Todd Pitt

Yesterday evening I was just a normal guy going to get dinner in Portland, when I was returning to my car which was parked at the corner of Hawthorne and 49th I walked into the middle of a heated anti-police protest being carried out by a group of about 30-40 vocal protesters. This is my first hand account citizen witness of the protest incident as it unfolded. Here are links to all of my witness photography of this protest on flickr and all of the videos I shot of the protest on Vimeo.

Prelude to a Random Protest

I was working all day and up into the evening on Tuesday March 23rd on my laptop at cafe on Hawthorne. I drove up and parked my car the the corner of 49th & Hawthorne walked up to the Sapphire Hotel and ordered dinner to go. I got my dinner and walked back down to my car, but as I crossed the street I noticed that something was going down on Hawthorne. A black line of people were silhouetted in the night against a backdrop of red and blue flashing lights, they were advancing towards me. I hopped in my car, set my to-go dinner on the passenger seat and quickly pulled my car off onto the side street parking it there, as I did I could see in the rear view protesters rapidly approaching and heard shouting.

Citizens of Portland, Carry a Camera

I felt in my gut that something important was happening or going to happen. So I grabbed my camera out of my bag, locked my car stepped out to the corner of the street and just started shooting the protest. The protesters turned off of Hawthorne Blvd onto on 49th Street headed into a residential area. I think it is important to say here that I have no knowledge of what occurred with the protest or the police up to this point.

The Protesters Turn onto 49th

There was a lot of police following them marked cars, unmarked cars, motorcycles and officers on foot. I estimated the group of protesters to be about 30-40 in number and they were on foot, skateboards and bicycle. As the group of protesters rounded the corner onto 49th a few of them knocked trash cans and a street sign from the side of Tanker Bar out into the street to block the police cars who were driving very close behind them. At this point I figured out what the protests were about, because I overheard two people who were watching talking about the Police the fatal shooting and of a man with at the Hoyt Arboretum.

Some people came out of the bar to see what happened and one woman commented

“Well that is a good way to get yourself arrested.” – A Bystander

A police officer stepped out of his patrol vehicle and threw the sign from the Tanker back onto the side walk, then resumed following the protesters up 49th Street. You can see this here in Video 1 -

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 1 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.

Why not just walk to the sidewalk an place the sign back where it belonged? A few Portlanders did put the signs and the trashcans back on the side of the building. At this point I decided to follow the protest, photograph and shoot video of it.

The Second Protest In Two Days

The protesters were chanting angry anti-police slogans like this:

“FU*K THE POLICE! NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!” – The Protesters

“Cops! Pigs! Murders!” – The Protesters

Here you can see, hear the chants and the police ordering the protesters out of the street, threatening that anyone could be arrested and anytime here in Video 2  -

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 2 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.

Portland Policeman Hits Protester With Motorcycle

This video contains footage of exactly how the anti-police protest escalated. The protesters were walking in the street on 49th/50th Ave, the lead line of police on motorcycles who were following began to rev their motorbike engines accelerating up too close behind the protesters.

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 3 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.

WATCH FROM 0:30-01:22 TO SEE THE ASSAULTS

Shocked witnesses, concerned citizens, photographers began shouting at the Portland Police -

“Look what you did! Look what you did! I saw you” – witnesses

“Are you going to run people over?” – witness

“You are running people over! Look at you.” – witness

Here is some more footage of the same moments of the assault taken from a different angle by a East Portland KATU news.

A Portland Motorcycle Policeman escalated the situation at the protest to the point of violence by running into a protester with his motorcycle, then a protester retaliated, hurtling his bicycle at and striking the Police Officer. The man who allegedly assaulted the Portland Motorcycle Policeman was named Joel David Dow. He was charged with assault second degree and assaulting a public safety officer, bail was set in the ballpark of $290,000.

The Portland Police Arresting The Suspect

This is the scene of the suspect being arrested for Police Assault in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Southeast Portland.

Another citizen journalist recording the arrest right up close and personal.

The police with big red bottles of mace or pepper spray.

Portland residents watching the event unfold from their front yards and lawns as the PDX Police confer.

March Continued to Police Building On Burnside

The protesters took the march to the police literally. They marched too and stopping right in front of the SE police traffic division building on Burnside. The police set up a perimeter, guarding the station. The protesters rallied around the station Flag, periodically chanting and drumming.

PDX Police in Front of The SE Traffic Division

The Police Glaring At Me

Protesters Camped Out In Front Of The Traffic Division

Protesters Rallying Around The Flag At The Police Division

Marching On As The Police Began To Flank The Protesters

Protesters Marching Away from the Police Building on Burnside

Black Masks, Black Flags

Protesters Marching Down Burnside

More Footage of the Protest

Video 4

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 4 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.
More footage of protesters and the cops.

Video 5

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 5 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.
More protesters chanting “Cops, Pigs, Murders!” and lots of police on motorbikes. Three of them circled around me while I was shooting this clip.

Video 6

One observer in this video was singing the star spangled banner, very badly but made his point. Freedom?

“Oh say can you see, by the dawns early light…”

Cops cops more cops and cops with mace canisters. Chanting.

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 6 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.

Video 7

Portland Police Brutality Protest and Assault 7 from Todd Pitt on Vimeo.

The Police arresting the man who threw his bike at the police officer and neighbors coming out of their houses watching the arrest.

Protest Route Through SE Portland

• East On Hawthorne Blvd (where I encountered the protest)
• Left Turn North on SE 49th Ave, over Belmont Street
• Right Turn East for one block SE Stark Street
• Left Turn North on SE 50th Ave
• Left Turn West on E Burnside Street
• Stopped in front of the SE Portland Police Department.
• Continued West down E Burnside Street down past 44th Ave (discontinued following Protest)

Links to Other Media About The 3/23/2010 Protest

• Heated protest against police shooting erupts
• Emergency Response to another Police Murder
• Police Abuse march for Police Accountability
• Portland Police Abuse Protest for Police Accountability 3/23/10
• Portland man arrested for police assault at shooting protest
• The Portland Mercury Anti-Cop Protest Turns out…

What the Protest Was About

• Portland police shoot and kill transient, spark community protest
• Police release name of man fatally shot by Portland Officer

Disclaimer

I want to make a few things very clear. I was first person witness, a citizen journalist by happenstance and I am not affiliated with any government organization, the cops and was not a part of the protesters or the protest group who organized this event. I just saw what happened. All of the videos and images I took are original and unedited, you can use them but must link to the sources and this post.