The president of the Portland police union on Thursday asked why House Speaker Tina Kotek hasn’t decried vandalism to police precincts and small businesses in North and Northeast Portland and instead has chosen to criticize police.
The statement by Officer Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association, follows Kotek’s rebuke of police actions late Tuesday night and early Wednesday on North Lombard Street outside the Portland Police Association’s office in her district.
Kotek, D-Portland, called the actions “completely unacceptable” in an email to Mayor Ted Wheeler during the fifth week of Portland protests against police brutality and systemic racism. She argued that there was “no risk” to the public or to officers until police declared an unlawful assembly and fired tear gas and other crowd control devices in the North Portland neighborhood.
“What needed to be protected last night? An empty office building? Was this need more important than the health of neighbors, of children in a neighborhood, of people returning home from work? " Kotek wrote and also posted her message on Facebook.
Turner responded that he and another person were inside the union office Tuesday night, when police said some demonstrators threw baseball-size rocks, frozen bottles and fireworks at officers. Turner said he had gone to the office to secure files and equipment when he learned protesters were headed there.
“Were you aware that two PPA officials, including myself, were in the office that evening? Our personal safety is important,” he wrote. “Were you aware that the PPA office is situated next to a number of small businesses owned or operated by people of color? Their lives and their livelihoods are important. Were you aware that the PPA office is also surrounded by homes and diverse residents? Their lives and their homes are important.”
Turner’s statement said he and others believe “a small number of individuals have hijacked the racial equity platform of peaceful protests for their own chaotic agendas; they simply want to destroy our City and to hurt people.”
Neither Kotek nor a spokesman immediately returned messages for comment.
Last week, police used tear gas to clear out demonstrators after some had pushed a dumpster, with a fire blazing inside, against a building on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard that houses the Police Bureau’s North Precinct. Other protesters had barricaded doors of the precinct closed with wooden plywood, covered the precinct with vulgar and derogatory graffiti and also tagged several businesses along the boulevard. One clothing business had its windows smashed and merchandise stolen.
The back-and-forth between the state lawmaker and police union president comes amid lawsuits pending in court from protesters and journalists who argue that they’ve been unfairly targeted and subject to physical force while not posing a threat to officers.
On Thursday, a federal judge issued a temporary order, exempting journalists and legal observers from having to disperse after police declare unlawful assemblies or riots and directing police in Portland not to threaten them with arrests or use of force.
In a separate case, the nonprofit Don’t Shoot Portland has asked a different judge to find the city of Portland in contempt of court orders that restrict police use of tear gas only to life-threatening situations, and the firing of less lethal weapons against peaceful protesters who aren’t posing a threat.
-- Maxine Bernstein
Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212
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