Portland cops back off from man pounding on restaurant door to give him 'space.' Soon he breaks door with 'grapefruit'-sized rock; staff hide in freezer.



Portland police said officers responded to a report of someone pounding on the door of a restaurant in the 1500 block of Northeast 103rd Avenue just before 1 a.m. Thursday.

The restaurant's dining room was closed, police said, but employees still were working the drive-through.

Police officers — along with an Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team officer who specializes in crisis communication — tried talking to the man, police said.

"The ECIT officer used de-escalation techniques including giving the man time and space," police wrote in their report. "He remained uncooperative, so officers backed out and monitored from a distance."

Oops

Soon the man broke the restaurant's glass door using a rock "roughly the size of a grapefruit" and got inside the establishment, police said.

With that, employees hid in a freezer room to get away from the man, police said.

Cops chased the suspect inside, but he barricaded himself in a break room, police added.

So officers evacuated employees and got down to negotiating with the man, the police report said.

"After a lengthy communication period, an officer used a sledgehammer to break a window to allow another officer to deploy pepper spray," the report added.

At that point police said the suspect surrendered.

What happened to the suspect?

Police said Anthony Bellamy, 38, was treated medically and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of second-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief — both felonies — and second-degree disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

According to the jail, Bellamy was booked just before 3:30 a.m. Thursday and released by court order the same day with no bail.

During the incident, an officer was cut with broken glass, police said, adding that he was treated and released from a hospital.

How did folks react?

Twitter users reacting to the news were none too pleased with Portland police:

  • "The police in Portland are useless," one commenter said.
  • "Criminal privilege," another user declared.
  • "Give him 'space'?" another commenter asked. "This is the police force that the moronic leftists want. Counselors to use the warm, fuzzy approach to hardened criminals. Even if they are forced to arrest them, they have a fund to pay their bail. What nation can survive without LEOs to enforce its laws?"
  • Mocking the police report's description of the officers' tactics, another commenter suggested "Americans should slowly back away from paying taxes."

Home invader in Portland charged police with a sword before hurling an axe and several knives at them, authorities say



A criminal in Portland, Oregon, was arrested over the weekend after allegedly breaking into a home and threatening responding officers with a sword and axe, police said.

What happened?

According to the Portland Police Bureau, 20-year-old Chance T. Haylett broke into a home in the northeast part of the city on Saturday while brandishing a sword and several other bladed weapons.

Neighbors reportedly alerted law enforcement officers after witnessing Haylett trying to open doors and windows to the house. Thankfully, the residents of the home were not present at the time of the break-in.

When officers arrived on the scene, they encountered a hostile suspect. Haylett became "combative," police recalled in a news release, "charging out the back towards officers on the perimeter while carrying a sword."

Police were able to partially de-escalate the situation by firing a less lethal foam-tip bullet at Haylett, but he still continued to threaten officers with the sword from a distance. At one point, Haylett hurled an axe and several other bladed weapons at the officers, but they were able to dodge the attacks.

After firing another foam-tip bullet at the Haylett, officers were able to move in and apprehend the suspect. In the press release, officers said they "were able to utilize de-escalation skills, develop rapport, and convince the suspect to drop his weapons and surrender."

Photo description: Numerous bladed weapons are displayed on the ground, including a sword, ax, and multiple knivesImage Source: Portland Police Bureau

What else?

Following the incident, Haylett was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. In all, police found he had been in possession of 15 weapons, including a sword, an axe, several knives — and yes, even a slingshot.

Haylett has since been booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of burglary in the first degree, criminal trespass in the first degree, criminal mischief in the first degree, felon in possession of a restricted weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon. Police reported that no one was injured in the altercation.

The Macon Telegraph reported that he was arraigned Monday afternoon and was being held on $65,000 bond. But jail records indicate Haylett made bail and was released on his own recognizance Monday.

After vilifying police, Portland unsurprisingly can't find officers to fill unit to fight soaring crime



Following more than a year of anti-police protests and targeted scrutiny from elected officials, law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon, have had enough.

What are the details?

According to the Wall Street Journal, officers in the riot-ravaged city are thinking twice about joining the police department's revamped version of the Gun Violence Reduction Team.

The unit, originally disbanded by the city council in 2020 amid Black Lives Matter protests, was resurrected earlier this year after a wave of gun violence began to rock the city in its absence — only it was not the same. Rather, the Enhanced Community Safety Team, as it is now called, was refashioned to be significantly more woke. Here's more from the Journal's report:

The new unit has its own citizen-advisory board, instituted after the old unit was criticized by city leaders for racial profiling. A job description says qualifications include the ability to fight systemic racism.

The new changes have apparently not been a draw for officers in the City of Roses, many of them wearied by constant backlash and criticism. Since 14 job openings were announced in May, only four police personnel have applied to work within the unit.

"They're demonizing and vilifying you, and then they want to put you in a unit where you're under an even bigger microscope," said Daryl Turner, head of the Portland Police Association, in response to the news.

What else?

Turner has been a voice for Portland's police officers, who were harassed and assaulted by rioters last year only to turn around and see the department's funding cut by progressive city council members.

The union chief went off on city officials in June, blasting them for having "encouraged and enabled some of the violence" that occurred in the city for more than 150 nights last year. He argued that police feel as if the council does not have their back. It's no wonder.

After the council passed significant budget cuts for the department last year, including the disbanding of the Gun Violence Reduction Team, violent crimes started to soar in the city. Portland has seen 53 homicides so far this year and is on pace to surpass its all-time high homicide figure, the Journal reported.

Nevertheless, hostility toward law enforcement rather than criminals remained palpable. The straw broke the camel's back in June when the entire 50-member Portland Rapid Response Team resigned after an officer was criminally indicted for using force against a rioter.

Meanwhile, Portland District Attorney Mike Schmidt declined to prosecute 80% of the crimes committed by rioters during the protests.

Unless something drastically changes, the city will likely continue to have difficulty trying to convince officers that taking tough jobs is worth the risk.

'Everyone of your color hates you!': Leftist militants curse out, berate black Portland cop on camera



Cellphone video captured the moment leftists cursed out and berated a black Portland police officer to his face, even yelling at him that "everyone of your color hates you!"

What are the details?

The barrage of profanity and other verbal attacks came from several people — loudly and often at once — so it was difficult to hear everything that was yelled at the officer. But multiple, rapid-fire "f*** you" exclamations were for sure delivered. One person also called him a "bitch."

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @DrewHLive

At one point the cop told the group to "back off me!"

Another person asked, "Why are you standing with the white man? They enslaved our people! And you're standing with him!"

The cop mentioned "COVID" and waved his hand in front of his face as if to signal that his abusers were way too close — but one of them yelled, "Where's your f***ing mask if you're so worried about COVID?"

Soon the officer said "goodbye" and tried walking away from the mob.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @DrewHLive

But not only did they continue to follow the officer and yell at him — one of his antagonizers went right up to him and walked just inches from him, continuing to berate him.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @DrewHLive

As the officer walked to a patrol vehicle, his antagonists continued to verbally abuse him, lavishing him with F-bombs and calling him a "bitch" some more.

After he entered the car, one of the abusers screamed at the top of her lungs that "your ancestors hate you! Everyone of your color hates you!"

As a vehicle was seen departing the area, the crowd offered some parting shots, including "you put no fear in us!" and "you ain't s**t!"

The clip was posted to Twitter on Thursday, but the date and time of the incident is not clear. The location and context of the profanity-laced barrage against the black officer also is not clear.

Here's the clip. (Content warning: Language):

PORTLAND: Psychopath BLM supporters absolutely BERATE a Black police officer accusing him of “Standing with the Whi… https://t.co/bxh3EiyoRJ

— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) 1625797215.0

Portland Police Try To Fend Off Angry Mob By Disclosing The Man They Shot Is White

"We can confirm that the subject involved is an adult white male. No one else was injured," Portland Police tweeted on Thursday night.

Portland protesters attack cops after deadly police-involved shooting



After a deadly police-involved shooting Thursday in Portland, a large group protesters attacked officers at the scene.

What are the details?

Portland police said the group began yelling, throwing items at officers, and attempting to interfere with the investigation.

A crowd has formed at the officer involved shooting scene. Some participants have thrown objects and tried to enter… https://t.co/gKSOsk7jaA

— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) 1624600689.0

Police said one officer's baton was grabbed, and she was being pulled toward the crowd until other officers quickly intervened. Another member of the crowd pepper-sprayed an officer, police said, adding that at least one police vehicle's tires were punctured and its window was broken.

Image source: Twitter

Here are a couple of clips showing police pushing protesters away from the crime scene:

Portland police advanced just now on protesters outside a Motel 6 where police shot a man earlier today Crowd con… https://t.co/hbnBUQRU8h

— Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) 1624600088.0

After a police shooting at the Motel 6 on NE Holliday st. Near the Convention Center. Portland Police push proteste… https://t.co/4C64I11JKd

— Independent Media PDX (@NDpendentPDX) 1624600732.0

What are the details about the shooting?

Police got a welfare check call after 7 p.m. about a white adult male dressed in all black at a motel. Police said after officers arrived with paramedics, they encountered a man matching that description, and an officer-involved shooting took place.

Police said the man was taken to a hospital by ambulance but died despite lifesaving efforts by medical personnel.

"We're early in this investigation," Police Chief Chuck Lovell said. "Preliminary information suggests our officer encountered a very difficult and dynamic situation that no officer wants to face."

My statement from the scene of the officer involved shooting in the Lloyd District. https://t.co/Qg0Cxfbl0i

— Chief Chuck Lovell (@ChiefCLovell) 1624598820.0

Police also made an effort to quell rumors about the race of the man who was shot:

There is erroneous information being circulated on social media regarding in the officer involved shooting in the L… https://t.co/N1eQQk8iLh

— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) 1624595350.0

Maxine Bernstein, who covers law enforcement for the Oregonian, offered the following account — and noted that the involved officer is black:

Image source: Twitter

An apparent witness gave a different account to KOIN-TV, saying the incident may have started as a fight between two men, and one stabbed the other. The station reported that the witness said police shot the stabbing suspect twice in the back in the parking lot of a Motel 6 — but police didn't confirm that account.

Anything else?

Police said the involved officer will remain on paid administrative leave until the completion of an investigation by the department and the Multnomah County District Attorney Office. KGW-TV said the officer's name was expected to be released Friday.

Here's a KGW video report that aired before the station learned the man who was shot had died:

Similar recent incident

In April, the Oregonian posted a tweet that identified a man Portland police fatally shot as white "in light of social unrest prompted by police shootings of Black people." The paper deleted the tweet after backlash.

One of the critics was conservative radio host Jason Rantz, who tweeted that the "Oregonian is noting the race of the man who was shot in Portland because people won't care enough to riot unless the victim is black and can use it to forward a political agenda. How instructive."

It didn't seem to matter to one protester at the time who recorded himself on video walking along a row of Portland police officers, flipping off each one of them as he bellowed, "F*** you! Quit your f***in' job!"

Portland police further handcuffed, ordered to halt traffic stops, vehicle searches for minor infractions over racial, staffing concerns



Democratic Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler — who also serves as the city's police commissioner — further handcuffed police this week by ordering officers to stop pulling people over and conducting vehicle searches for low-level traffic violations.

Wheeler, along with Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell, made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday, citing racial disparity concerns and low staffing levels, KATU-TV reported.

During the conference, the city leaders directed officers to reserve traffic stops for more serious occasions in which drivers are speeding, under the influence, or in some way endangering others on the road.

That change was also accompanied by another new policy that allows drivers to refuse searches. Under the new policy, officers will not be permitted to conduct a vehicle search unless they obtain an audio recording of consent.

According to Wheeler and Lovell, the policy changes came in response to data allegedly showing that black drivers in the city are disproportionately prone to being pulled over and having their vehicle searched.

'This is a time where officers are, I think most of them know, we're in a time of change. Reform is upon us, and we're really looking at ways that we can meld what the community is asking for with public safety at the same time," Lovell said.

According to Fox News, Wheeler added that the changes "constitute significant progress in our work to reimagine our public safety system for the better and to continue operationalizing our city core values of anti-racism, communication, collaboration, equity, transparency, and fiscal responsibility."

The mayor did admit, however, that the changes were also due to historically low staffing levels.

"We need to acknowledge that the reality that we have a scaled-down bureau, and therefore we need to focus on our top public safety priorities," Wheeler said. "We don't have the resources at this point to squander on anything other than the important mission of protecting the public's safety."

Scores of officers fed up with anti-police sentiment and a lack of support from city leaders left the bureau in the last year, especially as rioters ransacked the city for more than 150 days.

Just last week, the entire 50-member Portland riot squad unit resigned after Portland's district attorney charged a fellow officer over his use of force actions against a rioter.

The police's union head blasted city leaders for the treatment of police over the weekend, arguing they "encouraged and enabled some of the violence" that has occurred in the city over the past year.

The Associated Press noted that all this is taking place amid a rapid surge in violence in the progressive city.

Portland police union chief goes off on city officials: They 'encouraged,' 'enabled'  violence during riots last summer



Portland's police union chief blasted city officials over the weekend, arguing they "encouraged and enabled some of the violence" that occurred in the city for more than 150 nights last year, and explaining that the recent resignation of the police unit's riot squad was about far more than just one of their fellow officers being indicted.

When asked point-blank during an interview on Fox News on Sunday, "Do you think that city officials in Portland have your backs?" Portland Police Association executive director Daryl Turner responded, "No, they do not."

Turner told Fox News that when the entire 50-member Rapid Response Team decided to resign from their voluntary posts last week, it was "not just about our officer being indicted." That was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

All 50 members of the Portland police riot squad resign www.youtube.com

He stressed that the police union had sent a letter to the city in October relaying the many issues and concerns they had in regards to the handling of what Turner called "unprecedented sustained violence in the city of Portland." But the city never addressed those concerns.

Meanwhile, "our rapid response team along with others from the police bureau came out every night [and] stood the line with ... Molotov cocktails, urine, feces, rocks, bottles, everything else thrown at them," Turner recalled.

"We had multiple assaults during the riots and also multiple assaults of police officers during the same riots," he said before noting that, in response, Portland District Attorney Mike Schmidt "declined 80% of the crimes committed during those riots."

Turner then told Fox News that instead of working with police to help quell the riots, elected leaders "actually encouraged and enabled some of the violence that was going on during those 150-plus nights."

"The residents and the business owners of the city of Portland have a hopeless feeling right now with what's gone on," he said, adding that the Portland Police Bureau is "woefully understaffed" and has been "defunded."

During another interview with NBC Nightly News following the riot squad's resignations, Turner explained that Portland police morale "is as bad as it's ever been."

Portland Police union head Daryl Turner is interviewed following the resignation of Portland’s entire riot-response… https://t.co/uHjimTdS5O

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) 1624322365.0

"We're dealing with rioting at a level, and a sustained violence, that we've never seen before. We're looking at violence in our city, gun violence in our city, like we've never seen before. We're looking at the most catastrophic staffing levels we've ever seen before. We're looking at budget cuts to defund us like we've never seen before," Turner said.

"All those things play into the morale of a police officer. Coming to work every day, trying to do your job, trying to do it right with all these roadblocks in the way," he added.

Entire Portland Rapid Response Team resigns after fellow officer is criminally indicted for using force against rioter last summer



Members of the Portland Police Bureau's Rapid Response Team resigned en masse from their voluntary positions on Wednesday in response to a fellow "riot squad" officer being criminally indicted for an action he took during a violent uprising in the city last August.

According to reports from the Post Millennial and local radio station KXL-FM, the Rapid Response team voted unanimously to disband during a meeting with the Portland police union. The cohort consisted of about 50 officers, and included detectives and sergeants.

Team members, which have been deployed to respond to recurrent uprisings that have taken place in the city since last summer, were reportedly disaffected by a lack of support from City Hall and from the district attorney.

On Wednesday, police union director Daryl Turner told the "Lars Larson Show" he feared the final straw for officers would be what he called the "witch hunt" prosecution of Officer Corey Budworth.

Budworth, accused of using unnecessary force against photojournalist and provocateur, Teri Jacobs, during a declared riot on Aug. 18, had initially been cleared after an internal investigation by the police department. On that night, the team was deployed to contain an uprising after protesters threw a Molotov cocktail into a county building, setting it on fire.

But on Tuesday, Multnomah District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced a criminal indictment against Budworth, charging him with fourth-degree assault.

"In this case, we allege that no legal justification existed for Officer Budworth's deployment of force, and that the deployment of force was legally excessive under the circumstances," Schmidt said in a statement. "My office will continue to do everything we can to ensure justice is done without error or delay and that we make sure our work and practices are rooted in fairness and equity."

PPB officer charged over incident during August 2020 riot www.youtube.com

In response, the police union fired back, calling the indictment a "politically driven charging decision."

"It is important to remember that our officer has not been found guilty of any crime. Like every citizen, our officer is innocent until proven guilty," the union said in a news release. "He faced a violent and chaotic, rapidly evolving situation" involving "a group of 200 demonstrators, many equipped with tactical helmets, faces covered, and armed with a variety of weapons."

The union added that Budworth "used the lowest level of baton force — a push; not a strike or a jab — to remove Ms. Jacobs from the area."

In a news release, the Portland Police Bureau described the team as "an all-hazard incident response team that has received advanced specialized training to respond to incidents requiring higher levels of technical expertise including public order policing, natural or man-made disasters."

"The primary role has been to provide public safety at crowd events when there was a threat of harm to the community," the bureau added.

Now with the entire rapid response team disbanded, it is not clear how the city will manage demonstrations planned for the coming weekend.

"Now that the riot team is no more, we have no clue what's going to happen. We don't have enough patrol officers to be pulled from the road to handle huge crowds," a Portland police officer told the Post Millennial. "We are only backups with no gear like the riot team has."

Portland restores gun violence unit as city's defund the police failure results in soaring crime



Facing a continued scourge of violence since cutting its police budget by $15 million last summer, Portland, Oregon, has decided to reintroduce a gun violence task force within the city's police department.

What are the details?

The new team, called the Enhanced Community Safety Team, was introduced last month in response to skyrocketing violence in the city, KATU-TV reported, and comes only months since the city disbanded the Gun Violence Reduction Team as a part of police budget cuts.

Following the dissolution of the previous gun violence team, shootings in the city skyrocketed.

According to the Associated Press, "More people died of gunfire last year in Portland — 40 — than the entire tally of homicides the previous year. The number of shootings — 900 — was nearly 2 1/2 times higher than the year before."

"The spike has continued this year, with more than 150 shootings, including 45 people wounded and 12 killed so far," the AP added.

Many members of the community have squarely blamed the budget cuts, and specifically the dissolution of the GVRT, for the violence. Among them is Elmer Yarborough, a crisis response volunteer for Portland police who lost his nephew last year to gun violence only a month after the unit was disbanded.

"Without a doubt, I think it is a possibility that my nephew could still be alive if the GVRT was not dissolved," Yarborough told the AP. "I cannot say for sure if he would, but what I will tell you is had it not been my nephew that was saved, it probably could have saved the life of someone else."

What else?

Amazingly, the new unit was requested by Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler, who also serves as the city's police commissioner. Wheeler had been outspoken in support of defunding the police as Black Lives Matter protests rocked the city for much of the last year.

Yet despite now acknowledging in practice that the city's defund the police movement was ultimately an abject failure, in January, Wheeler refused to admit as much.

"I believe if the GVRT were [around] today, we would still see a substantial, if not identical increase, in shootings in Portland," he reportedly argued. "This is clearly part of a larger national trend."

Others strongly disagreed with the mayor, including many within the police department who warned that cutting the police budget would only lead to more crime.

"I'd say they're more emboldened, maybe, to be out with guns," Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said last August. "They know there's not someone watching. There's no real deterrent there. And I think that's part of the issue that's causing us to see the spike we have in July."

Then in a statement to the AP, Portland police quoted former Salinas, California, Police Chief Kelly McMillin, saying, "Not to be overly dramatic, but if you lose the unit which focuses on removing firearms from the hand of violent offenders, people will die. It's really just that simple."