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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2015)
December 2, 2015 Page 3 INSIDE The Week in Review O PINION This page Sponsored by: page 2 pages 6-7 L OCAL N EWS pages 8 S PORTS M ETRO page 9 Photo by P ete s haw A Black Lives Matter rally in Portland calls out for justice while mourning the life of Tamir Rice, a black child killed by police in Cleveland. No Holiday for Activists o livia o livia t he P ortland o bserver Local activists in Portland joined in vigils and marches na- tionwide for racial justice over the long Thanksgiving holiday week, including the observance of the one-year anniversary of the death of Tamir Rice, a black child killed by police in Cleveland, and eco- nomic issues related to the retail sales push known as Black Friday. The organization Don’t Shoot Portland focused their energies on influencing shoppers and mer- by chants around the Lloyd Center Mall in northeast Portland, de- manding attention to ongoing ra- cial inequities. The Friday rally was peaceful and went by without incident, de- spite a controversy caused by a white police officer’s condemning of the event over twitter earlier the same week. The North Precinct officer was removed from ground duty and the Portland Police Bureau issued a statement saying such views did not represent the organization as a whole. Meanwhile, Black Lives Mat- ter Portland held a self-care day for black women and trans fem- inine community members, pro- moting healing and self-care, and spent hours in the cold for a street demonstration and vigil on the one-year anniversary of the death of Tamir Rice, the Cleveland boy who was shot by a white police officer only seconds after arriv- ing on a call about a child with a gun. The weapon turned out to be a toy. Post Lands Officer in Trouble Police Bureau orders an investigation pages 8-13 Arts & ENTERTAINMENT C LASSIFIEDS C ALENDAR page 14 page 15 A North Precinct police officer was removed from on-street duty last week after a message from his Twitter account made light of lo- cal racial justice activists by call- ing his work to monitor nonvio- lent protests “babysitting” and the activists themselves as “fools.” In the social media post, John Hurlman, a 25-year-veteran of the Portland Police Bureau, refer- enced a planned march on Black Friday at Lloyd Center, in which he made mention of the group Black Lives Matter as sponsors, but was actually planned by an- other organization, Don’t Shoot PDX. Hurlman’s tweet read, “Black Lives Matter is planning to protest at Lloyd Center on Black Friday. Oh joy, stuck late again at work to babysit these fools.” Acting Police Chief Donna Hen- derson, who was serving on duty for an absent Larry O’Dea, was quick to respond, pulling Hurlman from street duty pending an inves- tigation by the police bureau’s Pro- fessional Standards Division. “This post is in no way a re- flection of how members of the Portland Police Bureau view these community groups or their peace- ful expression of free speech. Just as with any protest or demonstra- tion, police will work to ensure a safe, secure and orderly event for all community members,” Hen- derson said. “We understand that tensions are running high across the United States, especially with the recent incidents in other cities. At the Portland Police Bureau, we are mindful of that and remain com- mitted to building relationships and trust in the community we serve,” she added. Hurlman took down his tweet and the Don’t Shoot PDX march went on without incident.