Letter to Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt
Dear Mr. District Attorney,
Congratulations on your election. You are beginning your term under conditions that no one could have foreseen. You obviously have a very important role to play in current developments, and as one of your constituents I of course want you to succeed. I have to say I am troubled by some developments in the last few days, one of which is the policy announcement from your office this week.
Like virtually all Portlanders, I was deeply shocked by the death (and likely murder, although of course only a court can adjudicate this) of George Floyd. I think it underscores an urgent need for new approaches to police accountability, and I know this is an area of emphasis for you. There have been ongoing protests for nearly three months now, which I have often observed although I do not participate in them (mostly for health reasons). It is absolutely proper and vital that your office ensure that the rights of protesters are protected, and under the circumstances it may make sense to make certain allowances for technical violations of law which happen in the context of a protest. At the same time, the people of Portland rely on the police to keep us safe. I am a violent crime victim myself and was very grateful for the way the PPB responded, as well as impressed by the way the prosecution of my assailant was handled by the DA office under your predecessor (DA# [redacted in public version]). The city deserves a continuation of this effectiveness under whatever changes take place.
In the current situation, It is important to recognize that there is an element that, to be blunt, is taking things beyond peaceful protest and indeed beyond legitimate protest. I refer to the group who shows up after the reformist speeches have finished and the sun has set, who come armed with incendiary devices, wrist rockets and lasers, who have besieged the PPA building and precinct stations in outlying areas of Portland, and so on. I’ve heard this group called Antifa although it’s not clear how much actual organization there is (you probably know much better than I do).
I’m attaching a thread from an account which purports to be, and which I believe is, a person of influence within this group. The goals seem to match what I’ve heard expressed by people in this group, and the tactics seem to match what I’ve seen and read about.
This represents a serious problem: if people wish to advocate for the drastic reduction, or abolition, of the PPB or police in general they can do so through numerous democratic avenues. Protests can be a way to draw attention to problems and win support to your side, but it’s dangerous for them to become a way for the minority to impose its will on the majority. And I fear that’s what is happening here. If you read the attached thread, you will see that this is spelled out: the goal is to exhaust and bankrupt the PPB through continuous escalation/provocation. This isn’t a legitimate way to affect change in an open, democratic society.
With this in mind, I found your policy announcement to be both confounding and dismaying. It appears to take vital tools away from the PPB as well as to embolden those bent on mayhem. From my reading, it is likely to be taken by miscreants as carte blanche to ignore lawful orders from police, to resist arrest (even forcefully), perhaps worse. I can think of no legitimate purpose in leniency on such behavior, much less for you to to publicly announce in advance that your offices intends to do so.
It’s in no one’s interest to allow this agitation and mayhem to continue indefinitely. Again, this is in contrast to peaceful protests — they can keep at it forever and we must not only allow it, we must defend and protect them. Your office needs to work with the PPB and MCSO to come up with a strategy to effectively deal with the violent element; the current situation is unsustainable. Citizens rely on the police and this is a terrible drain on their resources. I am also sure that I don’t have to tell you that there is an alarming rise in homicide crimes in Portland which need police attention.
Regards,
Benjamin Drasin
