Police Clash with Protesters at Occupy Portland: The Truth
Occupy Portland camps at Chapman and Lownsdale Squares were scheduled for eviction by Mayor Sam Adams on Saturday, November 13 at 12:01a.m. The Occupy Wall Street offshoot in Portland, Oregon called on supporters to help occupy the park in defiance of the eviction order.
Police in riot gear were dispatched to the area as were representatives from several local and national media outlets. Both watched as peaceful protesters from Portland, Eugene, Salem, Seattle, Denver, and other cities flocked to the parks and into the streets.
The actual number of protesters has been estimated at between 2,000 and 8,000 by different sources in the media, city government, and Occupy Portland representatives. Despite the large number of protesters there were only two arrests overnight. At least one of those arrests occurred when Occupiers witnessed a man assault a police officer and turned him in to the police.
There is a large discrepancy between what major media outlets are reporting and what actually happened overnight at Occupy Portland. Occupy Portland protesters repeatedly made it clear that theirs was a non-violent, peaceful protest. The officers from the Portland Police Department did their jobs without inciting violence or forcing confrontation. If a person was observed preaching violence or acting in a way not congruent with a peaceful protest, other protesters nearby made it clear that violence would not be tolerated and helped diffuse the situation.
Occupy Portland made it clear that their voices are many and varied. Together, homeless residents of Portland stood with blue collar union members to make their voices heard. Chants of "This is our town", "We are the 99%", and singing was heard throughout the night. The event was sometimes referred to as a big block party on Twitter and a Live Stream chat. The mood was festive as Occupy Portland came together in a peaceful way to stand up for and celebrate freedom.
Source:
Watched live feed of events at the protest while following live chat and Twitter feeds.
The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.
Published by Rebecca Rosenburg
Rebecca Rosenburg is a freelance writer and information specialist. Rebecca has worked in the health care industry for 16 years as a CNA/Caregiver. Rebecca is also an educator with 13 years experience specia... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentThanks for the report, it makes me think of home:)
It's best to have someone reporting from the scene with what's really going on, than trusting what has been embellished on TV. Nice work.
Quite a balancing act to support free speech and right to assemble, but also maintain safety, health and wellness.
Interesting, cheers - we never seem to get the whole story from the media!
Good job. Thank you.
Thanks for the report.