"The executive board of the Portland police rank-and-file union voted “no confidence'' in Portland’s City Council, questioning why city commissioners aren’t condemning the violence, fires and damage to businesses occurring in the city at the hands of some demonstrators.
Officer Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association, on Wednesday repeated a criticism he has made in the last week that “a small number of people have hijacked'' important calls for social justice and racial equity and “used the cover of peaceful protests to burn and loot our City.” He said he has no confidence the City Council will stop the protest violence estimated in court documents to approach $300,000 so far in damage to public buildings and nearly $5 million in property damage to businesses or support the sworn officers on the streets and guide the Police Bureau into a new era of policing that prioritizes community safety.
“If City Council won’t stand up for Portland,‘' he said. “We will.”
Mayor Ted Wheeler, who oversees the Police Bureau, has called the use of tear gas “ugly” but has backed using it sparingly, citing the police belief that there’s often not a more viable alternative to quickly move people from an area. Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly have called on the bureau to stop using tear gas altogether and instead consider new tactics that better account for the safety of people who remain peaceful during demonstrations. Wheeler, Eudaly and Commissioner Amanda Fritz all declined comment."
oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/police-union-president-announces-no-confidence-union-vote-in-portlands-city-council.html