The US Department of Justice has filed a formal letter with the PPB including outrageous detail about police abuse of force, coverups of officer misconduct, and the police union (PPS) blatantly flouting accountability rules (among other unconstitutional behavior). The DOJ has been trying for months to get the city and police to work toward fixing these issues, but that request has been denied, forcing the DOJ’s hand in this latest action.
Check out some choice quotes from OPB’s reporting (we strongly urge you to click through to their full writeup, below is just a taste):
… The sergeant claimed shooting the fleeing people was justified because they would likely run to the ongoing protest, which had been declared an unlawful assembly.”
That justification does not comport with PPB policy or the Constitution,” the letter reads. “PPB’s approved force directive makes clear: ‘Mere flight from an officer is not sufficient cause for the use of the impact munitions.’”
…
The Justice Department attorneys wrote that, despite none of the presented facts meeting the Portland police policy definition for active aggression, multiple levels of the chain of command signed off on the use of force.
…
Finally, Hager and Geissler reserved their harshest rebuke for an incident in which an officer lifted a protester’s mask and sprayed the person with pepper spray. After the protester walked away, a second officer sprayed the person again.
…
The DOJ also writes, “This basic misunderstanding of constitutional limits on force reflects a failure of the City’s accountability structure.”
The Oregonian also has a writeup: Feds put city of Portland on formal notice of non-compliance with police use-of-force agreement
Now, none of the incidents described from the protests are news. It’s well known and public that PPB officers acted with blatant disregard to proper use of force. The real disappointment (but no surprise) are the attempts of the PPB (with help from the PPA) to shield the officers from accountability after the events described above.
Of course, we’ll keep following how this action continues.
Per OPB: Portland has 30 days to respond to the DOJ’s formal notice. If the federal government’s concerns aren’t resolved, that would lead to a face-to-face meeting and then to mediation. If those efforts fail, the federal judge overseeing the 2014 settlement agreement could choose to force a remediation plan on the city.
