PORTLAND, Ore. — Federal agents dressed in camouflage and tactical gear have taken to the streets of Portland in unmarked vans, seizing and detaining protesters and unleashing tear gas in what Governor Kate Brown of Oregon has called “a blatant abuse of power.’’
Since their arrival with the goal of tamping down persistent unrest, federal officers have shot one protester in the head with an apparent impact munition.
On Thursday night and into Friday morning — the 50th straight day of demonstrations — a line of federal officers in gas masks walked down Portland’s Third Avenue. They filled downtown corridors with tear gas, which a federal judge has barred Portland police from using except in the case of a safety risk, and they also shot less-lethal munitions, which left people limping in pain.
The aggressive federal posture has complicated the mission of the Department of Homeland Security, and it raises questions of whether it is appropriate for federal authorities to take up the policing of a US city against the wishes of local leaders.
Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, who is also police commissioner, said the federal response was “irresponsible’’ and asked for those deployed to stay inside federal buildings or leave the city.
But federal officials, starting with President Trump, have continued to stake a claim to the city’s law and order. The acting Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, arrived in the city Thursday, calling the protesters a “violent mob’’ of anarchists emboldened by a lack of local enforcement.
Portland’s protests began in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, drawing thousands of people to the streets to denounce police violence and racial injustice. On some nights, protesters would blanket the Burnside Bridge, each laying face down on the pavement for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in remembrance of Floyd.
Those mass demonstrations have waned, but hundreds have continued on, clashing with police almost nightly. They have set off fireworks, lit fires, and attempted to create an autonomous zone similar to one that existed up Interstate 5 in Seattle.
City leaders have tried a variety of tactics to calm the tensions. Wheeler has pleaded for calm. The city’s police chief resigned, to be replaced with Chuck Lovell, who is Black. City commissioners have moved to cut some $16 million from the police budget.
But the protests have continued.
New York Times
Louisville drops its charge against dozens of protesters
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A prosecutor announced Friday that he is dropping a felony charge against dozens of protesters who gathered at the Kentucky attorney general’s home to demand justice in Breonna Taylor’s death.
David Cameron’s office is heading an investigation into the death of Taylor, who was fatally shot while police were conducting a no-knock warrant at her home on March 13.
Among the 87 protesters who gathered at Cameron’s Louisville home on Tuesday were civil rights leaders, a reality TV star, and a professional football player. Louisville police said some of the protesters had threatened to burn down the house if they didn’t get justice, prompting the felony charge of “intimidating a participant in a legal process.’’
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said in a statement that Louisville police had probable cause for the felony charge, but “in the interest of justice and the promotion of the free exchange of ideas, we will dismiss that charge’’ for each of the protesters.
Associated Press
Kneeling on man’s head was justified, Pa. prosecutor says
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania police officer was justified when he pressed his knee into a man’s head while restraining him outside a hospital, a prosecutor said Friday after reviewing an incident that was caught on video and generated allegations of police brutality.
The officer and a second police officer used reasonable force to restrain the man, who was agitated, obviously intoxicated, and posing a danger to himself and others, said Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.
“I have concluded that there is absolutely no evidence to support filing criminal charges against either of the Allentown police officers involved in this incident,’’ Martin said in a news release. He said he didn’t believe disciplinary action was warranted, either.
Surveillance video of the July 11 incident, released this week by Allentown police, showed the unnamed officer putting his knee on the man’s head and neck area twice while he was being restrained a few steps from the emergency room entrance, the first time for eight seconds, the second for 20 seconds.
The man was identified as Edward Borrero Jr., 37, of Allentown. He was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, public drunkenness, and disorderly conduct. Borrero, who has yet to enter a plea, could not immediately be located for comment.
Associated Press
2 Ind. residents charged in alleged assault on Black man
INDIANAPOLIS — Two men were charged Friday after a Black man said a group of white men assaulted him and threatened to “get a noose’’ after claiming that he and his friends had trespassed on private property as they gathered at a southern Indiana lake over the Fourth of July weekend.
Monroe County prosecutors charged Sean Purdy with felonies of criminal confinement, battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, and intimidation. Jerry Cox II has been charged with felony criminal confinement and battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, as well as two misdemeanors.
The charges follow weeks of protests demanding arrests in the assault on Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission. Booker said he called 911 after the men assaulted him and pinned him to a tree at the lake just south of Booker’s hometown of Bloomington.
David Hennessy, a criminal defense attorney for Purdy, had no immediate comment on the charges. Hennessy previously said Booker has been “putting forth a false narrative’’ about what happened. Hennessy alleged that Booker “was the instigator and the agitator.’’
It wasn’t immediately known if Cox had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Booker said the group of five men accused him of trespassing on private property. After he tried to apologize, the situation got physical. Booker said the men threatened to break his arms and said, “get a noose.’’
Associated Press
