Protesters say Salem police chief's report doesn't hold the department accountable

Julianne Jackson said she still has uncomfortable dreams about the first weekend of Salem protests just days after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. 

What began as a peaceful evening on May 31 at the Oregon State Capitol, turned into "one of the most traumatic events of my entire life," Jackson, 35, said. 

"I had never witnessed police militarize in that manner against citizens, I mean, people were screaming and running," she said. "It was so volatile and violent." 

Nearly a month later, city officials released Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore's after-action report June 29, detailing the Salem Police Department's actions during the protests May 30, 31, and June 1.

Letters to the editor:Salem Police and protests

The report, sent from Moore to City Manager Steve Powers on June 24, recounts the department's efforts to de-escalate tensions between protesters and militia groups in downtown Salem while asking for compliance to the city's emergency declaration and curfew. 

Jackson said she was "shocked" after she read the 10-page memo on Tuesday. 

"I expected them to take this stance, but this is not at all what I witnessed," she said.  

Jackson attended the protest with her friends May 31, which she described as a "beautiful event." 

"I think as a person of color — when I arrived at the Capitol — my heart was really full," she said. "I never realized I had that many allies in my community."

It was later in the evening when Jackson, her friend and a couple hundred protesters began to march toward the Center Street Bridge that they were met with a line of Salem police officers. 

The officers were dressed in "full riot gear," she said, with some riding a giant truck and carrying various weapons. "The mood shifted dramatically," she said.

She remembers the protesters repeatedly asking officers to march with them after officers classified the protest an illegal assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse. 

"Their response was to shoot tear gas at people, then it escalated," Jackson said. 

She said there was no explanation, no attempt at reason — it was a "full-on military-style attack."

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"They tear-gassed everyone, it's not like they picked a group. There was no trying to have a conversation."

Jackson said she did see protesters throw water bottles and fireworks at officers after the crowd was tear-gassed, but not bricks or rocks, as mentioned in Moore's memo. 

The department also wrote that protesters handed out gas masks during the rally. "I never witnessed that," Jackson said. "That would signify to me that there was some type of organization, but they're claiming there was no one to speak to."

Jackson said she saw multiple people shot with rubber bullets, including a friend who was hit in the back of the leg and another who was hit in the chest. 

At one point, she and her friend ran to help a young woman who was shot in the head with a rubber bullet. Police pushed Jackson, as well as a medic who tried to help, using a baton.  

"I don't understand how they're making a claim that they didn't hurt anyone when that was their intention," she said. 

All the report does, she said, is "list reasons why they felt like they were justified in what they did. I don't see how this is holding (police) accountable."

Jackson said the protest in late May "lit me on fire."

She has since organized the End White Silence Rally on June 13 and has been active in an effort to divest funds from school resource officers in the Salem Keizer Public Schools. 

Angel Auclair: 'They just wanted to disperse our crowd'

AuClair, 35, of Salem, said she was shot in the back by rubber bullets multiple times and hit with a tear gas canister May 31. 

"Open fire with rubber bullets on people who are kneeling or holding signs, or retreating — that's excessive," she said. "We didn't need to get shot."

AuClair, who attended protests May 31 and June 1, said the events that unfolded over several hours felt like several minutes. 

"It's all haze," she said. "We were trying to peacefully protest and trying to make an impact in a peaceful way and we were met with extreme measures that I don't think were warranted."

AuClair said she  saw protesters throwing fireworks aimed at the police, but it was "pretty minimal." The majority of the group tried to stop people from inciting violence.

"I don't think it was anything the police couldn't handle, they just wanted to disperse our crowd."

AuClair said she's been to another peaceful protest since and plans on attending more. 

"I think I go into the protests knowing the police could kill me at any point if that's by a rubber bullet or kneeling on my neck. But I just feel like it's the right thing to do."

Judith Hartzell: 'We didn't need violence'

On Tuesday, Hartzell, 20, of Salem, was one of 14 protesters who had charges against them dropped. She said the night of the arrests still haunts her. 

"It's so traumatizing to talk about," she said. 

Hartzell said she was present when tear gas was used the night before and was angry about the police actions. She said Salem police officers told her group to leave, but she insisted they were peacefully protesting. 

Salem police officials said Hartzell was part of a group that did not comply with the curfew and instead walked back through downtown and were gathering near Winter and Chemeketa streets.

The chief's report said people in the group began "throwing projectiles, explosive devices, water and other objects at the officers." Hartzell said that was not the case.

One man in their group threw a water bottle, which did not hit anyone. People in the group told him to stop. 

"We didn't need violence," she said. "We just wanted a peaceful protest."

Hartzell said she tried to stay as long as possible, but when police began to disperse the group and arrest people, she ran.

She lost her group and was trying to get back to her car when she was taken into custody. She and other protesters were arrested on June 1.

Hartzell said she grew up in Haiti fearing the police. She said she tries to see good in everyone but felt the arresting officers and deputies at the jail mocked her and disrespected her. 

She said she was denied a blanket and an asthma inhaler and heard one deputy threaten to "cut off her curls."

The next day, sore and humiliated, she appeared for an arraignment and was released from jail.

"I know I am not the only one being treated like this," she said. 

Devin Shill: 'We did not expect to get gassed in Salem'

Shill said he never thought tear gas would be "spicy."

Shill, 29, of Salem, was among those standing closest to the line of officers when protesters were hit with the first wave of tear gas on May 30. 

He said the canister was shot at a woman's feet before it released a thick cloud of smoke.

"She went down and four of us from the crowd went to pull her out of a literal wall of gas," Shill said.

Shill said the evening began at the Capitol with speeches until there was a "call" to march to the police station. 

"It was a spur of the moment, like we have all of this built-up thing that we need to be heard," he said. "We want to go through town, we want the city to see us and know what's going on."

The march came to a halt at Court and Winter streets where Salem Police formed a wall and gave an order to disperse. 

Shill counted around three or four projectiles launched at or near police — including plastic water bottles and one firework — after the tear gas was deployed. He said he saw some acts of vandalism at the park and Capitol but did not see bricks or rocks used during the night. 

A "vast majority" of the crowd dispersed "as fast as they could" after the first round of tear gas.

"People were running in every direction," he said. "We did not expect to get gassed in Salem."

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Shill said he found the tone of Moore's report "condescending" and "aggressive" toward protesters.

"They put 'peaceful' in quotes when they mentioned peaceful protesters," he said. "If they're trying to build a positive relationship with the community, they really shouldn't talk down to the community."  

Joe Smothers: 'I'm just narrating what's going on'

Smothers, 25, of Salem, broadcast a six-hour live stream on Facebook of the May 31 protest. 

The video, which received national attention, shows an officer talking to armed men standing outside downtown businesses about what they could do to avoid violating the curfew.

"(Police) told the people who were armed that curfew would be enacted," Smothers said. "Instead of announcing it on a loudspeaker or forcing them to go inside, they had one officer come and just talk to them while they were pushing protesters down the street using flashbangs and rubber rounds."

Since then, Smothers has continued to live stream many of the protests and events in the city on his Facebook page, What you know with Joe. His page has garnered about 500 active followers since June 1. 

"With my feeds, I'm not giving my opinion, I'm just narrating what's going on."

Elizabeth Pruden: 'We were trying to stand our ground'

Pruden, 38, of Salem, said protesters were met with "extreme violence" on May 31.  

She said she was with Jackson when they witnessed a young woman get shot in the head with a rubber bullet. They ran to help the woman, who was holding her hand over her eye.

Pruden said officers "slammed" a medic in the face with a baton as he tried to help the woman.

"All I remember was looking dead at the officer and just tears pouring out of my eyes begging him to help her while he continued to baton me across my chest," Pruden said. 

She said she also was hit with rubber bullets multiple times on her back and the back of her leg. 

She said after the tear-gassing began, eggs and water bottles were thrown at police by a "group that infiltrated" the rally. 

"These were not protesters that had been with us all day, they were instigators that had joined once it got dark," she said. 

Still, Pruden said there was "no justified reason" for the use of tear gas. 

"We were trying not to back down, we were trying to stand our ground. We had the right to protest, we were peaceful."

Lt. Treven Upkes, a spokesperson for the Salem Police Department, said it is "understandable" that people would have different accounts based on their involvement in the protests. 

"Individuals were at different places and participated in their own ways, so we wouldn’t expect their experience to exactly match ours," Upkes said. 

Upkes said the use of force toward protesters was "reactive" to the resistance officers encountered and followed "protocol, training and law."

"Our goal is to always use the lowest level of force to gain compliance," he said. "These events are not games and people’s health and well-being, both officers and protesters, can be at stake. Our uses of force on community members is never taken lightly."

"Additionally, it is our job to observe, react and document events whereas the general public typically is not as practiced in those skills. So their recollection could be clouded by time, emotion and a lack of documentation."

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Read the Salem police chief's report about the protests:

Virginia Barreda is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6657 or at vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.