Hundreds of Portland cops and their supporters rallied downtown this morning to back Officer Christopher Humphreys, who was put on administrative leave last week pending an investigation into why he bean-bagged a 12-year-old girl.
The police union says there were about 650 people there. The Police Bureau does not provide official crowd estimates “because people always get mad at us,” says spokeswoman Mary Wheat.
Police rallied in Lownsdale Square with union-made signs and shirts saying “Safety! Not Politics,” “I Support the Police,” “I am Chris Humphreys” and “No Leadership Confidence,” a nod to the union’s ongoing no-confidence vote against Chief Rosie Sizer and Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman. (Mayor Sam Adams assigned the police bureau to Saltzman last year.)
But cops approached by WW mostly stayed mum on the no-confidence vote, with ballots due Friday and results to be announced next Monday. Few officers would say how they voted or why, insisting that today’s event was about supporting Humphreys.
“This is about Chris,” said North Precinct Officer Kevin Macho. “We feel like the issue itself is important, and the rest of it, the politics, will play itself out.”
“They can’t say he violated the law or was outside policy,” said Gang Unit Detective Brad Clifton. “They just suspended him because they didn’t like it.”
After marching around the Justice Center, where Sizer’s office sits on the 15th floor, the cops gathered in front of City Hall, where union president Sgt. Scott Westerman gave a 15-minute speech.
After rattling off a list of positive acts by police, such as helping the needy and keeping the streets safe, Westerman called on Portlanders to support officers in the line of duty.
“Our question today is, who’s willing to stand with us?” Westerman said. “When you stand with us, you stand with the officer who goes to the city’s darkest streets, alone at night, to keep the public safe and allow the city to sleep.”
Prompted by Westerman, the crowd punctuated his statements in unison with the refrain “Will you stand with us?”
“If you do not, you have put political expedience ahead of effective law enforcement,” Westerman said, referring to Saltzman’s office upstairs. “To Mayor Sam Adams, we don’t ask, because it’s your job. You stand with us.”
A handful of counter-protesters stood in back of the rally heckling the police. One woman repeatedly referred to the Nov. 14 incident where Humphreys shot a girl who was resisting arrest with a less-lethal bean-bag gun on an East Portland MAX platform.
“Where are the mothers?” she cried.
A man who declined to identify himself held a sign saying “KKK” and “Portland Police shoot blacks.”
“Back then they had dogs and fire hoses,” he said. “Now they have bean bags. We’re just going back in time.”
The gathered police declined to react except to glance occasionally at the protesters.
“We’re here to support Chris Humphreys,” said Drugs and Vice Sgt. Jim Morris. “It could have been any of us.”
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Tags: Christopher Humphreys, Portland
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You heard it here first, folks: Portland Police considers anger over the beanbag shotgun shooting of a clearly unarmed, pinned to the ground girl “political”.
That’s right–we’re just confused; the police know best.
These are the same cowardly pigs who arrested a man for putting up flyers with the photos of James Chasse’s murderers.
Repulsive. I would rather feel safe when talking to a police officer than KNOWING that the officer can tase me or beanbag me or mace me without any fear of punishment.
The PPB uses force entirely too much, and the public injury and death toll tell the tale.
Stand with us for safety? Every single official and officer that is standing-up publicly for this poor excuse for a human being needs to be fired. Because they are also without a moral compass.
This officer, all the others standing next to him, and local officials who enable these uion bullying machines should strike fear in every single one of us. He’s unpredictable and he exercises extremely inappropriate judgment when it comes to the use of force.
Who won’t Humphries stike? Really? Who? I asked this last time one of his incidents of thuggery resulted in James losing his life. What’s next? Whose next?
1) When measured for the most use of force, after Humphries mistakenly beat a citizen 30 times with a baton, he was found to have had the 2nd highest use of aggression on the force.
2) As a result of the city allowing Mr. Humphries to remain on the force AFTER THAT INCIDENT without reprimand, NO ADMISSION OF GUILT and the city’s $90,000 settlement to the victim, Mr. Humphries went on to participate in the historic and brutal unprovoked use of force against a mentally ill citizen, James Chasse. It wasn’t just the force that killed James, it was worse than that. It was Nice and Humphries extremely inhumane decision to ADD INSULT TO INJURY, BY DENYING THEIR VICTIM HIS RIGHT TO PROTECTION UNDER THE ADA, MERCY HE PLEADED FOR AND HIS RIGHT TO MEDICAL ASSISTANCE WHICH THEY TOOK UPON THEMSELVES TO SIGN AWAY. James Chasse died a frightening and disrespectful agonizing death over 105 mintues.
3) AND AGAIN, BECAUSE NO ONE, including our DA and officials held this killing porcine accountable, this union whack-jobn thug was able to brutalize a 12 year old female by shooting her at close range in the thigh/groin area with a riot shotgun loaded with bean bags.
We are going to be very lucky if we don’t end-up with anarchy over this.
Mr. Steenson, congratulations! The city of Portland has enabled your clients to win.
And as for JUDGE GARR KING, with all your wisdom and concern that there be justice and fairness. Yes, I’d say a change of venue is needed. Not because of the press, but because of this union bully’s own actions. I don’t know where you’re ever going to find a jury whose going to think what this officer did, and is enabled to KEEP DOING, IN PART BECAUSE OF IDIOTS LIKE YOU, was/is acceptable
We need to clean house. Police, prosecutors wise, and with tsome of those who sit on the bench in Multnomah County and preside over cases. Justice is not blind in Multnomah COunty, when it comes to union porcines.
Just my opinion. There’s more. They just haven’t told you about all of it. Sick freaking porcines.
“…who’s willing to stand with us?”
Not me.
The idea of anyone involved in the leadership of a union accusing others of being “political” is ironic to say the least.
I definitely support the police and it’s absolutely true that anybody doing dangerous and stressful work deserves as much support as possible. But if most of these officers really think that what Humphreys did was acceptable in any way then we all may have bigger problems than we thought.
You would be correct. The problems run much deeper than our citizen’s know. Justice in Multnomah County is slanted towards officials and union employees regardless of the HEINOUSNESS OF THEIR ACTS..
This could have been anyone of our children.
And who in the HELL stood-up for Chasse’s safety? He could have been you or I. This is a joke.
FYI, for anyone whose never had to blow the whistle on union employee misconduct, unions are where dysfunctionals go who can’t behave properly in the workplace. Normal people don’t have to resort to bullying in the workplace to get ahead or to union blackmailing to keep their jobs.
King needs to release the full report now! Maybe if he had when the public asked for it, Humphries would have been on a desk job and this would have never happened.
Imo, if our stewards of the court are not going to protect us, we seriously need to advocate for our children and ourselves.
Portland police and surrounding departments have this ’shoot first, ask questions later’ mentality. For God’s sake, they shot a naked man with a screwdriver once from 15 feet away and killed him.
PPD looks for any reason to shoot.
You mean 5 cops couldn’t take down a 10 year old girl without a gun? Nut up boyz and stop looking for excuses to fire your penis at people.
THEY SHOT SOMEONE WITH A SCREWDRIVER? When was that and did the prosecutor charge them? Details please.
“We support our murderer.” Pathetic.
I stand as far away from the Portland Police as I possibly can. I teach my children the same. FTP.
Yes the job is dangerous but is just a job, not a lifestyle or a credo or a calling, but a job, to be done with insight and good sense. Cleaning house in Portland, starting with the judges, working down to the beat cop is the best place to go, in these trying times applicants would be lining up as far as the eye can see with quality folks that aren’t jaded or forgetful of what we stand for in this country, enough of our local cops feeling put out by doing the task at which they we’re hired.
This dude is bad mojo, he killed a guy for peeing and then slams an overweight child to the ground face first then unloads a powder weapon on her. We just don’t need it in a city this small – Seattle seems to handle it, SFO, LA? Not nirvana but the cops in these places don’t whine near as much as Portland’s finest.
Exactly! Profile everyone on staff through an outside consulting firm and send any cops who put our citizens at risk to filing jobs.
Humphrey’s actions were deplorable and unnecessary; anyone with a whit of sense can see that for themselves on the video recordings. The true shame of the incident is that our entire police force has united behind this thug in support of his actions.
Three cops versus an unarmed 12-year-old girl and this guy pops her near-point-blank with a weapon recommended not to be used from less than 30 feet away. And this is what these thugs are marching in support of. Disgusting.
One thing that most people haven’t yet made note of, is the myth that beanbag rounds are somehow “less-than-lethal” weapons. This is bullshit. Beanbags are VERY OFTEN lethal weapons, when a person takes a direct hit to the chest/torso/back/head/etc. This is true either at close range, or from a distance. The following link is to an article (from my own home town) of a distraught vet who bled internally to DEATH for two days, after being hit with a “non-lethal” beanbag round. The cops could’ve talked him down. But instead of giving that a chance at all, Lester Zachary was EXECUTED on the spot:
http://www.policeone.com/less-lethal/articles/98493-Suspect-Dies-After-Ga-Police-Shoot-Him-with-Bean-Bag-Round/
If that cowardly pig Humphreys had shot that girl in the leg with a bullet, it probably wouldn’t have killed her. So, should we re/classify bullets as “less-than-lethal” as well?
I don’t know Damos but the femoral artery in the thigh is a sorce of major blood supply. Assassins often aim for it.
I hope this girls parents spoke with an attorney for redress. I don’t care or unruly 12 year olds, but I have zero tolerance for union backed bullies. They have a rippling toxic effect throughout on an otherwise good organization. And any good union employees are coerced into silence and seriously bullied if they speak-out because they know the inner workings and damaging agendas.
Rosie shouldn’t have waffled. My guess is that it dawned on her that she and Saltzman are the new targets. Hope they keep a close eye on their kids and don’t let them access online games and/or communications. They will harass whistle-blowers online and hack into your home computers. Really creepy “stuff”.
Good luck Rosie and Dan. Stay safe!
Chris Humphreys is unable to subdue a pre-teen girl! He and his supporters are pathetic. Oh, and this is choice. No more police crowd estimates, “because people always get mad at us.” So says their spokesman.
-hans
I have never felt in danger of being shot or beaten by Portland Police, but then again, I generally obey the law . . . or if I’m caught breaking the law, I certainly wouldn’t try to fight cops . . . if I did, I would expect to bean-bagged. This girl was a known problem on Max and she was not supposed to be on the train. Once she started fighting with cops on the side of a busy street she deserved to bean-bagged within the defined guidelines for force to be used as the cops were trainied (notice that nobody is disputing that he acted within the defined guidelines as he was trained). Break the law and get caught, or fight with a cop and I have NO sympathy for your dumb-a**. That pooooooooor little sweet angle of a girl (who I’m sure was just selling girl scout cookies) now has a bruise on her leg . . . whaaaaa! She tried to hit a cop . . . doesn’t ANYBODY see THAT as wrong?!
My finger is pointed at the girl’s parents – you’re doing a great job – keep up the good work – I’m sure she will be a very important contributor to the rest of society one day.
Why isn’t WW reporting on Ted Kulongoskis’ executive order that all law enforcement personal will be checked at random by private testing laboratories for steroid and illegal drug use or face immediate termination and the forfeiture of all benefits as well as investigation by law enforcement?
Hey, a guy can dream about hope and change we can believe in, can’t he?
Who policed the police demonstration? Was there a demonstration permit on hand anywhere? How democratic is it that one cannot be a police officer if they don’t join the union? Why shouldn’t police be subjected to random mandatory illegal drug, steroid, alcohol or other illicit substance testing by private labs that participate in a lottery to administer testing? Police union strikes, crime increases. Indeed, the conflict of interests abound.
Curious. Mr. Kulongowksi covers for Giusto and Goldschmidt and Mr. Westerman rallies the troops not only to cover for personal and corporate incompetence, he goes further. He asserts that a leadership decision is political and then implores his followers to engage in the political process known as voting. Then he issues a threat veiled as a cry for help. “Will you stand with us”? Please……
Interesting that Ted Kulongoski was a union lawyer and is now a union puppet for the SEIU503. Both make similar threats if they don’t get their way. The state will cut funding were it sees fit, regardless of how we vote. The police here in Portland will patrol as they see fit, not as a product of open deliberate discourse. They’ll happily refer to their practice as Community Policing.
It will be interesting to follow Mr. Westerman and his Merry Pranksters. Certainly there must be a higher calling at the state level for Mr. Westerman, a shepherd of Public Income Indemnification Associations. Governor Westerman? Nice ring to it. Multnomah County Sheriff Humphreys, hey, cool. Portlanders have rarely taken well to ultimatums. In the same way a ten-year veteran of PPS should know that bean bagging a kid who is already on the ground, in front of a video camera, is going to raise a stink, the same idea goes for the pork bellied union boss making public threats.
By design or default, Mr. Westermans statements foment a de facto ‘fend for yourself’ environment if you don’t stand with him and PPB thugs. Is it any wonder that police vehicles were burned at SE Madison and 11th? Why shouldn’t PPB expect to be treated with the same contempt, threats of violence and use of violence which they exert? Why does PPB continue to forfeit their authority? The ACLU and the American Bar Association live for this kind of stuff. The answer; Portland Police want the gun and the badge but not the rest of the job. The police union, like any union, supports increased return for decreased effort by the worker.
After Mr. Westernam loses several pounds and demonstrates to Portland that he knows how to make an unpopular decision in the interest of Portland as a whole, maybe we should listen to him. As it is, Mr. Westerman aligns himself with unchecked bullies. Dead possums, don’t choke ‘em, smoke ‘em and the list goes on. Standing with a grown man who has twice shown that he can’t/won’t/doesn’t control his temper is hardly indicative of strong leadership Mr. Westerman. There is a terminology for those who engage in consistent behaviors and practices while expecting different results.
Fabulous post. Spot on.
Most all responses predictable from WW readers.
Count me among the minority that supports the PPB.
Every time some scumbag starts whining about his/her treatment from the Police, and then some spinless sissy MSM reporter reports it, I just think of one question:
Did the supposed victim obey the commands of the Police?
In every case whining about abuse, the answer is “no”.
Too bad, so sad, dis-obey the police and you have an ass kicking coming. Pretty simple.
BTW, this “innocent” 12 year old is 5′7″, 160 lbs and hanging out at midnight with known gang members?
So we should disregard the fact that the supreme court struck down a ruling which that made it illegal to disobey a police officers order? Do you really want to live in a police state? Any one of these officers could do what Humphreys did and Scott Westerman would ’stand with them’. It doesn’t matter to the Portland Police that there are those in their ranks that can’t control themselves, let alone their use of steroids and other illicit substance. Evidently the progressives here in Portland embrace a ‘Because I said so’ approach by abusive authority.
“We’re Here, We’re Law Enforcement, Get Used To It”
Additionally, what recourse does a physically, mentally or emotionally unstable person have when it comes to interfacing with such a totalitarian regime?
Police state? WTF? You are an idiot.
Four Police persons in Tacoma got killed last night because they didn’t over react. Comment? Bueller?…Bueller?
Ozzie, grab a box of tissue and head for the corner. When you lean how to play with others you can come out.
You will be hard pressed, officers, to find anyone but yourselves standing with you.
“Most all responses predictable from WW readers.
Count me among the minority that supports the PPB.
Every time some scumbag starts whining about his/her treatment from the Police, and then some spinless sissy MSM reporter reports it, I just think of one question:
Did the supposed victim obey the commands of the Police?
In every case whining about abuse, the answer is “no”.
Too bad, so sad, dis-obey the police and you have an ass kicking coming. Pretty simple.
BTW, this “innocent” 12 year old is 5′7″, 160 lbs and hanging out at midnight with known gang members?”
Then Joe, you’re a punk-ass coward who clearly long’s to live in a facist state, Hitler(?)! And 160 lbs? I 1st heard that she was 120-something lbs. Then 150. That no. seemed to stick for awhile. Now YOU’RE claiming she’s 160 lbs. WOW! keep it up, & she’ll be 6′2″ & 210!!!
Fact is, ASSHOLE, Humphreys would obviously be far more physically powerful than ANY 12 yr old girl, even freakishly huge ones! Plus, he was aided by other pigs who were as big & fat as him!
For all you idiots who lend blind support to the police, i ask of you this:
What “risk” do the police possibly face when 4-5 of them on average pile on a single, un-armed person who poses NO threat to them what so fucking ever?!
That is a very insensitive statement. My feelings are hurt, and I am reaching for a box of tissues.
You are mean, hurtful and spiteful.
Please tell me again about how bad to po-leece are? Are you one of them?
What happened to the training to take a suspect into custody without harm? Many of these officers need to learn some mental caregiving training. If I can subdue a mental client with a baseball bat without harmm to myself or my client, an officer can do the same thing the right way without weapons!! Where are the results of random drug testing of our police force? City hall, I want to know!! Last motion I want to point out, ITS TIME TO FILE A COMPLAINT OF POLICE CORRUPTION WITHIN THE PORTLAND POLICE WITH THE FBI!!!!
Don’t bother. The FBI just forwards complaints on to the PPD, and does nothing about them.
Would we even be discussing this if it wasn’t caught on video? The fact that the PPD got busted (again) causes serious cause for concern, but what I find most appalling is the fact that 3 officers trained in physical combat couldn’t manage to subdue a 12-yr old girl, no matter what her height or weight without firing a weapon.
No wonder people hate the police!
“Protect and Serve” – my ass.
‘Bully and instill fear’ – more like it.
Scott Westerman is a skilled artist at blame projection, rather than looking at who’s really to blame for excessive force.
Does Scott defend the Rodney King cops – that was the 1st & most notorious example of excessive force?
Use of excessive force seems to have almost become an ‘acceptable’ form of policing in many cities.
I would suggest policing in Mexico, while corrupt, is less-hazardous to you health!
[...] vote comes after police rallied last week in support of Officer Christopher Humphreys. Saltzman placed Humphreys on administrative [...]
[...] (union’s) rally on November 24 was designed to focus on the need for due process for Officer Humphreys; to have the [...]
[...] holding a massive rally and a no-confidence vote on Saltzman and Sizer — then agreeing to withhold the results — the [...]
[...] holding a massive rally and a no-confidence vote on Saltzman and Sizer — then agreeing to withhold the results — the [...]
[...] of policy from the Nov. 12 beanbag shooting — a probe that brought hundreds of cops downtown to rally against Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman for taking Humphreys’ [...]