Demonstrations Planned as Portland Braces for Results of Ferguson Grand Jury

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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Cornelius Swart, GoLocalPDX Director of Content

The Portland police bureau cautiously eyed events Tuesday as many in the city’s minority community readied for the results of the grand jury investigation into a police shooting that killed an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, MO.

A grand jury convened Aug. 20 to decide whether or not Officer Darren Wilson committed a crime when he shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, Aug. 9 of this year.  The shooting sparked an international frenzy, as thousands came out to protest police policies in the majority African American community, as militarized police used tear gas and other methods to quell, what at times, appeared to be a civil uprising.

“I don’t think they will indict him,” Teressa Raiford Mazique said. “I think our current laws allow people to kill other people, especially people in poverty.”

Raiford Mazique, and a group of activist organizing around the banner Don’t Shoot Portland, have organized three large protests in Portland since the civil unrest in Ferguson first began.

Her group plans to have demonstrations at three Portland locations, the Justice Center Precinct 1120 SW 3rd Avenue, the Federal Building at 1000 SW 3rd Ave and at the corner of Southeast 162nd Avenue and Start Street, on the day the verdict is announced.

The racially charged incident has put police on high alert in urban centers around the country. Some fear a repeat of the Los Angeles riots that followed after a jury exonerated police in the 1991 beating of Rodney King.

“The most important things is that people understand what the verdict means and how to safely demonstrate,” Raiford Mazique said. 

On Tuesday, Portland police said that they were watching the situation closely and expected demonstrations to follow the verdict. Portland Police Bureau Sergeant Pete Simpson said they were not making any preparations for trouble but, were conscious that demonstrations might get hijacked by provocateurs whom could try to escalate a demonstration into a riot.

“We support people’s right to demonstrate,” Simpson said of the Portland police. “But it could be a flashpoint.”

Joyce Harris is an activist with Coalition for Justice and Police Reform.  Harris said that her group was focused on peaceful demonstrations and was organizing a demonstration at the Justice Center for 4 p.m. the day after the verdict.

“People who are organizing the demonstrations are committed to seeing that things don’t get out of hand,” Harris said. “We just want people to have an opportunity to have their voices heard.”

With that said, Harris added that she believed people needed a venue to express the outrage that many in the black and Latino communities felt in response to the events in Ferguson.

“History is interesting, you never know when something is going to turn into a flash point,” Harris said. “People are sick and tired of black men and women getting killed at the hands of police, only to have the police exonerated.”

Harris, like many of the people GoLocalPDX spoke to, expected that no criminal charges will be filed against Officer Wilson. She was organizing outreach volunteers to work with school local schools for the day the verdict is announced.

“I’m concerned that when the decision goes down, kids might be at school and they’ll need to share their frustration and anger,” Harris said. “They will need to talk about how do you show your anger?”

Local issues

Black activists said Ferguson was especially resonant with the black community in Portland.  Earlier this year the U.S. Justice Department forced reforms on the Portland Police Bureau after it was determined police were using excessive force when it came to handling mentally ill suspects. Over the last ten year,s a number of unarmed mentally ill suspects have been shot and killed or have died in police custody.

“Keaton Otis, Kendra James, Aaron Cambell,” Harris said listing unarmed residents who died at police hands. “The kind of police violence that was used in Ferguson, we’ve seen that here in Portland.”

Raiford Mazique said residents and activist had taken the right approach in Ferguson and that black leaders around the country were watching very closely to see what happens next there.

“It’s the young people. They are leading the way.” Raiford Mazique said. “We are following them.”

While demonstrations were planned, police said they might not necessarily feel a need to be present at all of the protests.

“These are issue of the police and community relations,” Simpson said. “This is about people’s feeling about the police.”

He said police will make a careful decision about how they react to demonstrations and cited a protest on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard last month that police didn’t go to.

“Sometimes not being there is the best choice for us,” Simpson said.

Harris said no matter what the decision in the grand jury turned out to be there would be a need for public gatherings on the issue.

“No matter what the decision is, people are going to be upset,” Harris said. “The only way to make a change is to come together and make a statement. You can’t be silent.”

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