Portland's police riot team resigns after officer indicted over alleged assault on photographer

[Chrystal-J]

Incident happened as rioters set fire to Multnomah government building last August.

Portland police’s highly trained rapid response unit voted unanimously to resign on Wednesday during a union meeting in response to the recent indictment of Officer Corey Budworth for allegedly assaulting a photographer with his baton during as an overnight riot broke out last August.

"Unfortunately, this decorated public servant has been caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system," the Portland Police Association said in an initial statement Tuesday after a Multnomah County grand jury indicted Budworth on one count of fourth-degree assault related to an incident that occurred on Aug. 18, 2020.

That night, according to the police union, a group of about 200 demonstrators – many equipped with tactical helmets, faces covered, and armed with a variety of weapons – descended on the Multnomah Building in southeast Portland. Multiple dumpsters were set on fire, buildings were defaced, and windows were broken. A riot soon was declared at the planned event after someone from the crowd launched a Molotov cocktail into the Multnomah Building, setting it ablaze.

Portland's police riot team resigns after officer indicted over alleged assault on photographer

 

[iarwain]

I can't believe those police officers haven't fled Portland completely yet.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

What is the argument for the police staying and doing their job at this point? It seems both left and right agree that it's not worth the police even being there. Although they have wildly different reasons why that should be the case. Let Portland become an anarchsit state run by Antifa.

 

[Crwth]

What is the argument for the police staying and doing their job at this point? It seems both left and right agree that it's not worth the police even being there. Although they have wildly different reasons why that should be the case. Let Portland become an anarchsit state run by Antifa.

Apparently, that's exactly what it is now.

 

[Chrystal-J]

I'm betting as police retire from there, there will be no new recruits. I would stay as far away from Portland as possible.

 

[iarwain]

I'm betting as police retire from there, there will be no new recruits. I would stay as far away from Portland as possible.

And if there are recruits, of what quality are they going to be? My guess is over time the police jobs are all going to be held by Antifa.

It really is outrageous. They take a high tolerance approach with the rioters, but as soon as a cop makes a small mistake with a baton, the Portland justice system jumps to prosecute him.

 

[AvilaSurfer]

Let those low lifes fend for themselves.

 

[The Barbarian]

You mean they indicted a cop just because he beat a photographer with a club?

Those meanies. Next thing you know, they'll be holding police accountable for every law they break.

as soon as a cop makes a small mistake with a baton, the Portland justice system jumps to prosecute him.

If you make a "small mistake" with a club and beat someone, I imagine that the justice system will jump to prosecute you, too. That's what it's supposed to do.

The reason it's hard to get good cops, is that they don't weed out the bad ones. Gresham's law in hiring.

 

[The Barbarian]

Let those low lifes fend for themselves.

Don't worry; some other department will hire them.

 

[The Barbarian]

Actually, even given last year, the violent crime rate in Portland is lower than the national average.
https://www.bestplaces.net/crime/?city1=54159000&city2=55363000

You might want to learn what happened when an entire nation defunded it's police:
Brand New Georgian Police - English Russia

They were deemed hopelessly corrupt, so after ignoring warnings to stop abusing citizens, they were all fired. The nation of Georgia went three months without police.

Crime went down.

 

[Danthemailman]

And if there are recruits, of what quality are they going to be? My guess is over time the police jobs are all going to be held by Antifa.

It really is outrageous. They take a high tolerance approach with the rioters, but as soon as a cop makes a small mistake with a baton, the Portland justice system jumps to prosecute him.

This is what happens when liberals breed anarchy and embrace lawlessness and government officials have their backs instead of law enforcement. What has been happening in Portland since the summer of 2020 is absolutely despicable!

Isaiah 5:20 - Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

 

[AvilaSurfer]

Don't worry; some other department will hire them.

Missing the point eh?

 

[The Barbarian]

Missing the point eh?

Don't think so. All those guys who quit in protest of a police officer being arrested for assaulting a photographer, will probably be able to find new jobs. Gypsy cops rarely have a problem moving away from their previous problems, particularly when they weren't actually charged with a crime.

 

[The Barbarian]

This is what happens when liberals breed anarchy and embrace lawlessness and government officials have their backs instead of law enforcement.

They don't look like liberals to me... and yes, politicians did indeed turn their back on those officers:
A Republican congressman refused to shake hands with a DC police officer beaten by Trump loyalists on January 6, according to 2 House members
Rep. Andrew Clyde refused to shake hands with Michael Fanone, a DC officer assaulted on Jan. 6.

A Republican congressman refused to shake hands with a DC police officer beaten by Trump loyalists on January 6, according to 2 House members

I get why. Those brave officers put their lives on the line to prevent the mob from overturning the Constitution. Clyde was no doubt bitterly disappointed, and took his frustration out on that officer who risked his life to protect him.

What has been happening in Portland since the summer of 2020 is absolutely despicable!

Yes, I'd say so. The officer in Portland who crossed the line and assaulted a photographer is now facing consequences. But a lot of them seem to have gotten away with it. But maybe I'm being pessimistic; there's a lot of video, and some of those thugs might yet be identified and charged.

It wasn't only cops and white supremacists at fault in Portland, of course...

Black members of Portland’s Black Lives Matter movement say that they are fed up of their protests being hijacked by mostly white Antifa militants and intend to separate the two groups.
...
As protests continue in Portland, activists in the city say they are divided as to whether they are still fighting for social justice, and have expressed concerns that their movement has been hijacked by anarchists whose “fight against capitalism and state power has usurped the initial cause that brought thousands of Portlanders into the streets.”
BLM activists condemn, split off from Antifa in Portland

Much of the vandalism and violence was due to the far right seeking to disrupt peaceful protests in the same way Antifa was doing:

The informal group that convened via the ‘Cascadian Coffee Company’ Discord server was made up of members of different neo-nazi groups, such as American Front, a Daily Stormer ‘book club,’ the Traditionalist Worker Party, and Atomwaffen, along with unaffiliated white supremacists looking for activities to be involved in. They used the group chats to organize meetups, carry out banner drops, target and harass leftist and progressive groups, as well as attend violent rallies together, usually while armed.

For instance, on April 22, 2017, a Patriot Prayer ‘free speech’ rally organized by Joey Gibson was attended by Jeremy Christian, an alt-right white supremacist who would go on to stab three people on a Portland train just over a month later, killing two men and injuring another after they intervened when he was harassing Muslim women on public transit. Also in attendance that day were David Woods and Andrew Oswalt, two open neo-nazis involved in the now-public ‘Cascadian Coffee Company’ chats.

Andrew Oswalt, who used the Discord username ‘DatGoy’, was recently removed from his position in student government at Oregon State University. He failed to secure re-election after community members exposed him as a neo-nazi with a string of recent arrests who had been involved in distributing anti-semitic propaganda throughout Oregon. Click here to read Andrew Oswalt’s leaked Discord messages.
Pacific Northwest Nazi Networks Exposed in Discord Chats - UNICORN RIOT

There's more. Would you like to see more?

 

[iarwain]

You mean they indicted a cop just because he beat a photographer with a club?

My complaint is not that a cop might be indicted, it's the double standard that I don't like. Portland leaders allow rioters to burn, loot, and destroy and decline to prosecute them. But jump on a cop as soon as he makes a mistake. The police don't feel supported, that's why they resigned in mass.

Night after night, they send these cops out to risk their lives and put them in dangerous situations. The cops have an impossible job to do, and I do think they need some protection or leniency in recognition of that. Their job is violent by definition, to expect a human to never make a mistake is not reasonable, especially when the policies they are being guided by are not reasonable.

 

[The Barbarian]

My complaint is not that a cop might be indicted, it's the double standard that I don't like.

There's a huge double standard. Police investigate themselves and mostly find that they did nothing wrong. Occasionally, some cop is unwise enough to commit an assault in front of cameras or to someone who has more pull than the average person who is poor or of a minority group.

And it's not by any means, all police. This thug does not represent the average officer. But note that the "good officers" will back the bad ones up, perpetuating the problem. When they drop that double standard and start taking down the relatively few criminals among them, then things will get better.

Portland leaders allow rioters to burn, loot, and destroy and decline to prosecute them.

More than two dozen Antifa rioters charged for Portland mayhem

More than two dozen suspected Antifa rioters have been charged in Portland in the past two weeks, signaling an escalation by both local and federal prosecutors following a full year of riots in the besieged Oregon city.

On Thursday, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced charges against 10 suspects following several grand jury indictments.

Maximilian Ryan Jennings, 23, James Walker Prettyman, 25, and Thomas Moll-Rocek, 34, are charged with one count each of felony riot, felony first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal mischief.

The three were indicted over accusations they were part of a black-clad mob that broke most of the windows on the Multnomah County Democrats’ headquarters on Nov. 8, 2020. At the time, Antifa accounts on social media promoted the “direct action” to oppose the presidential election.

In a separate indictment, six other suspects were charged with felony crimes for their alleged roles in the Antifa Inauguration Day riot on Jan. 20. Holding a banner featuring a Kalashnikov rifle that read, “We don’t want Biden — We want revenge,” the group of Antifa marched to the Democratic Party of Oregon building where they started a fire on the street and smashed the building’s windows. Arrestees were found carrying knives, batons and crowbars.

Nicole Aria Rose, 26, Darrell Anthony Kimberlin, 31, Jean V. Paris, 19, and Kyle Martin Romstad, 22, are charged with one count each of felony riot, felony first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal mischief.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced charges against 10 suspects following several grand jury indictments.
Kai-Ave James Douvia, 23, a serial riot-arrestee, faces the same charges in addition to a second count of second-degree criminal mischief for allegedly smashing out windows of a coffee shop at another riot in November 2020.

Austin Nathaniel Nuchraska, 25, was indicted over the most serious charges. In addition to felony riot and criminal mischief charges, he is charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a destructive device at the Jan. 20 riot.


The district attorney’s office also announced charges against Sean Gabriel Lopez, a 26-year-old rapper known as “Noshu” who regularly attends protests and riots in Portland. He was arrested in the early hours of May 29 after a warrant was issued on charges of felony second-degree attempted assault, felony first-degree burglary, felony unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of felony first-degree criminal mischief.

The charges stem from an Antifa riot on April 23 where Lopez is accused of using a rock to break the window of an apartment complex where a resident was recording the protest on his phone. The resident was nearly hit. Additionally, Lopez is accused of throwing a rock through a window of a coffee shop.
More than two dozen Antifa rioters charged for Portland mayhem

This is why BLM denounced Antifa demonstrators and refuse to cooperate with them.

White supremacists pretend that none of those indictments happened, but let one criminal cop get nailed for his crimes and they scream bloody murder.

 

[The Barbarian]

Night after night, they send these cops out to risk their lives and put them in dangerous situations. The cops have an impossible job to do, and I do think they need some protection or leniency in recognition of that.

No. Government officials should be held to the same standard as everyone else. If anything, police should be held to a stricter standard of conduct.

They are supposed to know the law and uphold it. If they can't do that, they need to find a job that they can handle.