December 2, 2015
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INSIDE
The
Week in Review
O PINION
This page
Sponsored by:
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pages 6-7
L OCAL N EWS
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S PORTS
M ETRO
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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
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8-13
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
C LASSIFIEDS
C ALENDAR
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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.