'The good old boy network is crumbling': Controversial Portland commissioner who wants to defund police issues gloating statement after city's entire riot squad resigns - but fails to mention time she was branded hypocrite for calling cops on Lyft driver
A Portland commissioner who has led efforts to defund the police - despite calling the cops on a Lyft driver last year - has branded the Oregon city's 50-person riot squad that resigned in protest this week a 'rogue paramilitary organization' and called for the team to be formally disbanded.
City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty gloated in a statement on Thursday that the- resignations are a sign that 'the good old boy network is crumbling and we can either be a part of the change or part of the status quo – but the arc of justice is bending quickly and it’s imperative that the Portland City Council lands on the right side of history.'
All the members of the Portland Police Department's Rapid Response Team, who are tasked with crowd control amid the city's ongoing, often violent protests, abruptly quit on Wednesday in solidarity with a colleague who was indicted on criminal charges for allegedly striking a photographer who was dubbed a protester.
Hardesty, who proposed doing away with the crowd-control unit last fall, said her statement that the en masse resignations 'are yet another example of a rogue paramilitary organization that is unaccountable to the elected officials and residents of Portland.'
She continued: 'earlier this week, for the first time in Portland’s history, an officer from PPB’s Rapid Response Team was charged with a misdemeanor for assaulting a photojournalist during a protest last summer.
Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has called for the police department's Rapid Response Team to be formally disbanded after all its members resigned in protest
All 50 members of the team quit after Officer Corey Budworth was indicted for allegedly striking a photographer during a protest in August 2020. Cops are pictured tackling a rioter in Portland on the same night
'Ironically, we now see some PPB officers engaging in the act they showed so much disdain for last summer by staging their own protest.
'What today’s action says is that some Portland Police officers believe they are above the law.
Hardesty argued that these resignations present an opportunity to show what crowd control looks like without the specialized unit, which she still would like to see formally disbanded by the City Council.
'Instead of scrambling to patch up the status quo, I hope Mayor Wheeler and my Council colleagues will see the opportunity I see in front of us to fundamentally rethink community safety for all, including how we respond to protests in the future,' Hardesty wrote. 'Clearly the model of policing we have doesn’t work.'
Hardesty sparked a widespread backlash last fall, when amid her efforts to defund the police she called 911 to report that a ride-share driver had dropped her off at a gas station she claim was closed for the night.
Hardesty was returning from a casino in November 2020 when she got into an argument with her Lyft driver over open windows in the car.
Portland's entire riot squad has resigned after Officer Corey Budworth (left) was filmed hitting protester Teri Jacobs (right) with a baton last August
The driver, Richmond Frost, refused to close the windows due to COVID-19 concerns, cancelled the ride and told Hardesty to get out at a gas station.
Hardesty repeatedly claimed the Chevron gas station was closed, but dispatch records later showed it was still open when she called 911.
After being branded a hypocrite by some, Hardesty published an open letter to address the incident, in which she continued to insist that the gas station was closed, and that as a well-known black woman who had been receiving death threats, she was afraid for her safety.
''That evening I was faced with several threats: a Lyft driver threatening to call 911 on me, and the potential of being stranded alone, late at night by the side of the highway at a closed gas station,' she wrote at the time. 'The possible outcomes of both those situations were not only terrifying, but possibly deadly.'
Hardesty, who is the head of Portland’s emergency dispatch bureau, previously stated that most 911 calls are unnecessary, and was one of the city's main advocates of a $18million cut to the Portland Police Department.
Hardesty, who has been a vocal proponent of police budget cuts, caused a backlash last year after calling 911 on her Lyft driver
The resignations of the Rapid Response Team came a day after the indictment on Tuesday of Officer Corey Budworth for assault during an incident in which he allegedly struck photographer Teri Jacobs in the head with a baton during a riot 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 a statement Tuesday.
Officers, detectives and sergeants on team voted to resign effective immediately because of a perceived lack of support from City Hall and from the district attorney over the past year, according to the mayor’s office and officers.
'I don’t think it is just an indictment that caused this to happen, I think it is a very long complicated history of things that have gone on over the last 14 months,' Acting Portland Police Chief Chris Davis said.
The specialized unit responds to natural or man-made disasters, large-scale searches and, most recently, public order policing or riots. Members of the team are trained in advanced skills related to crowd management, crowd psychology and behavior, team formations and movements, the use of enhanced personal protective equipment, use of force, and de-escalation and arrests.
Last summer, when Portland became the epicenter of Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd, the team was on the front lines.
Video of the incident involving Jacobs was shared on social media, in which Budworth appears to push the photographer and activist, and then striking her in the head with his baton.
Jacobs says she was attacked despite carrying a press card. She was not charged with any crime, and received a $50,000 settlement from the City of Portland as a result of the baton strike. Cops have continued to insist she was part of a riot which set a government building alight with a petrol bomb.
The officers from the Rapid Response Team, which is equipped to handle riots, will remain employed in the Portland Police Department, the PPB said, but would no longer be a part of the team.
It is not clear how the resignations would affect the department's effectiveness during riots, with the Oregon city experiencing nightly unrest in its downtown district for the last year.
'Under the cover of darkness, a group of 200 demonstrators, many equipped with tactical helmets, faces covered, and armed with a variety of weapons, sparked a night of violence. Multiple dumpsters were set on fire, buildings were defaced, and windows were broken.' the Portland Police Association said, giving its version of the events of August 18 when the assault allegedly occurred.
Eventually, the event escalated and was declared a riot.
Corey Budworth (second row from front, far left) is pictured with the Portland Police in 2020
'After nearly 75 consecutive nights of violence, destruction, and mayhem, a small group of RRT (Rapid Response Team) officers—including Officer Budworth—were again tasked with dealing with the riot,' the description continued. 'Per PPB Command Staff orders, RRT officers cleared the rioters from the area to allow the Fire Bureau to extinguish the blaze. But the rioters were not satisfied.'
'RRT was again deployed to disperse the crowd and prevent any further violence and criminal activity. A confrontation then ensued. As RRT officers worked to clear the rioting crowd, Officer Budworth was forcefully knocked to the ground. The crowd grew even more aggressive, prompting other RRT officers to deploy pepper spray and less lethal munitions to try and break up the riot.'
The union said an officer then attempted to arrest one of the rioters, when others began to interfere.
'Per his training and in response to the active aggression of a rioter interfering with a lawful arrest, Officer Budworth used baton pushes to move a rioter, now known to be Teri Jacobs, out of the area. As Officer Budworth cleared Ms. Jacobs from the area to stop her criminal activity, Ms. Jacobs fell to the ground,' the union continued.
'Reasonably believing that she was getting back up to re-engage in her unlawful activities, Officer Budworth employed one last baton push to try and keep her on the ground, which accidentally struck Ms. Jacobs in the head.'
The PPA said Budworth's indictment by Multnomah District Attorney Mike Schmidt ignored the reality of the chaotic situation.
'We ask our community to wait for all the facts before passing judgment. We trust in our criminal justice system when the system fairly and objectively applies the rule of law,' the statement continued. 'Once the full picture is revealed, we are confident that justice will prevail, and Officer Budworth will be exonerated of all charges.'
Schmidt's office released a statement on Thursday in response to the resignations.
'Management and staffing of the Rapid Response Team falls within the purview of the leadership of the Portland Police Bureau. I have confidence that the Bureau will continue their mission to maintain public safety. In the meantime, my office will continue to focus on the fair and just prosecution of criminal matters. We cannot expect the community to trust law enforcement if we hold ourselves to a lower standard.'
In addition to the criminal charge against Budworth, Jacobs sued Budworth in September for excessive force, claiming that he, 'swung his truncheon like a baseball bat at Ms. Jacobs, striking her several times,' according to a copy of the suit obtained by the Wilamette Week.
'As Ms. Jacobs was knocked to the ground, she was terrified that the officer was going to continue to attack her, and she feared that she might never get up again if he continued with his violent attack,' the complaint continued.
The city reached a $50,000 settlement, with Jacobs in February, in addition to $11,000 in attorney fees.
Schmidt's office said it had learned of Jacob's identity when she filed the suit.
Sharing her version of events with KATU in April, Jacobs said: 'I’m doing my very best to get to the sidewalk, and it feels like it doesn’t matter where I am, what I do, these police officers are going to run me over, ram into me.
'I really wasn’t aware of what was happening or the pain that I was in until I was on the sidewalk, and then I realized like, whoa, my back, my head, like what just happened there.'
She said she was trying to help a friend lying on the road when she was struck, and added that her camera was smashed during the incident.
Jacobs Facebook profile includes a photo of a group of black-clad people giving the finger to a passing vehicle that is blurred, in front of a boarded up building.
She also shared photos of herself protesting on her Instagram page, captioning one snap: 'This is America. Stop attacking your own people and leave Portland. Remember the oath you took, to support and defend the constitution of the United States of America. Feds, go home!'
The incident occurred amid sustained protests in the city following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd.
From June through July there were protests virtually every day in the city, with tens of thousands of demonstrators, some of whom identified themselves as members of ANTIFA.
More recently, in February around 150 suspected members of the violent anti-fascist group took part in a protest against President Joe Biden's immigration policies, vandalizing several businesses including a Starbucks, Chipotle, Umpqua Bank and Urban Pantry.
Last month two groups of radical protesters, who have throughout the past year represented Antifa and other far-left causes, were armed with weapons, body armor, shields and flares and marched throughout parts of the city.
The riots came as violent skirmishes occurred worldwide during so-called 'May Day' protests in favor of worker's rights - but that descended into anarchist free-for-alls
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