UPDATE 9:40AM—A crowd of about 200 people organized by We Are Oregon, local labor unions, and Jobs With Justice planned to take over the Steel Bridge this morning as a statement against city job cuts—but never got further than the bridge’s east bank.
Dozens of police in riot gear sealed off the upper deck of the Steel Bridge on both sides, allowing TriMet trains and buses through, but no other traffic and definitely no protesters. The crowd, notably older than the Occupy crowds over the weekend, calmly refused to budge. Eventually, police officers began ziptie-ing and removing protesters. Though the final tally of arrests is still unknown, it was a surprisingly calm ordeal.
Across the street from the protest, a lone elderly woman with a “Support the Police” hoodie made up for being the sole counter-protester with both her volume and profanity. “COWARDS!” she shouted, “GO TO FUCKIN’ TRADE SCHOOL! WHAT MAKES YOU SO FUCKIN’ SPECIAL! ENTITLED ASSHOLES!”
At about 9:30, the crowd began dispersing, some headed for the west end of the Burnside Bridge for the big anti-bank rally and civil disobedience planned for later this morning. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: 9:15 AM
This just tweeted by @PortlandPolice:
Also… BOAT COP SIGHTING!!
More from the protest below the cut!
Original post:
Here’s the latest from the standoff on the Steele Bridge between police and Occupy Portland protesters—and actually? Standoff isn’t the perfect choice of words. Cops informed roughly 30 protesters to move off the roadway or be arrested. The protesters have refused, and as Denis put it it on Twitter: ” A few sitters await their new charm bracelets” as one by one the demonstrators are calmly arrested and taken away. In fact according to many sources the situation so far is relaxed and downright chatty. Here’s what it looks like on top of the bridge where Denis is currently perching…
Annnnd here’s what it looks like on the west side entrance of the bridge where I was…
Riot cops mounted up and ready to roll… in case things get “less chatty.”
More updates on a very big Occupy Portland day ahead! And follow it moment to moment here and here.
shouldn’t someone give those hooligans a seatbelt ticket?
My morning commute via foot across the Steel Bridge was quite mellow (hi to former neighbor drumming on lower deck and Mercury employees looking very focused and serious reporter-y) and chatty with non-riot cops. Riot cops are hard to chat with. And I did skip my normal morning routine of jaywalking. 😀
There are now an awesome number of motorcycle cops parked on NW 1st by Freddie Browns!
Oops, Freddie Browns is on NW 2nd. My bad!
Went across the bridge on the MAX this morning, which the protesters are not blocking. I was pretty blown away by the police presence. WAY over the top.
I guess they can’t know beforehand how many protesters might show up, but the police presence was huge overkill.
I wonder why we can’t get two cops per patrol in Chinatown, but we can get two or three hundred cops to show up to a modest bridge demonstration. Hmmm.
THAT CRAZY LADY TRYING TO TELL UNION MEMBERS TO GO TO A TRADE SCHOOL IS A FUCKING MORON. UMM.. LADY? THE VAST MAJORITY OF UNION MEMBERS ARE SKILLED LABORERS. AND THEY’RE FUCKING PROTESTING THE LACK OF JOBS… SO GOING TO TRADE SCHOOLS TO LEARN A SKILL TO USE ON A NON-EXISTANT JOB… WHATEVER. EVERYONE INVOVLED WITH THIS STUPID.
AND I ENJOY THE SYMBOLISM OF THE GIANT NBA BILLBOARD IN THE BACKGROUND OF A LABOR PROTEST.
I’d like to see someone punch that old counter-protesting bitch in the mouth.
Do all cities have these huge paramilitary forces at their disposal? Why are full riot gear and guns required in order to handle a few dozen peaceful protesters? Where are these Judge Dredd paramilitaries when people are getting robbed and raped?
I was wondering where mom went. Figured she was probably up at Jantzen Beach playing video poker.
@blabby: Let me fix that typo for you: “…the police presence was huge overtime.”
True that. We’re going to have to sell more bonds just to pay for this crud. Both sides are to blame in my book.
I’m glad to see ‘occupy’ moving on beyond real estate, but I wish they still found a way to get their point across without costing taxpayers any more money.
Surely the cops don’t need even more OT money.
I don’t know why, but it just took me two hours to get to work today. It was a full 60 minutes between 50th and Powell and 15th and Powell. The radio didn’t say anything about it, so I don’t know if was some bad accident or just fallout from this bridge closure. And although I recognize that I’m not in the mood to make important decisions right now, after that drive I would please like everyone who might possibly have been involved to be driven from their homes and crippled. Cops, protesters, reporters, passerby, everyone.
I can think of worse things than having too much police presence. Better off paying working cops a little OT than funneling tax dollars to so-called business interests. Not sure the riot gear is really necessary, though.
WE CAN’T ALLOW YOU TO CLOSE THE BRIDGE WITH YOUR PROTEST. SO WE CLOSED THE BRIDGE.
People like this lady crack me up. Only in America will people go out of their way to oppose things which are in their own self interest, and support that which isn’t.
Remain calm, citizen. This implied threat of arrest and severe bodily harm is for your safety.
I see that the PPB is reverting to the same old heavy-handed tactics they used during the Mark Kroeker years, using riot cops to squelch free speech, and above all, maintaining the flow of traffic.
Bet y’all didn’t know that maintaining the flow of traffic was added to the Bill of Rights sometime in the 1960s?)
ATTENTION CITIZENS. YOU ARE ILLEGALLY OCCUPYING PUBLIC PROPERTY. YOU HAVE 15 SECONDS TO DISPERSE.
@ED-209: PUT DOWN THE WEAPON AND SURRENDER.
OCCUPY CAPS LOCK
@Reymont, I agree with you today. My husband was an hour and a half late for work on the same route. Traffic has been totally busted since the park has closed down. I am for the right to peacefully assemble but causing your fellow 99% to spend hours waiting for or on a bus during their already shitty commutes to their already shitty jobs is making everyone hate you and accomplishing nothing except more budget cuts to needed social services next year with the excuse being all the OT the Occupiers wracked up for the cops.
The First Amendment is not the law. I AM THE LAW!
In solidarity with the Occupy N17 event and their PDOT union brothers members of the Portland Police Union closed the Steel Bridge.
#7 1968 is the watershed year for the para-militarism of local police. During the 1968 Democratic Convention the FBI found out that they had little influence on local police departments. The normal local police responce was “They are just protesting, blowing off some steam and are not our problem.” The war on drugs, SWAT Teams, Tactical training and money, and federal money for new officers were the way for the federal government to control local police.
@ROSY: WHAT’S THAT FROM? I’M INTRIGUED.
I hate to break it to Reymont and Sarahfina, but rush-hour traffic into downtown sucks every day, no matter what’s happening. It’s a lot nicer on bike.
@Oregometry – It’s not normally this bad! And I might bike, except that I have to go out the other side, all the way to Hillsboro. And then to Tigard for my second job, right after work.
#24 This is old common knowledge so I cannot find my footnotes on this.
Just look up SWAT / para-militarization of police on Google Books / Scholar or find a LEC history text and some of the Anti War on drugs texts and remember their bias
@Reymont…..I share your pain, in that case. Forced car commutes suck. Except I don’t have to try to choke through the Gordian knot of the RI Bridge to 26.
Also, Rosy, look up the studies done on cities when they take off the paramilitary uniforms in favor of green blazers and khakis, and so on.
They naturally didn’t find any conclusive causation with crime reduction, but the programs definitely offer some great food for thought on police perception.
@ROSY,OREGEMOETYERT: CITATION NEEDED.
I dont’ know the numbers, but that old lady DEFINITELY looked like 1% of those present!
Occupy Boat Cop