Tactical urbanism, bicycle rebellion, Right to the City.

Portland Police Proudly Display Support for Child-Murderer

In March 1981, Portland police officers grotesquely killed several possums, then threw their dead bodies at a black-owned restaurant in North Portland in a sickening display of violence meant to terrorize a community. That was then. This is now. And nothing’s changed.

In recent days, numerous Portland Police Bureau officers have taken to social media to show their support for killer cop Darren Wilson, who in August executed an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown. For anyone still believing Portland is somehow different, somehow immune from the racist institution that is law enforcement, here’s your wake up call.

Nobody should be surprised that a ‘Support Darren Wilson‘ Facebook page quickly garnered almost 100,000 followers, or that the bulk of its comments revolve around religious deities protecting killer cops from justice. Nobody should have been surprised that a fundraising effort for Darren Wilson – who has yet to be charged with a crime 100 days after his lethal act – was able to raise over half a million dollars.

But now we see, finally, the extent of hatred and callousness within our own local police force. It’s entirely evident Black Lives don’t matter within the Portland Police Bureau.

Officer Richard Storm also has a history of violating people’s rights and bashing in the faces of people of color. As reported in the Willamette Week, on May 5th, 2011 Officer Storm approached Fausto Brambila-Naranjo for the suspicious activity of “standing in the rain“.

After a verbal exchange and take-down, Storm proceeded to beat Fausto, striking him between “seven to ten times in the face.” Continue reading →

The Last Minute Preparations Before Hurricane Ferguson

The grand jury decision whether to indict killer cop Darren Wilson for the execution of Michael Brown could be mere weeks, or even days away. Almost everyone knows there’ll be no indictment – police officers are rarely disciplined for using deadly force, let alone prosecuted.

Knowing this, law enforcement agencies have begun flaunting new military weapons as residents also prepare: by way of fashioning homemade defensive shields and boarding up windows.

It truly looks as though a hurricane is about to hit Ferguson. That might not be so far from the truth.

This is what police state looks like: where the mere idea of unrest elicits hundreds of police to become even more hostile. Imagine if the reverse were true: if we lived in a world where we were all preparing for the guaranteed trial and likely conviction of a white cop for murdering a black teenager – because such an act was universally considered outrageous.

Corporate media has played a large role in hyping up the “chaos and violence” angle as they always do. The only ‘chaos’ has been some selectively targeted property destruction of mostly franchise chain stores. The only violence in Ferguson has been inflicted by police.

Continue reading →