Thousands Protest Peacefully in Portland Yesterday; Oversite of Police Needed

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Thousands of protesters gathered in Portland and engaged in a peaceful protest for more than eight hours with a group starting in the afternoon on Friday and ending during the early am on Saturday according to a press release received from the Police Department this morning.

Protesters marched from Kennedy Park to the Portland Police headquarters, Middle Street, for a short time before making their way to other locations in the downtown area around 2:00 pm.  A large group gathered in Lincoln Park around 5:00 pm for the start of an eight hour protest that ended round 1:00 am on Saturday.  The turnout for this event surpassed the number of people attending other protests that occurred during the week.  The group moved to several locations throughout the city and stretched the width of several roadways and over several blocks with police and protesters blocking traffic.  The group successfully delivered their message peacefully and effectively throughout the organized event.

Over the past few years, this blogger has become no fan of the Portland Police Department. In just going about conducting my personal business as well as trying to cover events for this blog, members of the Portland Police Department have been at the least rude and more serious in one case.  This bogger has been accused of possible illegal activities for which I could be arrested and jailed!  If I were proven to be impersonating a guest at the grand opening of a local business or driving into a blockade to get to a doctor’s appointment for an x-ray of a broken leg,  I’d be in deep, deep trouble with Portland law for example.  Just to prove his authority, the policeman with the blockade issue cited his biblical scriptures to me as I tried to find an easy way to the doctor’s office for an x-ray of my broken leg.   Neither of these threats had any basis of truth, obviously, and charges were not brought against me for these “crimes.”  When I described just one of these occurrences to the current police chief at his installation, he dismissed it:  “He was just having a bad day.”  I’m just a little old white woman with silver gray hair and with no recourse so it doesn’t matter how I’m treated – think of the black community.  I can’t.

Oversite is needed because I don’t like nor trust the Portland Police Department.  Other similar examples of, at the least, lack of respect are not detailed above.