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c3Category — Criminal Justice & Policing
Posted inThe Black Byline

THE BLACK BYLINE: I’ve Never Joined the Naked Bike Ride—But I Won’t Hate on It

White whimsy, federal troops, and what Portlanders should really be focused on.
Avatar photo Donovan Scribes (fka Donovan Smith)

[What follows is a new column from Donovan Scribes, a writer, producer, former VP of the Portland chapter of the NAACP, and the editor of the Mercury‘s print issue BlackOut: a 5 Year Retrospective of Portland’s Racial Justice Protests.—eds.] This week, against the backdrop of attempts by the President of the United States to flood […]

Posted inNews

Portland City Attorney to US DOJ: “Please Do Not Fail America”

City’s legal team says federal police are brutalizing protesters, and the government is weaponizing its longstanding settlement agreement with the city.
Avatar photoAvatar photo Courtney Vaughn and Taylor Griggs

Portland’s city attorney says federal police are brutalizing protesters, and the government is weaponizing its longstanding settlement agreement with the city.  In response to an investigation launched last week by the federal government into the Portland Police Bureau’s policing practices at the local ICE facility, the city’s legal counsel shot back, laying out a pattern […]

Posted inNews

Frustrated by Court Loss, Trump Sends 300 California National Guard Troops to Portland

One hundred members of the California National Guard have reportedly arrived already, with more to follow. A lawsuit to stop the move is already underway.
Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

UPDATE (OCT 5, 8 pm): The same federal judge that ruled in favor of the state’s temporary restraining order to block Trump’s attempts to send Oregon National Guard members to Portland, has also blocked the administration from deploying troops from California to the city. Read more here. Original story:  After a federal judge on Saturday batted […]

Posted inNews

Federal Judge Grants Restraining Order Blocking Trump From Deploying Troops to Portland

Judge says Trump administration violated Constitution and failed to provide proof that National Guard activation was necessary.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

A federal judge has granted the state of Oregon a temporary restraining order, legally prohibiting the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland through at least October 18. The decision comes a week after Trump announced in a Truth Social post he would be sending troops to the “war torn” city of Portland, […]

Posted inNews

“Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth Issues Order to Activate Oregon National Guard in Portland

The order, which Hegseth said should be “effective immediately” calls for 200 guard members and is designed to stay in place for 60 days. 
Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

Following threats made by President Trump on Saturday to send additional troops to “war ravaged Portland,” in order to presumably protect the ICE facility from what he called “Antifa and other domestic terrorists,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a memo today, Sunday, September 28, instructing “200 members of the Oregon National Guard to be […]

Posted inNews

What to Expect After Trump Threatens to Send Additional Troops to “War Ravaged” Portland

The president issued a new warning to Portland on Saturday morning—one that is sure to face legal challenges.
Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

In an early Saturday morning post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote that he will be sending troops to “protect war ravaged Portland” as well as the city’s ICE facility from those he called “Antifa and other domestic terrorists.” More troubling still, the president also authorized his agents to use “full force, if necessary.” This announcement […]

Posted inNews

City Leaders Say Trump Administration Has Sent Influx of Federal Agents to Portland

Trump has apparently followed through on his threat to send federal officers to Portland. Local leaders are urging Portlanders to keep their responses cool. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Updated: 8:34 am September 27 City and state elected officials say the Trump administration has deployed additional federal agents to Portland’s ICE facility. The news came at an emergency press conference on Friday evening, where Portland Mayor Keith Wilson announced that the “rumors about deployment” of national law enforcement “became a reality” today, after a […]

Posted inNews

UPDATED: ICE Violated Portland Policies with Detention Practices, City Leaders Say

ICE held detainees longer than allowed by the conditions of its land use permit. Portland plans to issue the agency a land use violation notice this week.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

When Portland gave Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the green light to open a processing and holding facility in the South Waterfront in 2011, the city set conditions for the agency to operate in the space. Among other requirements, the conditional use permit prohibited ICE from holding detainees at its Portland facility overnight, or for […]

Posted inNews

The Lawsuit that Broke the Council’s Back

How nearly $4 million in wrongful death and bodily injury settlements united Portland City Council in calling for a culture shift within the Police Bureau.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

“We are not the same police bureau we were three years ago,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day told city councilors Thursday, August 7, after they approved almost $4 million to resolve two of the most recent claims against the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). The first lawsuit was filed in 2021 against PPB Detective Erik Kammerer. […]

Posted inNews

Recent In-Custody Death Reignites Calls For a Police-Free Crisis Response System

Portland Police Bureau says it wants another agency to take over calls involving behavioral health. The region already has one that police rarely use.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Note: This story has been corrected to clarify the process for requesting Project Respond to accompany police on calls. As Portlanders await a medical examiner’s report and grand jury review of the death of Damon Lamarr Johnson, the fatal incident has reignited a conversation about the region’s mobile crisis response systems—including one that the police rarely […]

Posted inNews

Supporters Pack Courtroom for Portlander Facing Federal Protest Charges

After weeks of surveillance, the FBI showed up to arrest Jacob Hoopes at gunpoint six weeks after his alleged offenses at a Portland ICE protest.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Robert Jacob Hoopes and his girlfriend looked out their bedroom window last Friday morning to find FBI agents surrounding their home. A minute later, the armed officers were pounding at their door, demanding they open up, reportedly without providing a warrant. Eventually, they learned the federal officers were there to arrest Hoopes, 24, for allegedly […]

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