland This essay by Karina Brown, a Portland native and Courthouse News reporter, was first published by Courthouse News on July 21. It’s being shared here with the permission of both the author and publication. Follow Brown’s reporting on criminal justice […]
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Portland Police Union Echoes Feds’ Call to Quell Protests
PPA President Daryl Turner addresses media outside the union headquarters Sunday. Alex Zielinski Portland’s rank-and-file police union would like the protests against police brutality to end. On Sunday afternoon, after more than 50 nights of continuous protests, members of the Portland Police Association (PPA) asked Portlanders for a “moratorium” on demonstrations. “Our community has had […]
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What to Do If You’re Kidnapped by Federal Officers While Protesting
Federal officers go after protesters on Saturday, July 18. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Well, I guess this is the world we’re living in now: Security forces loyal to the national regime have invaded a northwestern province to attack and kidnap political dissidents. By now we’ve all seen the video of federal goons grabbing Portland protestors off the […]
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Good Morning, News: What is Happening in Portland?
We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you’ve come to love. If you’re able, please consider donating to the Mercury. Federal officers pepper spray a protester in a cloud of tear gas Saturday night. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Good morning, Portland! It’s another […]
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Portland Police Union Burns, Officers Assault Crowds During July 18 Protests
Federal officers stand in clouds of smoke in front of the Mark Hatfield Federal Courthouse Saturday night. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Two tense demonstrations against police violence in Portland ended in flames and assaults by law enforcement Saturday, as the nation watched. Saturday marked the 51st day that Portlanders took to the streets to decry police brutality […]
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Federal and Local Police Team Up in Aggressive Response to Day 50 of Portland Protests
Portland Police work in concert with federal officers to tear gas and disperse protesters, Friday July 17. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland If it was the Trump administration’s intention to “quell” Portland protests by sending in federal officers to tamp down demonstrations, so far it hasn’t worked. At its largest, Friday night’s July 17 rally brought an estimated […]
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DHS Secretary Met With Portland Police Union President Thursday
DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, center, speaks with officers during his Thursday visit. On the right, an officer is seen wearing a ‘Bureau of Police Portland’ patch. Department of Homeland Security Daryl Turner got the call to meet with the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday. A day later, Turner, the […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Portland Police Arrest Riot Ribs Volunteers During Abrupt Morning Sweep
Riot Ribs in its full glory. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Riot Ribs is dead. Long live Riot Ribs. Today, at five in the morning, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) gave people in Chapman Square Park and Lownsdale Square Park—many of whom were sleeping in tents—a ten-minute warning to leave before they began arresting them. Protesters, volunteers, and homeless […]
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DHS Director Decries “Violent Anarchists” Taking Over Portland
A federal officer holding a canister of tear gas the evening of July 11. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland The head of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency overseeing federal officers’ response to protests in Portland, chastised local officials Thursday for the city’s handling of nightly demonstrations. In an inflammatory statement riddled with inaccuracies and […]