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East Precinct Commander Upsets Caracas on the Willamette
Gag orders are not unique to the media, social media, and elected officials at the national level. For example at the national level, the Biden Department of Homeland Security has placed a gag order on Border Patrol agents and has forbidden ridealongs for journalists. Gag orders occur at the local level as well.
A Portland police commander was captured on video at a neighborhood meeting in January telling Southeast Portland residents, if they wanted to reduce crime, they should vote the Multnomah County district attorney out of office.
“Part of it is the DA’s office that is failing to prosecute some of these cases, like the riots,” Hurley said. “When you come out publicly and say, ‘I will not prosecute anybody who does property damage, who does minor crimes,’ why wouldn’t you come and do that in the city of Portland? If you go to Washington County, they’re going to prosecute you. If you go to Clackamas County, you might not see outside of jail for a week.”
East Precinct Commander Erica Hurley wore her full uniform—including badge and gun—to a Jan. 14 meeting of an anti-crime neighborhood group in Lents. She attended the event during work hours on behalf of the Portland Police Bureau, says bureau spokesman Lt. Greg Pashley.
Residents of Portland can see what Portland is becoming, but seeing is not enough. You must let them hear, and be heard no matter how inconvenient that may be.
Bureau Directive 313.20 prohibits officers from using their “official authority or influence”—for example, wearing their uniform or using their official title—while engaging in political activity, which it defines as activity “directed toward supporting or opposing federal, state, or local measures, candidates, recalls, political committees, or petitions.”
J. Ashlee Albies, a Portland civil rights lawyer, reviewed a portion of the Lents meeting footage. She says city policies and state laws relating to political activity are in place so public employees don’t create the impression that they are speaking on behalf of the city.
“A uniform is, you are literally cloaked in the authority of the state or of the city,” says Albies. “Those statements are deeply concerning, and they sound very much like she is encouraging people to vote against the district attorney when he comes up for election.”
“Deeply concerning” is the fact that the mayor, city council, and the district attorney see policing as a political tool to achieve political goals. Commander Hurley is not running for mayor.
Politicizing policing to satisfy advocacy groups has provided well over 100 nights of violence in Portland. Politicizing policing has led to a 15 million dollar reduction in the Portland Police Bureau budget. Politicizing policing has eliminated the Gun Violence Reduction Team, and the result has been around 200 shootings in 2021.
The truth hurts, literally hurts, but it must be heard. Elected officials solicit support from members of the PPB, and reward those that support them, and punish those who don’t.
“Deeply concerning” really means that Commander Hurley doesn’t share their vision. A vision that is destroying the City of Portland.
Hurley, a 26-year veteran of the bureau who oversees one of the city’s three police precincts, declined comment through a spokesman. The bureau says it has reviewed the video, but declined to say whether it had triggered an internal affairs complaint. “Members can express themselves at meetings commensurate with their rank, experience, assignment and scope of work,” says spokesman Pashley, “and should adhere to bureau directives.”
Commander Hurley spent 70 minutes with a neighborhood group that does not have the official blessing of city hall. She explained her view of the problems in Portland, listened to their concerns, and answered their questions. Commander Hurley didn’t conduct a press conference. She took the time to speak to those that will not be heard in city hall, the DA’s office, or the media.
Commander Hurley hasn’t been punished, yet.
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Published in Policing
If they elected a sane prosecutor, is the population so lemming-like that jurors would still refuse to convict those destroying their city? The pro-destruction losers know that short of murder, they will not face any consequences for their crimes. That they are expressly favored over the productive normals by elected officials is a truly stunning development.
Are gag orders even legal?
One juror can change 11 minds. I know this.
This is not the only sign I have seen in recent weeks of a popular and institutional reaction against the unclassifiable induced mass madness of these times.
I believe that it is considered an actionable offense in most jurisdictions for a civil service employee to make public political comments. I don’t see this as a gag order, just the way business is usually done. If one is willing to accept the consequences of speaking out against elected officials, then fine. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Once you are fired, or resign, you can speak out all you want.
And willing she is. God bless her!
I hope that if these despicable scofflaw despots attempt to impose the consequences, she appeals, the public supports her, and she wins the appeal on the grounds that her action was the only one she could take in good conscience as a sworn agent of the peace.
When official misconduct reaches an intolerable level, then conscientious protest, civil disobedience, by both state workers and the people themselves, is the only hope of the people.
You raise an interesting point. Civil servants, and the unions that represent them pump big money into political campaigns. They finance elected officials to remove elected officials they oppose. If teachers are allowed to pay to play, if federal employees are allowed to pay to play then I see no reason that a police officer cannot meet with marginalized citizens. Citizens that have been left to the tender mercies of the lawless, and informing those citizens of what is driving, and who is responsible for their abandonment.
But it has to do with the clothing. Teachers wear street clothes when on duty; it’s in effect their uniform. If they’re not allowed to wear street clothes, what would they wear?
Were they worried about being identified and targeted?
No, but they weren’t very lemming-like. Good point, though.
If a juror voted to convict these days, Kamala Harris might pay for their appeal and bail, and give them the juror’s home address.
Ask the Border Patrol….
Same here. But how many people have what it takes to do it without bullying? Think “OJ verdict” . . .
I am currently reading Andy Ngo’s book, Unmasked. The behavior of the Portland Police Department, likely under the direction of the mayor, is appalling. The reaction of police, generally, to Antifa and BLM is unacceptable. It is time to demand that politicians stop interfering with the police doing their jobs and let the cops do what is necessary. I have known a lot of cops. I know a few who would, perhaps, overstep their limitations, but the vast majority would handle things appropriately. That might mean a few broken heads, but the rioters put themselves in harms way, and what happens to them is their sole responsibility, with the possible exception for the fact that the apparent indifference of police in the past has given rioters a false sense of security. I am also wondering what the hell the FBI is doing about this? This is organized crime and insurrection which continues to be ignored while the behavior of a few idiots on January 6th seems to be getting all of the attention.
City council members are elected at large in Portland. They are not elected as a resident of a specific area in Portland. Some neighborhoods are ignored so accountability and representation is a problem for poorer neighborhoods.
City police departments in large cities have always had the problem of political interference in policing. When things start going to hell political interference leads to epic fails.
Street cops are on the lowest rung of the law enforcement ladder. Sergeants do not have to struggle with city government, but they may have problem with a lieutenant, captain, precinct commander, assistant chief, or chief who is being pressured by a mayor, or who is all in with the vision of a Woke city government.
Mayor’s and ambitious city council member’s that want to be mayor will try to get endorsements from lieutenants, and above. If those endorsements aren’t given, or they endorsed the wrong candidate then there is retribution, to include demotions, or endless efforts to fire them.
The Portland Police Bureau is understaffed, and officers are retiring, or leaving for other agencies, even if it means taking a cut in pay. Recruiting is difficult in the best of times, but it is far more difficult now. No one wants to be the latest You Tube villain, or prosecuted by a Woke prosecutor.
Portland officers do not trust their city government, nor do they trust the Multnomah County District Attorney.
Very interesting post and comments. Thanks!
Only reading what was posted, it seems to me the officer did comply with the guidelines and gave a very nice statement that respected the way the statute was written.
From the far outside looking in, Portland seems to have some real problems in effective policing and prosecuting of offenses. I don’t think it is right that police should have to fall on the sword because DAs don’t prosecute. People should know how their government works, how it has responded to how *they* have asked it to work, and who to petition for changes. The police have every right to explain their interests and procedures to their fellow citizens. If part of that explanation is that it’s the DAs fault, then so be it. Even more so if it is true, which it seems to be.
One thing I would like to mention, and I think this is taking the term in a different direction is the idea of “politicizing policing.” Policing is political. “Political” isn’t a bad word even if it can contain a multitude of bad outcomes. I’m using it to say that 1) citizens should have ultimate control over what, and how procedures, are administered, as well as the extent to which deviations from the agreed upon procedures are accepted, so it’s politics and that 2) policing is something that can’t (and shouldn’t) become completely rationalized and impersonalized in the classical bureaucratic literature sense. Police need to be able to exercise their judgment while doing their duties. Their duties and administration of those duties are informed by public values. The processes and procedures they follow come from, and should largely be kept subordinate to, those values. (I’m consciously trying to avoid using the word law here.)
The officer did a good job and it sounds like she is reaching out which is also good because it seems like it would be easier not to.
The Secretary of State (a hard left progressive) is now investigating. It is not clear to me what business it is of theirs.