One Thing's For Sure...
Kyle Curtis
If Chief Mike Reese wanted to position himself as a capable and competent leader for a potential mayoral candidacy, he couldn't have picked a better opportunity to do so than his brilliant management of the Portland Police during last night's tense-yet-peaceful confrontation regarding the eviction of the former Occupy Portland camps-turned-druggie-dens at Chapman and Lownsdale Parks. This police action was watched carefully by the thousands of spectators that filled the streets, thousands more who watched it streaming online (and on local news), and even garnered national media attention. Could you imagine what the results would be if Mark Kroeker was still chief of Portland police? The situation would definitely have been FUBAR'd- and quickly.
Kudos to both Chief Reese- and Mayor Sam Adams- for a successfully non-violent conclusion to the camps that had become a threat to public safety. Now perhaps the Occupy Portland could re-energize their efforts to the original purpose of the Occupy Movement, such as flash occupations of the World Trade Center or local branches of "too big to fail" banks throughout downtown Portland?
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12:40 p.m.
Nov 13, '11
Sam set this up by earning the trust (so it seems) of Occupy leaders. he worked with them to ensure that despite the cops' apparent readiness to react with the big hammer, it wasn't necessary. at best, i'd say this shows Reece can defer to his boss & carry out orders.
not sure how Reece's failure to let this escalate beyond what the Mayor engineered is "brilliant management". this belongs to Sam, his staff, and the Occupiers who acted responsibly - including the ones who stayed thru the night but then left without resorting to violence. good to all of them. and good to Reece for doing his job properly.
12:51 p.m.
Nov 13, '11
T.A., the fact of the matter is that Portland is waking up to NOT read/ hear about a massive riot down town, the "bloack bloc" running amok smashing windows, and the cops pepper-spraying babies. And to say this belongs mostly to Sam isn't correct. Chief Reese works under Sam in the chain of command- in fact, in response to a Tweet which he was asked why cops aren't "doing more" Mayor Adams responded by saying chief & commanders decide strategic actions. If the result had been 180 degrees different, both the Mayor and Chief of Police would have been at fault. In this case, they should share the accolades!
1:32 p.m.
Nov 13, '11
Of course, shortly after I wrote this, the riot cops kettled the last remaining protestors. So, uh, nevermind.
7:49 p.m.
Nov 13, '11
Here's an alternative theory: the majority of people who would like to see Reese win, may be disappointed there were no skulls cracked. Lars has commenters literally asking for the water cannons and tear gas, and furious that the streets weren't "swept." It may be a little incongruous to support the top cop as mayor (relative to other backgrounds), and approve of how they did the job. Potter was already Unka Tom by his race; not quite the virile, steely Reese.
None of which is to say I disapprove of his handling; I'm THRILLED. And I'd like him to stay right where he is. Good chiefs are harder to find than good mayors.
9:44 p.m.
Nov 13, '11
And by "Unka Tom" I assume you mean in the colloquial, family sense - rather than the racially charged sense.
11:45 a.m.
Nov 14, '11
I have read a report (a firsthand account)on a face book page called Radical Party of America that says there was PDX police brutality at the Sun., 11/13 general assembly (which I think occurred at 5 PM Sunday evening). Go to that page and read the report posted by Suzanne McDonald.
6:40 p.m.
Nov 14, '11
Funny, with over a thousand onlookers and with video rolling, there is no evidence that supports this claim.
4:46 p.m.
Nov 14, '11
Do you really think his actions aren't related to his potential bid for Mayor? The whole "working a beat shift" nonsense?! He was purely political.
10:42 p.m.
Nov 14, '11
I think it does 100%. If that's what it takes to avoid a clusterf*ck, so be it.
The fact is, Portland is pretty much the only city- so far- to clear out Occupy camps without reflecting poorly on the Mayor or the cops. Oakland even learned a lesson, clearing out the plaza a third time WITHOUT resorting to flash gernades or shooting projectiles into the heads of veterans. All because Portland showed it could be done.
11:15 p.m.
Nov 15, '11
Reese will be richly rewarded tomorrow at the Arlington Club for his destruction of the Occupy Portland camp - we just cannot have things like that in our city to occupy the beautiful minds of the Pearl District residents.
And the Rapid Response Team (riot cops) went in swinging clubs and battering people, sending one to the hospital. Interestingly, the police video left out the battering, as if they wanted to hide the evidence.