REMEMBER HOW the Portland Police Bureau was supposed to turn over all sorts of documents relating to its handling of Occupy Portland protests and arrests? Three months after a judge gave the order, and after a few false starts and a missed deadline, those records finally showed up—providing a rare, unvarnished glimpse into how cops prepare for major protests and what they thought of the Occupy movement as it evolved. Lucky for you, the Mercury has perused all 134 pages (PDF) of ’em! Here are some highlights:
OCCUPY SPIES: Besides dedicating officers to monitoring online activity, and sending uniformed cops to take notes and report on general assembly meetings, the bureau at one point also tapped undercover transit cops to help monitor the movement. The police documents also refer to “an Occupy Portland source.” Whether this was an informant, or just another term for checking Facebook and Twitter, is still unclear. Defense attorney Richard McBreen, who filed the motion that produced the documents, told the Mercury he’s asking the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office to hand over the name of this and any other informant.
A HELPING HAND: The DA made sure to give some legal advice before the cops busted up the Occupy camps and made their mass arrests in November. This included all the laws the cops could charge protestors with breaking, role-playing scripts for how to give orders, and a “mass arrest checklist.” The DA’s office even changed its legal advice this year. Reflecting the fact that most occupiers wound up charged with traffic violations, not the more serious misdemeanor charges they were dragged in on, the DA’s list now includes traffic counts. Whether future protests will be dominated by mass ticketing instead of mass arrests remains to be seen.
OUTSIDE HELP: One unanswered question about protests is who’s really in charge of the out-of-town cops we bring in to keep crowds in check. That’s a big deal, because when out-of-town cops use excessive force, they’re not subject to Portland’s stricter oversight system [“Hands Off, Portland!” News, Jan 12]. A February 29 mission plan from a Salem riot squad sheds some light on that issue. On the good side, Salem officers were told they couldn’t make any arrests without Portland’s permission and also had to abide by Portland’s rules on smoke, tear gas, and pepper-spray. But then those same officers were also told they could do whatever was necessary to keep protesters from grabbing at their batons.
TAKING THE STREETS: Turns out the police really do have a “magic number” in mind, at least sometimes, when deciding if a protest march should stay on the sidewalks or take the street with impunity. Before a February 14 anti-brutality march in Southeast, cops wrote they would cede the streets if at least 200 people showed up. Before the unpermitted May Day march that saw beatdowns and arrests, cops also were told to keep the streets clear only “if resources allow”—meaning if they weren’t outnumbered. And before a permitted March 4 event, cops were told to keep occupiers on the sidewalks only if they numbered less than 100.
BIG RED: Portland police carry the same nasty, concentrated, bear-stopping Red Sabre MK-9 pepper spray made famous by the iconic shot of a cop spraying a bunch of kneeling students during an Occupy clear-out down in Davis, California. But mission plans make it very clear that the stuff can be used only by supervisors, or at their direct command. The only time cops seriously considered using it? During the final clearing of Chapman Square, against a holdout group of occupiers who’d barricaded themselves into a redoubt the cops had dubbed “the 420 tent.”
420, DUDE!: The cops were so worried about the 420 tent during the eviction that the police reported concerns about a “Strong vinegar type smell coming from the 420 Tent.” They put on gas masks before entering and arresting the occupants.
AMPED UP: Occupiers have long wondered why the police cracked down particularly hard on an unpermitted January 25 dance party march that raucously invaded downtown after a celebration of the Egyptian revolution’s one-year anniversary. The police plan, drawn up early that morning, hints at a big reason why: The cops were on edge because of an officer-involved shooting earlier that morning. Despite preparing their mission plan only a few hours after police shot a suicidal man atop a parking garage, the cops cited increased “internet activity” when deciding that officers should preemptively don full riot gear and get ready to rumble. And rumble they did—making arrests and roughing protesters up.
WITH A CAPITAL “A”: The police bureau is very worried about “Anarchists.” Repeatedly, and especially in 2012, they raised internal warnings about “Anarchists” keeping stockpiles of metal pipes, shields, and fireworks. And while some rowdy kids dressing the part, who did break a few things, dominated an unpermitted march on February 6, “pyrotechnic devices and projectiles such as paint bombs, rocks, bottles, roman candles, and possibly even Molotov cocktail bombs” never showed up. “Anarchists” also failed to meet similar expectations on February 29.
Nothing unexpected here. Of course the police had plans, is anyone surprised by that? Also, of course they had informants. They would have been stupid not to, and it can’t be very difficult to infiltrate a group that is hyper-democratic and made largely of volunteers. Also, regarding the “420 tent” and “anarchists,” the police over-estimated the threat presented by these groups, which is also not surprising. Those were confusing times, and craziest people were often the loudest. I will be interested to see what the documents produced by the occupiers had to say about their plans.
Nothing unexpected is right. The State has a long history of spying on, infiltrating, and disrupting any group that poses an ideological threat to it’s hegemony. See Cointelpro. It’s not a coincidence that the same efforts aren’t made against racists and far right extremists, because white supremacy is at the foundation of the ruling class. And so, it’s also not surprising that the police would use undercover officers, informants, and any other dirty trick at their disposal to discredit and disrupt the occupy movement. That doesn’t mean it isn’t cause for public outrage. This is a war – it’s too bad that only the State and the police seem to realize that.
Robin, firstly, FBI spying on the KKK and other white supremacist groups has occurred. Even recently, the FBI has infiltrated right-wing extremist groups, and foiled their plots to do harm. These are not tactics reserved for use against the left.
Also, saying that “this is a war” is part of the reason that authorities react the way that they do. “War” requires violence. When you say that “this is a war,” the most logical conclusion for an outsider to draw is that you intend to use violence. I recommend that you don’t use the word “war” unless you do intend to use violence, lest you be misunderstood.
On March 26th 2007 Eric Carlson and a John Ray broke into an apartment early in the morning and they raped, photographed, and murdered a child, and I caught the pedophile cops in the act on a audio recorder!
Eric Carlson and John Ray had a buyer for those photographs meet up with them at Clackamas Walmart where they discussed the details of their crimes!
On that same day Clackamas Walmart employees printed out flyers because of the crimes committed by Eric Carlson and John Ray!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/53065984/JoanEricSgtWalker
http://salem-news.com/articles/may072012/wagar-diary.php
http://www.rotten-eggs.com/2011/02/doubleclick-and-mrs-dash-real-life.html#comment-form
Terry Wagar
Just Sayin’,
You should know that the FBI (under homosexual cross-dresser Hoover) did conduct some tepid, half-ass spying in the KKK back in the 1960’s that really went nowhere. However, it was MLK and the Civil Rights movement and the Black Panthers that the FBI really saw as a “threat”. The Feds infiltrated Civil Rights groups (and anti-war activists later) with exceptional vigor back then! All those pigs were concerned with was that the Civil Rights movement was really a “front” for communists.
So you should know that.
The Portland pol;ice cover up up victims 911 calls and there is no one to report this to that gives a damn!
Terry Wagar
In regards to the ideology that a particular “organization” may hold which will attract the eyes & ears of the Government ~ i see neither left nor right, black nor white. What i see is that the Government will infiltrate & attempt to bring down ANY ideology that threatens or opposes it’s power.
So, the lesson that we need to learn here is that we should all tow whatever line the powers that be may be touting. Dissention is dangerous!!!
@ Damos ~ What does Hoover wearing women’s clothing &/or being gay have to do with anything? Other than the fact that he was persecuting & repressing others, but this isn’t about the psychology of why he acted as he did. So, why bring that up, at all? Everyone knows, now, that he was a devious, deceptive & nasty little man. His repression may have played a part in his horrible actions, but that’s not how you were saying it. It came across as a slur, which i know you don’t mean.
Considering that Hoover put sooooo much effort into completing DESTROYING the lives and careers of people who were even rumored to be gay (b/c the thinking back then was, gays were somehow more susceptible to communist blackmail), i think it would be REALLY super important to know that Hoover himself was one of the most notorious closet-cases of the 20th century.
Think about all those christian, CHRISTIAN shithead Republicans who’ve build their careers off of trying to destroy queers, only to have been forced out as self-despising gays themselves.
Two cops named Eric Carlson and John Ray broke into an apartment early in the morning on March 26th 2007 and they raped, photographed, and murdered a child!
Clackamas Walmart employees on same day printed out flyers about a pedophile!
The Portland police cover up my 911 calls and media web pages delete most blog posts I make tryi9ng to cover up this information!
Eric Carlson and John Ray committed their crimes near S,E, 87th and Division st!
Terry Wagar
The Portland police and Multnomah county sheriff’s are involved in murders in Portland Oregon and they cover up victims 911 calls and they interfere with victims getting medical treatment!
News media stations and news media websites want people to think of them as two separate law agency’s yet they work together all the time, Multnomah county sheriff’s perform arrests within Portland Oregon many times so they don’t care anything about jurisdiction!
Between 2005 and 2007 the Portland police and Multnomah county sheriff’s organized a murder conspiracy within East Port Walmart and later on within Clackamas Walmart, many relatives of Walmart employees died during this time and authority’s made sure the deaths were covered up as either natural deaths or suicides!
The Portland police took over the assembly department in East Port Walmart with under cover law officer’s with Walmart managers consent in early 2005 and they were involved in making child porn!
Those under cover law officer’s wasted no time in recruiting female Walmart employees in sexual acts, some Walmart employees were married and began affairs with those under cover law officer’s!
Those under cover law officer’s organized a murder conspiracy within those Walmart stores and many people died, of which their deaths were quietly covered up at the hospitals!
Many female Walmart employees took up the use of antifreeze and started poisoning off relatives/spouses and did not care because it was simply covered up by their lovers in law enforcement, quite simply the hospitals refused to take toxicology tests and pretended nothings wrong!
Many managers at East Port Walmart and Clackamas Walmart agreed to lie for those under cover law officer’s and aided the officer’s in hiding their true employment from many people!
The Portland police and Multnomah county sheriff’s were involved in committing murders and setups and they did not care if they were discovered by anyone because there is no one people can report this to that cares, cops lie for each other and cover each others butts all the time and they are good buddy’s with the prosecutors so they just don’t have any fear of prosecution at all!
Victims 911 calls are covered up and first responders make it known to the 911 caller they don’t give a damn, first responders do not try to hide from 911 callers they will ignore everything you try to report to them they want people to know they don’t give a damn if people are victims of cops!
Many Walmart employees relatives died between 2005 thru 2007 and coincidentally the Portland police and Multnomah county sheriff’s were secretly renting apartments near their victims during these deaths under the pretense of conducting an “investigation” when in actuality they were sleeping around with female Walmart employees!
Portland police and Multnomah county sheriff’s take over apartments near someone they “investigate” all the time and people all know there are cops that work under cover and do not reveal their activity’s to the public, what people don’t realize is that cops themselves while they are under cover do THEMSELVES commit crimes and many times they do it for fun or for personal reasons, such as targeting a lovers spouse!
My 911 calls were covered up and I have no way to report this to fascist cops without being threatened or attacked by them so I am doing my best to warn people!
This is vital information that leads to proof!
Terry Wagar