As the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) rakes in criticism from civil rights groups and professional monitors over its handling of protests, the captain in charge of the bureau’s response to such events is doubling down on the controversial tactics.
“I know Portland’s got a reputation: ‘Oh, Portland police this and that,’” PPB Captain Larry Graham said during a rant at a police oversight meeting last week. “[But] nationally, they’ve looked at us and they’ve asked us to do national training for national law enforcement. They’re pretty impressed about how we’re able to adapt and change.”
Graham was at the meeting to defend a specific event: his riot gear-clad cops’ response to a protest over a police union contract last October, during which some officers pushed activists down the steps of City Hall and set off pepper spray before arresting 10 people. But he made clear he’s proud of the bureau’s handling of protests in general.
Since last October, cops in body armor and masks have regularly responded to protests by setting off less-lethal grenades and tear gas, pepper-spraying activists, and slamming people to the ground. Vans and buses are called to haul protesters to jail for charges that often don’t stick. Variations on this theme played out at protests immediately after Donald Trump was elected, on Inauguration Day, President’s Day, May Day, and more.
Curious about Graham’s claim, the Mercury inquired into which national agencies have asked the PPB for protest-policing training. He may be inflating a bit.