Accomplishments that Oregon protests for racial justice have achieved in the past three weeks:

In Portland:

• 6/8 Police Chief Jamie Resch resigns

• 6/11 Don’t Shoot PDX is successful in a lawsuit to temporarily ban tear gas

• 6/16 Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announces early retirement; Mike Schmidt (elected in May) will replace him for the remainder of his term

• 6/17 City Council cuts $15 million from the police budget

  • Ending the Officers in schools program

  • Pulling Portland police from Trimet fare enforcement

  • Ending the Gun Violence Reduction Team (formerly the Gang Enforcement Team)

• Protesters took down statues of slaveowners Thomas Jefferson and George Washington

In Gresham:

• 6/12 Police Chief Robin Sells announces early retirement

• 6/15 City Manager Erik Kvarsten resigns

• 6/17 Mayor Shane Bemis resigns

• These resignations of three white city officials followed a public statement by Deputy City Manager Corey Falls, a black man, which talks about racism at the Gresham Police Department and in City Hall

In Clackamas:

• 6/18 Lawsuit filed by the mother of a 12-year-old black child – In 2019, three Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies pinned him down to the ground — one by pressing a knee on his neck

In West Linn:

• 6/16 Officer Tony Reeves fired – He was responsible for “good ol’ boys” scheme in which police arrested innocent black man in favor for their fishing buddy.

• Chief Terry Kruger on leave in connection with the Reeves incident and his conflict-of-interest

In Woodburn:

• Police Chief suspends the Police in Schools (SRO) program following the exposure of an officer who posted disturbing images on his social media account showing a drawing of a car hitting children at a protest, and listing his former job as a ‘trained killer’ with the Marine Corps

In the State of Oregon:

• Governor Kate Brown calls a special session of the state legislature to begin June 24^th to focus on police accountability legislation. Proposals include:

  • Making it more difficult for arbitrators to overturn discipline of law enforcement officers

  • Creating a statewide database of police officials who have been disciplined

  • Putting the Oregon attorney general in charge of use-of-force investigations

  • Requiring officers to intervene and report when colleagues use unreasonable force, under so-called “duty to intervene” policies

  • Demilitarizing the police by prohibiting or limiting use of certain equipment, for example

  • Banning officers from using chokeholds.

And this is just the beginning. A list of the current demands of local protest organizers can be found here. Care Not Cops has been working for years on these issues, and has this list of demands.

A comprehensive list of local protests and rallies can be found here.