A CONVERTIBLE NEARBY. POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING.. >>> THEY HAVE STUFF THROWN AT THEM. THEY HAVE URINE THROWN AT THEM. THEY’RE SUBJECTED TO MOLOTOV COCKTAILS. FOR THE PAST YEAR AND-A-HALF, AND EVEN BEFORE THAT, THEY’VE BEEN WILLING TO STAND UP AND BE SUBJECTED TO THAT. THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW HAS LET THEM DOWN. ERIC: HE’S REFERRING TO THE PORTLAND, OREGON POLICE RIOT SQUAD OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM. AND GUESS WHAT, ALL OF THE TEAM, ALL 50 OF THE OFFICERS THEY QUIT FROM THE PRESTIGIOUS TEAM LAST WEEK. THEY SAID THEY DID THAT TO PROTEST THE INDICTMENT OF ONE OF THEIR MEMBERS ON ASSAULT CHARGE FOR YOU ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTING A PHOTOGRAPHER WHILE TRYING TO BREAK UP THE RIOTS LAST YEAR. THE PORTLAND POLICE ASSOCIATION SAYS THE DECORATED OFFICER WHO WAS CHARGED WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN AN YOU AGENDA DRIVEN CITY LEADERS AND POLITICIZED CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. DARRYL TURNER JOINS US NOW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PORTLAND POLICE ASSOCIATION. THE OFFICERS REMAIN ON THE FORCE. THEY QUIT THE SQUAD. BUT WHAT MESSAGE DOES THEIR RESIGNATION SEND? >> WELL, SO THEY RESIGNED FROM A VOLUNTARY POSITION AND THAT MESSAGE -- THIS MESSAGE IS NOT JUST ABOUT OUR OFFICER BEING INDICTED. WE SENT A LETTER TO THE CITY OF PORTLAND, BECAUSE WE REPRESENT THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM MEMBERS, WE SENT A LETTER IN OCTOBER STATING ALL THE ISSUES AND PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS THAT THEY HAD, BASED ON WHAT HAPPENED OVER 150 DAYS. WE HAD 150 PLUS DAYS OF UNPRECEDENTED SUSTAINED VIOLENCE IN THE CITY OF PORTLAND. OUR RAPID RESPONSE TEAM ALONG WITH OTHERS FROM THE POLICE BUREAU, CAME OUT EVERY NIGHT, STOOD THE LINE WITH MOLOTOV COCKTAILS, URINE, FECES, ROCKS, BOTTLES, EVERYTHING THROWN AT THEM, WITH THEIR HOME ADDRESSES BEING SHOUTED OUT OVER LOUD SPEAKERS, WE HAD A MURDER DURING THE RIOTS, WE HAD MULTIPLE ASSAULTS DURING THE RIOTS AND MULTIPLE ASSAULTS OF POLICE OFFICERS DURING THE SAME RIOTS. THE SAME DISTRICT ATTORNEY WHO INDICTED OUR OFFICER DECLINED 80% OF THE CRIMES COMMITTED DURING THOSE RIOTS BY PEOPLE, 80% OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE CHARGED WHO WERE ARRESTED BY PORTLAND POLICE DURING THE RIOTS, 80% WERE DECLINED BY THE DA’S OFFICE. ERIC: WOW. DO YOU THINK THAT CITY OFFICIALS IN PORTLAND HAVE YOUR BACKS? >> NO, THEY DO NOT. NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, WE WERE CRITICIZED BY EVERYONE, OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS FROM THE DA’S OFFICE THROUGH SOME OF OUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT US AS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND OBVIOUSLY HOPE THAT WE WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING AND DEPEND THAT WE’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING BUT DEFINITELY SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT WHAT WE’RE DOING OUT THERE WHEN WE’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING. THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENED. THEY ENCOURAGED AND ENABLED SOME OF THE VIOLENCE THAT WAS GOING ON DURING THOSE 150 PLUS NIGHTS AND DAYS. ERIC: ONE OF ONE WOMAN HAS BEE CRITICAL OF THE RESPONSE TEAM. SHE SAID WE SHOULD EXPECT OUR POLICE FORCE TO ACT IN A WAY WE CAN STAND BY BUT WHEN THEY DON’T WE NEED TO HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS IN PLACE. I REMAIN DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RESIGNATIONS, BUT ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A ROGUE PARAMILITARY ORGANIZATION THAT IS UNACCOUNTABLE TO ELECTED OFFICIALS AND RESIDENTS OF PORTLAND. THE GOLD OLD BOY NETWORK IS CRUMBLING AND WE CAN EITHER BE PART OF THE CHANGE OR PART OF THE STATUS QUO. IS IT A ROGUE MILITARY SQUAD? IS IT A GOLD OLD BOY NETWORK THAT’S CRUMBLING, ACCORDING TO HER? >> SHE DOES NOT RUN THE POLICE BUREAU. SHE’S THE MAYOR WHO IS THE POLICE STATIONPOLICE COMMISSIONE SHE HAS BEEN A CRITIC OF THE POLICE NOT SINCE SHE HAS BEEN A COMMISSIONER, BUT FAR BEYOND THAT. SHE LED THE CHARGE LAST SUMMER TO DEFUND THE POLICE, SHE LED THE CHARGE FOR THE GUN VIOLENCE REDUCTION TEAM. OVER 65% OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING SHOT IN THE CITY OF PORTLAND ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN. OVER 70% COUNTING THOSE 65% ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR. SO COMMISSIONER HARDISY IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE DEFUNDING OF POLICE. VIOLENT CRIME HAS GONE UP AND NOW SHE’S CRITICIZING A TEAM THAT IS STILL GOING TO DO THEIR JOB. IF THERE’S A PROTEST TOMORROW, THEY’LL BE ORDERED TO DO THE SAME JOB. THEY WON’T BE A VOLUNTARY SQUAD. THE EXPERTISE WILL STILL BE USED IN THOSE SITUATIONS, AND THOSE EVENTS. ERIC: THE BIG QUESTION IS CAN LAW ENFORCEMENT DEAL WITH THIS. HERE’S DEPUTY CHIEF CHRIS DAVIS ON THAT. >> WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AS CLOSE TO ADEQUATE RESOURCES AS WE CAN GET WITHIN JUST THE LIMITS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH ANYTHING THAT COMES UP WITH ON DUTY RESOURCES. ERIC: MR. TURNER, FINALLY, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? >> FINALLY, WHAT I’D LIKE TO SEE IS THE RESIDENTS AND THE BUSINESS OWNERS OF THE CITY OF PORTLAND HAVE A HOPELESS FEELING RIGHT NOW, WHAT’S GONE ON. WE’RE UNDERSTAFFED. HAVE BEEN. WE HAVE BEEN DEFUNDED. OUR DIVISIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DOING WHAT THEY’VE DONE HAVE BEEN DISBANDED. AND THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM DECIDES TO VOLUNTARILY RESIGN FROM THOSE VOLUNTARY POSITIONS. THEY’LL STILL DO THE SAME JOB, THEY’LL BE ORDERED TO DO THE SAME JOB. OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S CONTINUING NOT TO PROSECUTE CASES OF CRIMES BEING COMMITTED DURING THE RIOTS. AND THE MAIN THING IS THE CITY COUNCIL REFUSES TO ALLOW US TO HAVE BODY CAMERA WHICH WOULD SHOW THE WHOLE EVENT. THE OFFICER THAT WAS INDICTED, THAT’S A SNAPSHOT OF THE EVIDENCE EVENTED. WE’RE ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE COUNTRY WHOSE POLICE AGENCY DON’T HAVE BODY CAMERAS. IT’S NOT A BUDGE BUDGETARY ISSUE WE DON’T HAVE A BRUTAL POLICE FORCE. THERE’S NOT POLICE BRUTALITY GOING ON DURING THE EVENTS. THEY WANT TO HAVE THEIR FALSE NARRATIVE AND SELF-SERVING AGENDAS. THAT’S WHAT’S HURTING OUR CITY, HURTING OUR ORGANIZATION AND THAT’S WHY THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM, ONE OF THE REASONS OF MANY WHY THEY STEPPED DOWN. ERIC: THE PEOPLE OF PORTLAND AND AMERICA SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THAT FOOTAGE BUT AS YOU SAY IT’S BEING BLOCKED. DARRYL TURNER, EXECUTIVE
