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.
@PortlandPolice officers now changing their FB pics to support #DarrenWilson. Black lives don’t matter to PPB. pic.twitter.com/WP8MxDHTuZ
— Hart Noecker (@HartNoecker) November 24, 2014
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