Tag: Police Brutality

What a Disgrace

by Daryl Turner, President, Portland Police Association Perhaps you have been following the horrible treatment of the Portland Police Bureau while the fair city that we serve has been negotiating a “settlement” with the Department of Justice about the levels of violence we police are accused of using against people with mental problems as well…

Justice For All? Public Demands Police Accountability

  Story by Pete Shaw A TALE OF TWO PORTLANDS TAKE ONE On Tuesday February 18th Federal Judge Michael Simon began hearing testimony regarding the proposed settlement agreement between the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the City of Portland. The agreement concerns the DOJ finding that the Police Bureau (PPB) “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…

Court to Judge “Fairness” of Department of Justice Settlement Agreement with City of Portland

Story by Pete Shaw • Photos by Bette Lee A “Fairness Hearing” about the Settlement Agreement resolving the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the City of Portland is scheduled for February 18th. The agreement arose out the the DOJ’s yearlong investigation that found the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) had “engaged in an unconstitutional pattern…

Activist Targets Need to Reform Unchecked Police Power

By Pete Shaw Jo Ann Hardesty, a local activist and tireless voice in the struggle for police reform, was the featured speaker at a recent Justice Social Happy Hour. The March 12 gathering, hosted by the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation (MRG) at Portland’s Queen of Sheba restaurant, included a discussion on the movement to hold…

Protestors March Against Austerity, Get Pepper Sprayed By Police

Yesterday, a coalition of labor, education, anti-war, and community organizations took to the streets to protest against national, state, and local austerity measures that seek to put the burden of the financial crisis on the working class with budget cuts. During the march, the police indiscriminately pepper sprayed the front of the protest when it…

U.S. Department of Justice Finds Portland Police Guilty of Using Excessive Force Against People With Mental Illness

Chief Reese Deletes “I disagree with the Department of Justice’s findings” From His Online Statement   Story by Pete Shaw At a crowded press conference on the 14th floor of the Portland Justice Center on Thursday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its findings of an investigation, launched on June 8, 2011.  The…

#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines

This week in Occupy, Pussy Riot was sentenced to two years in Russian prison, we expressed solidarity with General Motors hunger strikers in Colombia, activists far and nigh set their sights on Tampa and the Republican National Convention, and the one-year Occuversary is approaching. #After a short trial, three members of Pussy Riot, an all-girl…