Police arrested two people at Occupy Portland this weekend—not for anything Occupy related, but for alleged drug crimes. Here’s the press release from the cops:
On Saturday, October 22, 2011 Central Precinct afternoon shift officers who were detailed to “Occupy Portland” made 2 arrests of known subjects for warrants. The first arrest was for a drug related Parole Violation warrant. Officers recognized 28-year-old William Duke from previous police contacts. He was sitting on a bench in the park. He was arrested without incident.
Later in the evening officers also arrested 34-year-old Tara Akridge, after recognizing her from previous contacts. She was found to have a Parole Violation related to a Possession of a Controlled Substance, Methamphetamine. Akridge identified herself to the police as the “Resource Director” for “Occupy Portland” and said she is currently living in the camp.When the officers returned from their walking beat in the camp they discovered that the side view mirror of their patrol car had been broken off as it was parked on Southwest Main Street between 2nd Avenue and 3rd. There are no suspects at this time.
So anyway, like I was saying; when the story becomes about the protestors -not the protest- it’s time to change tactics. Stop camping in parks: you look silly.
Hundreds of people down there and a couple have warrants? Hard to believe.
Oregonlive got a quote from Occupy’s info booth that a “Resource Director” title was “ridiculous.” Oh snap.
LOL! All libtards eat shit!
Oh good. “Ian Smith” is testing out the boundaries of its rhetorical game! Get ready, y’all! A fucking LOL-ster thinks it’s being clever! A twelve-year-old is arguing policy! A…ah, fill in the fucking blanks.
I sincerely don’t want anyone hurt.
But does anyone with a sliver of rationality think is going to end well?
… think ‘this is’ …
Like how all the conservaTARDS are just jumping all over this. I’ve never seen anyone make such a fuss over acouple of arrests for minor drug offenses. AS IF drug crimes or drug arrests didn’t take place EVERYWHERE in the city. AS IF noone has ever been arrested in a public park for an alleged drug offense.
@#1: It’s the media’s failing when they avoid substantive coverage of the reasons people are doing this across the country. There’s nothing inherent in an occupation-based protest that makes people look silly; it’s the way it’s covered. There has been some interesting reporting of all this, but there’s been a lot treating it as a sideshow. Of course that angle is there, but it’s all too easy and is not the most important or ultimately interesting.
First the Right was the one to complain over media coverage, now the Left.
Makes me think the media is doing just fine.
It seems like they were arrested for PVs and not for alleged drug crimes because that is what the cops said.
geyser: sure, I agree that the media -as usual- is doing this story badly. To view yourself as needing to reach the largest possible audience means always striving for the lowest common denominator. But (a lot of) the protestors still do themselves no favors, and I still say that the story needs to not be about the camp, but about these things we’re finally getting around to talking about that we’ve deferred talking about for so long.
The conversation has begun, so don’t wait for the occupation to get stale. Take it where it really needs to go.