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On November 2nd, Occupy Portland participated with several other groups and organizations including Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War, on a march through Portland in solidarity with the Oakland California general strike and in support of Marine Corps Veteran Scott Olsen who was critically injured when he was hit in the head with a tear gas canister shot by police in Oakland on Wednesday, October 26.
During the solidarity march, an individual previously unknown to the Occupy Portland encampment and who has had a criminal past according to news sources* allegedly shoved a Portland Oregon Police officer into a moving TriMet bus sustaining minor injuries. The individual responsible was subsequently arrested.
The Occupy Portland movement unequivocally condemns this event. and restates it absolute commitment to peaceful, non-violent action.
Occupy Portland movement has maintained an excellent working relationship with the City of Portland and the Portland Police Department and look forward to this continuing.
This statement has not been approved by the Portland general Assembly but is in accordance with the GA commitment to non-violent protest and action previously agreed upon. Our banner even states so.
*http://www.kgw.com/news/Occupy-Portland-plans-march–rally-tonight-133098048.html
Don’t forget those anarchists that were overly vocal and tried to pick fights with people who were marching next to them!! One of them even knocked down a set of tires while passing a tire shop and a recycling bin yards later. Thankfully I was right near them, so I IMMEDIATELY stepped in to help.
Hopefully you got your ass handed to you Daniel
From the Portland Police Assoc. on Nov. 3 – Please post this by 2400 on Nov. 3. This is important and supports the OP message of non-violence. Failure to post this message, will indicate the true core and integrity of OP. I believe you are true at the core…please demonstrate this truth.
To the citizens of Portland,
The 900 members of the Portland Police Assoc. are members of a union that advocates for jobs, fair wages, benefits, work conditions and pensions. We are truly, as are you, members of the 99% of American that work eery day for a living. We believe in, and support the rights of citizens to free speech, including the right to protest and march, as long as it is within the confines of the City, County, and State lawsa. We have sworn an oath to protect the Constitutional rights of ALL citizens, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or economic background. What we cannot do is condone what the Occupy Portland protest has become. This protest has become a seemingly open checkbook of taxpayer dollars to pay for an already over-extended Police Bureau. Staffing hours and resources have been pushed past the limits of reality. Crime drugs, and health issues plague the two park blocks that the new residents have taken. It has already cost the taxpaying citizens of Portland over $200,000 dollars jsut for Police resources and it will undoubtedly cost tens of thousand of dollars to clean up the garbage, and illegal structures that the new residents of the parks will leave behind.
In the past few weeks, Portland Police officers have worked long hours, shown great resolve, and out performed their duties under seemingly unimaginable circumstances. We have responded to the mixed messages of our leaders and have held our heads up through the adversity that we have neither caused nor can control. Now, Portland Police officers are being assaulted and threatened by protestors which also puts our citizens at risk. We need to be able to do our jobs, and protect the rights and safety of every citizen. The Police Commissioner has the ability and the duty to see that this is done.
Here is a breakdown of their message: A threat, followed by “we’re on your side too,” followed by a denunciation and a call to demobilize (implicit is the cops’ vast arsenal or crowd control and a blood lust for attacking leftists). Hey pigs, we have a response for you. Try and evict us and you’ll figure it out the hard way.
Your banner even says so – what a load of shit. Why the defensiveness? Guess what – I was there – this man was a part of the march. He was one of us. And he didn’t shove a cop in front of a moving bus – that’s a complete lie. The cops were shoving us – to move us back on to the sidewalk and a scuffle ensued. The cop was never in danger. This whole thing is being used by the police and city to justify future violence when people refuse to cooperate with providing march routes and cooperating with police orders. Where is the condemnation of the police violence last night? When they rammed marchers with motorcycles, or assaulted others with bicycles? How about when they threatened to use tear gas and rubber bullets against us? But of course, you thank them for their cooperation. You people sicken me – figure out what side you’re on!!!
Witness, and any other eye-witnesses to this event, please call the NLG hotline at 503-902-5340.
I posted this comment hours ago, but it hasn’t appeared. Witness, and others, please call the NLG legal hotline number to report what you witnessed: 503-902-5340.
All eye-witnesses to this event, please call the NLG
hotline at 503-902-5340.
It’s quite telling that the self appointed leaders of Occupy Portland fall over themselves to condemn an alleged incident of violence by a march participant against a police officer during Wednesdays march in this press release, but fail to mention the violence and overt brutality that was carried out by the police against occupy demonstrators in Oakland. This press release fails to condemn the Oakland Police department shooting Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen in the head with tear gas canister that sparked Wednesdays nights demonstration. This press release fails to condemn the so called “peaceful” protesters, whom during the Nov 2nd demonstration here in PDX, physically assaulted black bloc participants over a disagreement of tactics. The self appointed leaders and movement managers turn a blind eye to the violence of the 1% and defenders of the status quo, but have no problem condemning the rest of us when we deviate from their pseudo pacifist line.
Congratulations, you have now become fascists. This person is extremely dangerous and detrimental to your organization. The arrogance evident in this statement is beyond the pale.
“If the Portland Police Union has concerns, perhaps they should encourage their members to come express them when they are out of uniform and not officially representing the city and its officials, as any other citizen is free to do,” Occupy press liason Jordan Ledoux said. “I’m disappointed that the union is representing such a small view of what is actually going on, especially as a message to the leaders of our local government who have a responsibility to understand the entire picture before making decisions.”
How can “The Occupy Portland movement unequivocally condemn this event” and at the same time “This statement has not been approved by the Portland general Assembly”. It just doesn’t make sense. It appears to me that Occupy Portland has some serious issues with representation.
This statement was not approved by the G.A., meaning it was not read to the General Assembly prior to being posted on the website. However, a previous G.A. decision condemned all violence and so the sentiment of the G.A. was represented in this message.
Fixed that for you:
“This statement has not been approved by the Portland general Assembly but is in accordance with the GA commitment to non-violent protest, believing everything out of the cops’ mouths, and complete betrayal of solidarity.”
Agreed, Anon. Except this press release is from the handful of individuals who make up Occupy Portland’s PR team, so let’s not blame the GA for everything. The betrayal of solidarity, and the betrayal of yet another brother set up by police, makes me ill. I’ve heard witness reports that contradict the police account. Who holds police accountable when they frame young black men, which happens all across this country every day? He is still in custody.
Daniel what does it mean to be overly vocal? And further more what gives you the right to decide how people express themselves during a political demonstration? It is true that tires were knocked over by the bloc, but you forgot to mention the part where self proclaimed “non-violent” protesters physically assaulted, which included punching in the face and attempting to tackle to the ground the people that they thought pushed the tires over. How is that acceptable behavior Daniel? Do you not see the total hypocrisy in your actions? Are you really that delusional?
Your claim that the bloc was picking fights with protesters is also a total lie. The only people who got violent last night (besides the PPD) were the self appointed “non-violence” police who attacked the bloc.
It’s fine to debate the merits of property destruction and whether or not it can play a strategic role in the occupy movement. Debate of tactics and strategy is important part of moving the struggle forward, however physically and verbally assaulting those with differing perspectives and approaches is completely unacceptable. It is also never acceptable to sellout fellow protesters to the cops, and that is exactly what this press release is doing to the individual arrested last night and what people like Daniel attempted to do to the bloc.
Hey red, thanks for the info. I will treat “peace-police” as collaborators when they try to attack us, because they will show themselves as just as much of an enemy to our movement as the police themselves.
Occupy Portland has become a government of elites where the website reports only what the politburo identifies with ideologically. Fact, the 99% is broad, not all of us believe what you believe tactically or politically, if you want to be part of the movement then stop trying to lead it! This guy was part of the protest, the protest was against police violence and this guy was defending himself.
Congress shall make no law… prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” If the people are peaceably assembling…
Freedom of Speech sanity check
porta-potties – nope, cuddle parties – nope, kids bedtime stories – nope, tents-nope, tarps-nope, people sleeping, drinking, eating, shooting up – nope, kitchens – nope, generators – nope, art classes – nope, any square footage occupied by objects-nope.
So, I am not a first amendment attorney or scholar. I am quite sincerely asking for an explanation as to how the square footage occupied by the above qualifies as protected under the first amendment.
Thanks for posting
Getting a little tired of these unilateral editorial posts by certain people on the web team. Were you there? Do you have any evidence that this account is actually what happened? Many people have said the account given is not true. Police in Portland and all over the country repeatedly have been found to falsify accounts and evidence. Even the current system portends to assume people innocent until proven guilty, but in your craven attempt to suck up to the police you are willing to throw any pretense of justice out the window.
Why do you assume the police are telling the truth? Why side with them, and not listen to the many march participants who say this man is innocent. You are being used, and playing into the hands of the police, who want to use this “incident” to crack down on the whole movement.
Don’t assume the worst of your fellow protesters. And don’t assume the best of the cops. Actually, turn it around and you’ll be closer to the truth.
Are you on the side of the people? Then don’t condemn your comrades before you know what’s going on. And don’t use this website as your personal mouth piece.
what in the world provoked you to offer up that horrible public statement about the protester/police scuffle on wednsday night? you have no knowledge of what actually occurred during the march and basically just took the cops/corporate media’s word for what went down! even the most reformist among you must know that cops and media lie to spin the story. did it never occur to you that there might be more information? like that the trimet bus detail was a total (and obvious) fabrication? like that the cops might have been pushing protesters? if the GA made a decision to “condemn all violence” why not report on the violence used by police? your appalling lack of solidarity and continual obsequiousness to authority will fatally split this movement.
This statement is unprincipled and divisive.
We have many differences in the occupy movement. Our different views of the roles of the police is among the sharpest.
This is what democracy looks like. I am not dismayed that we have differences. It is only natural. The important thing is how do we resolve our conflicting viewpoints so that we can move forward together. I want us to all walk together in determined solidarity and to learn together through the course of that struggle.
Statements like this do not help.
This article says: “The Occupy Portland movement unequivocally condemns this event.”
This is not true on two levels:
First, The police will lie. You cannot take their word on an incident like this. I will condemn no action by our occupiers solely on the statement of the police. And, after this statement is posted on our home page, we hear from fellow occupiers, that the police statement is distorted.
Which means that our own front page is amplifying lies concocted to slander our movement. That is not acceptable!
Second, it is very misleading to make statements that purport to speak for Occupy Portland as a whole from the front page of our website. Especially when you are in a position of trust as you are here, you have a special obligation not to ms-represent your views as the views of Occupy Portland. Unfortunately, this is not the first time it has happened and it is very divisive. Please maintain a higher level of integrity.
This is not true: “Occupy Portland movement has maintained an excellent working relationship with the City of Portland and the Portland Police Department”. How do you think the people arrested defending the GA’s decision to hold Main Street or the those arrested in a peaceful assembly at Jamison Park, also supported by consensus at the GA, respond to that?
Consider that the city applies tactics here. They extend a “an excellent working relationship” when we perform acts of civil obedience. But, we see another side when we perform acts of civil disobedience. And, we will not make changes as fundamental as we all desire without acts of civil disobedience.
Integrity and consensus build solidarity and build our movement
Misrepresentations and undemocratic actions are divisive and harm our movement.
Please read the statement as stated. To reiterate, the Occupy Portland Movement is committed unequivocally to non-violence. During a march in support and solidarity with Oakland to protest the violent actions of Oakland police, a person had allegedly pushed a Portland police officer into a bus. The statement is a condemnation of this alleged action. Occupy Portland has had an excellent working relationship with the city and the police. That is pretty much self-evident.
That’s all the statement says. If there is another story as to what happened yet to come out, then it will. Regardless of that story, we are committed to non-violence. This was decided by the General Assembly at the outset.
Just what is so wrong about saying that the person who pushed a cop to a moving bus is bad? Are you saying that this never happened? Also, are the police here just that evil and conniving, rotten and distrustful? Are they people to you? I saw a big sign one day in the camp saying “Cops are part of the 99% too! We are here for your wages.” What ever happened to that???
Portland is sick with Oakland envy. I saw people abusing the horses at jamison square to provoke brutality. For you to say it is the police, when I see protestors attacking citizens, news anchors, and police is absolutely hypocritical. This was a march for Lcpl Olsen, and it ended in Oakland putting a bonfire in the streets, and in Portland with attempted murder. A bunch of people saying “the police are lying”. Is not going to change the truth. The PPB has handled protestors with kit gloves.
And lastly, it is disheartening to see a march for a fellow marine be marred by the poor decisions of the bad apples. He is not your mascot for spreading violence. Shame on you, occupy Portland.
Really? This is absurd. The general assembly has not discussed anything, but you take the side of the police automatically, then refuse to listen to, or even mention in your statement, the multiple sources that have stated that the allegations are not true? You slander the man who has been arrested, as having a criminal past (with no direct evidence) as if this justifies his arrest this time. (Is it even worth mentioning that, thanks to the insane criminal justice system you seem so hell bent on supporting, that 9% of your precious 99% are currently in prison, and the number who have spent time there is closer to 25%. Maybe you ought to reconsider your stance on criminality, if you really believe this 99% against 1% thing?). Furthermore, you make NO mention of the police violence that night (the teenage boy, who is a frequent presence in camp, who had a bike thrown at him by an officer, being only the most obvious example), let alone a statement condemning it. Finally you fail to mention that the man who was arrested was arrested AT A GA on the basis of similar description, well after the march ended and not at the scene of the incident, and that a full riot squad of bike cops and others were involved in his arrest.
You apprently fail to see the clear police set up: is a coincidence that the next day the PPA issued a statement that is basically a plea to the city to be allowed to crack head and used this incident as justification? no…
Your lack of solidarity with the movement, and your closing ranks with the city and police is appalling and offensive.
I read the statement very carefully.
1. You condemned the event. And the only information you presented about the event was the police statement about it. Now statements from occupiers say differently. Maybe the statement should have been “Statement against police arrest of somebody exercising his democratic right to protest”.
2. Your statement that Occupy Portland has an “excellent working relationship” with the city and the police is not at all “self-evident” to me and to many others in our movement. It is only true when we follow the rules they set down. I have given two examples of times when that was not the case. The Jamison Park incident is particularly damnning – our right to peacefully assemble was blatantly and forcefully suppressed by direct order of the Mayor.
3. Most importantly, you take pains to present your views on this as the position of Occupy Portland, which it clearly is not. Do you think you could even come close to passing that statement by consensus at a GA? And, you do this from a position of authority with a special voice as master of the website. In that position, you must take special care to maintain balance and integrity. Only statements passed by the GA should be represented as statements from Occupy Portland. Please acknowledge the error you have made here so we can move forward with solidarity.
This is an important matter of principle. Abuse of the power you have is very divisive. Please be very aware of the the distinction between statements consented by the GA and all other statement.
If your statement had been simply:
“The police allege that a protestor attempted to push a police officer in front of a moving bus. We do not know the full story about this incident yet, but we can say that Occupy Portland is committed to non-violence.”
That is a true statement. You are only attributing something to Occupy Portland that consented by the GA. That statement would not be divisive.
Also stop filtering comments that aren’t spam. My previous comment has been in moderation for almost 12 hours while 7 other comments have already been allowed through. This website is unrepresentative of the will of the people and you are only demonstrating that more by your selective filtering. Oh yes, putting comments in “time out” ie letting them languish until they are buried or until the article they are responding to is no longer being read is also a form of censorship. Stop playing thought police with our movement!
“If the Portland Police Union has concerns, perhaps they should encourage their members to come express them when they are out of uniform and not officially representing the city and its officials, as any other citizen is free to do,” Occupy press liason Jordan Ledoux said. “I’m disappointed that the union is representing such a small view of what is actually going on, especially as a message to the leaders of our local government who have a responsibility to understand the entire picture before making decisions.”
Dear Mr. Ledoux,
If the police union uses the same consensus process as established by the occupiers, then reaches a 90% agreement amongst those present and then publishes this representation is this not valid? Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but it seems like you are requiring all consensus to take place at Schrunk plaza in the presence of the self-appointed GA. Can’t the union have a GA as well that is just as valid? (or anyone else for that matter)
Thanks for posting
I consider myself a participant and a supporter of the Occupy movement. I also find myself in agreement with the above statement of the Portland Police Officers’ union. I will say further that criminals at the Occupy Portland site, of whom I have seen plenty, are threats to this movement and a distraction from the real criminals at the top of the economic pyramid. You who chant “Fuck the Police!” and similar nonsense do not speak for me nor for those closest to me. In fact, if I saw someone make an unprovoked attack a Police Officer, or anyone else, and I hope I would do my best as a citizen to arrest the assailant, with whatever force was required. I am comfortable with the use of physical force to stop violence, and I support the wise embrace of nonviolent tactics to broaden and deepen this movement for fundamental change in our society. Anti-social behavior does nothing to contribute to any sort of world I want. I must say personally that I respect the actions and restraint I have seen among Portland Police Officers, just as I am proud of most of the behavior and courage of Occupiers and unOccupiers here and all over the world. The worst behavior by factors of many thousands comes from the real criminals with the greatest power in society, but in our little two blocks of the world, I feel overwhelmed by the disgusting behavior of more than a few of those who inhabit the Portland Occupation. They can expect the opposite of support from me and mine.
HNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG—
[...] only one being tossed under a bus: he was identified in a “Statement of Condemnation”( https://occupyportland.org/2011/11/03/statement-condemnation/) as an ‘outsider’ with a ‘criminal past’ and thusly stands to be one of the [...]
Looks like the pig isn’t the only one getting pushed under a bus. How about some solidarity with someone who was at worst defending themselves from the 1 percentiles paid thugs?
Shame on you all for publishing this statement. I wish I had been down there to block it. If this was a political act then we need to support him as a political prisoner, just like those kids who were busted spray-painting “Occupy Portland.” With the State, the Rich, and their lap dog pigs against us we need to stand united. To most working people the pigs are not Officer Friendly (middle-class hogwash), they’re the people who harass, intimidate, extort, and beat us up with impunity. Nonviolence is only effective when it lets us expose the brutality of the state. We must remain militant (i.e. aggressive, or “proactive” in middle class parlance)if we truly want to win against hierarchical relationships.
This commitment to being ‘non-violent’, condemning those who hold different views on the situation and cooperating with the police is playing into the hands of the ruling class. The social order is upheld with violence. Police forces have violently repressed ‘non-violent’ Occupy Protesters across the US without provocation. They have literally stamped out Occupations because the protesters refused to put up any kind of resistance. The reason Occupy Oakland has had some great successes is because they decided to resist the violence and capital that continues to try to defeat them. Non-violent protesters are easy for cops to beat up and arrest because they won’t fight back. However it’s harder to arrest protesters are open to different tactics.
The current social order is protected with violence by our government and the police agencies. Their sole role is that of being the protectors of the wealth, interests and laws of the ruling class. To sellout out a fellow worker who is protesting their situation is to do the work of the police and of the 1%.
Also, it seems to me that it is quite hypocritical to preach ‘non-violence’ and yet use violence to subdue those expressing their frustration by destroying property of the rich.