By: Zoe Strickland Managing Editor
On Wednesday, Oct. 12, the Portland City Council announced that they had approved a new contract with the Portland Police Department. The contract was approved in a 3-1 vote. This decision led to a protest breaking out in front of City Hall, which resulted in Police officers pepper-spraying and arresting protesters. Don’t Shoot Portland held another protest on Friday, Oct. 14.
Police body cameras have been increasing in usage due to the growing amounts of police brutality being reported. The recent contract approval is viewed by some as problematic because it, “follows a controversial tentative contract agreement that referenced giving officers the right to review body camera footage before writing incident reports in all cases except fatal shootings … The contract that passed did not include the body camera provisions, which are being separately negotiated with police and would be open to public input next year,” reported an article in the Los Angeles Times.
The protest held outside of City Hall on Oct. 12 resulted in the arrest of 10 protesters and the promise that there would be another protest later in the week. The subsequent demonstration on Oct. 14 was held as a way of protesting the police brutality that occurred at the Oct. 12 protest.
“This could set incredibly dangerous precedent as the Mayor attempts to lock out the community in order to fast track through a corrupt contract. We as a community can not let this continue,” reads the Don’t Shoot Portland Facebook page.
The event involved protesters marching towards Oregon 99E and blocking the road, eventually moving on to protest and camp out in front of Portland Mayor Charlie Hales’s house. Protesters are seeking the resignation of Hale.
“Since he didn’t want us at City Hall, we took it to his house,” said protest organizer Gregory McKelvey in an interview with The Oregonian. “If we can’t be comfortable you can’t be comfortable.”
Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu
