MAYOR CHARLIE HALES has suggested he’d be open to setting more limits on when Portland cops can show up at protests in riot gear, echoing campaign rhetoric from 2012 when he joked about painting the cops’ armor pink.
But at the same time, Hales says he’ll resist calls to play a hands-on role in deciding when police commanders—when they’re simply tired of chasing around otherwise peaceful demonstrators—can summarily move to disperse protests or make mass arrests.
The mayor sketched out those stances during an occasionally tense public hearing last Wednesday, January 14, that saw his colleagues on the Portland City Council reluctantly accept a citizen panel’s years-in-the-making report on “crowd control” improvements.
Hales was peppered on both points by protest organizers and accountability advocates—but especially so by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who strongly hinted the police bureau overstepped its bounds the night of November 29 when dozens of protesters, upset over a non-indictment in the police killing of Missouri teenager Michael Brown, were threatened with mass arrest during a somber “die-in” on a deserted road outside Central Precinct [“Sometimes, the Cure Is Worse,” News, Dec 3, 2014].
Fritz invoked the council’s handling of Occupy Portland protests in 2011—which saw commissioners more heavily involved in decisions by incident commanders—and wondered whether Hales, as police commissioner, was similarly engaged.
“My job is to give general direction but not moment-to-moment management,” Hales answered.
“If an incident commander decides he or she wants to disperse a protest for whatever reason,” Fritz said, when protesters “may not be causing a problem, they’re maybe sitting in a street… you’d then stand by that decision?”
Hales repeated it wasn’t his role to second-guess tactics in the moment—preferring to review cops’ handling of protests after the fact.
“I know it might be appealing to some people for the police commissioner, namely me, to have more sway, moment by moment, over the operations of the police bureau in situations like that,” he said. “But I think in a democracy we might want to be careful of that. That could cut both ways.
“Some mayors might say, ‘Don’t arrest those people,'” Hales continued. “Maybe I’d be more inclined to say that. Some mayors might be more inclined to say, ‘Go arrest those people.’ I don’t think you want political officials, mayors included, making moment-to-moment decisions involving who gets arrested.”
And Fritz, again, disagreed—in situations without injury, property damage, or major disruptions: “I see a role.”
“We get to assemble,” she said. “I’ve been to many protests in my life and I want to be able to continue to do that. It’s part of who we are as Portlanders and part of who we are as a nation.”
Hales was more willing to discuss when cops should show up in full gear. Don’t Shoot Portland organizer Teressa Raiford and Dan Handelman of Portland Copwatch both testified that just a glimpse of armored cops at a peaceful protest comes off as intimidation, especially for African Americans.
Hales said “there has to be a line” in which cops—when dealing with actual violence or keeping people off highways—need the gear to protect themselves and others. “[But] I want to hear what people think that line is.”
Raiford offered some guidance.
“There’s a difference between protesters and rioters,” she reminded everyone, saying merely marching in streets like Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. did “is our freedom.”
“When we talk about deadly force and riot gear, you have to talk about what’s happening,” Raiford said.
The Portland Police have been irreversibly brain washed with militarized training. Fire the entire force, and replace them with 200 peace officers who have been well trained in Japan. The City of Portland must forthwith withdraw from the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Take the money saved and give it to the poor.
Amandamania likes the Federal funding and military weapons for the excessively large brutish, police force, same as Chuckiepoo.
I think we need more protection from ‘protesters’.
The protesters may be idiotic and annoying, but you don’t rid house flies with a shotgun.
^ no, you rid them with chemical spray. Kinda like what the cops do.
People have the Right to Freedom of movement. Permits are an infringement. The time to use force, is AFTER somebody assaults another, NOT before. This is the United States of America. The PatRIOT Act is fraudulent veneer under colorable law. The City of Portland needs to withdraw from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, forthwith. This militarization of civilian police is an escalation of war by Fascists against the People, and it’s coming to a head.
Let’s make this real simple. Don’t be telling people what the fuck to do, and then be whacking the shit out of them when they ignore the abusive bastards. People have had enough of this crap, and aren’t putting up with it any longer. There are only one thousand Portland police officers, in this city with a population of more than half a million, and in the United States, there are ten guns for every man, woman and child. We don’t need militarized police. The people are perfectly prepared to protect themselves.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/22/dashboard-camera-video-shows-man-shot-by-nj-police-raising-his-hands/
^The police wouldn’t do more than direct traffic if you wouldn’t show up to every peaceful protest and start a campaign of chaos and property damage. Can’t you ever just fuck with the cops without first breaking other people’s shit?
Who broke anything? There have been incidences where vandals have run wild in the streets, and that’s another matter, but property damage is a far cry from physical assault on other people. You still don’t shoot someone for superficial destruction of property. The problem is that the police are incompetent to apprehend suspects, with empty hand techniques. The cops are more scared of themselves getting hurt, than in citizens safety. The police have no genuine self confidence. The are cowardly bullies who over react and with relish.
I’m just getting really tired of ‘professional activists’, who seem to jump on any well-meaning cause to disrupt traffic and also often look for confrontation with the cops as a badge of honor.
It might be mean to tease the chained up junk yard dog, but the Police need to be better than to over react. Besides, the Police harass way more people than there are professional activists who bait police. Turnabout’s fair play.
^ “Turnabout’s fair play.”
Yeah, that sounds real clever. Too bad your super-effective “turnabout” gives the police a reason to further beat the crap out of someone. Tell that turnabout shit to Liz Nichols.
Professional activists ought to know the risks, as well as the potential multi million dollar rewards. Sue the City into oblivion.
“I’m going to bet that 100% of you naysayers have never done shit in your life when it comes to political advocacy. None of you have stood in the street as horse cops charge you, or bike cops beat your friends.
I don’t go to protests like this anymore, because the violence by the police is legitimately out of control, and the next time a cop tries to use unnecessary violence on me or one of my friends, is the last time they’re going to use violence on anyone. Seriously: I don’t go to protests like this anymore because I will kill someone. Who did the cops decide to pepper spray first? The 5’ tall girl? Personally, I never shot at women, I’ve shot at people who are legitimately threatening me. Why pepper spray the young small girl? Because they’re dicks. That’s why.
That’s how legitimately out of control the violence is at these events. I’ve been punched, hit, threatened, and beaten by the cops for doing perfectly legal activities, numerous times. You assclown posers are just pretending everything is fine in our world, and mocking the people trying to change it. Thankfully I’m quite sure that this same violence will be used against you someday, too.
Best of luck lady. Hopefully you get millions out of these fucking animals.”
report 9 likes, 10 dislikes
Posted by fidelity_axiom on 10/04/2012 at 12:45 PM
http://www.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/10/03/occupy-protester-in-infamous-pepper-spray-photo-will-sue-police-bureau
As the economy continues to tank and banks resume foreclosures, there will be a great many irate former homeowners out on their asses, with no place to store their guns but in holsters. Just go ahead and fuck with them, too. Not everybody’s on Prozac, Bull Run’s not fluoridated, and Cannabis is over priced.