Portland police didn't use excessive force against Occupy protester
#1
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index...cart_river

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Excerpt: "A federal jury on Friday found that two Portland police officers did not use excessive force against an Occupy Portland protester.

Liz Nichols, now a 22-year-old Portland State University student, sued the officers and the city of Portland in connection with the anti-bank protests in downtown Portland on Nov. 17, 2011. During the demonstrations outside Chase Bank, Nichols was jabbed, pepper sprayed and dragged through a line of riot police. She sued, claiming police used too much force.

But after four days of testimony by the defendants, other police officers, former protesters and Nichols, the jury disagreed.

The verdict came on the same day as testimony from the officer who pepper-sprayed Nichols in the face, as captured in a now-famous photograph by The Oregonian.

"She was much more aggressive than the other people in the crowd," Sgt. Jeff McDaniel testified Friday. He said she looked as if she was becoming physically aggressive so he sprayed her.

"It was to get her to stop what she was doing at the time," he said. "My decision was based merely on her physical reactions."

He also said he was trying to protect her from being jabbed by Paisley, which could have hurt more.

It was only a half-second burst, he said.

The jury of four women and three men, including a retired Army master sergeant, determined that the two police officers and the city of Portland did not violate her First or Fourth Amendment rights and did not use excessive force.

The trial turned largely around video captured at the scene, which the city and Nichols' attorneys played over and over again for jurors. It showed a group of riot police, clad in black ballistic helmets, with body protection and batons, moving on a crowd of protesters standing on the sidewalk. The officers advanced en masse clutching their nightsticks, jabbing some people as they told them to move. A police loudspeaker blared in the background, ordering people out of the streets.

Police testified that they wanted to clear the sidewalk to bring protesters arrested inside Chase Bank out and didn't want to create a "flashpoint" with demonstrators.

Nichols had been in the bank and initially had wanted to be arrested, she testified. But she changed her mind and police brought her out and handed her off among officers to Pioneer Courthouse Square. But she didn't stay there. She said she was looking for her computer so she crossed the street, ending up in front of Chase Bank.

The video shows it didn't take long for the situation to turn tense. People started jostling and yelling. Police shouted orders and advanced on the crowd.

Nichols was at the front of protesters. Officer Doris Paisley, in the riot police line, pushed Nichols with her 3-foot-long nightstick. Nichols arched back and bounced forward a few times. Paisley testified she felt under attack. Nichols said Paisley jabbed her in the throat, partially cutting off her breathing. Paisley said her baton slipped, by accident, up Nichols' leather jacket and caught Nichols' chin.

Nichols fell back and came forward again, her arms out. She was shouting. She said she was angry about the baton jab.

That's when McDaniel shot her with pepper spray.

Nichols collapsed. Paisley dragged her through the line of riot police. Nichols claimed Paisley dragged her by her hair. Paisley said she tried to grab the collar of Nichols' leather jacket and in the process got some of her hair. Paisley said she was trying to save Nichols from being trampled.

"She was helpless like a blind little baby rat," Paisley testified.

In deciding the verdict, the jury studied Portland police policy on pepper spray. It states: "Pepper mace may be used, at the member's discretion, when persons display intent to use or engage in violent, aggressive actions or offer physical resistance, (not to include passive resistance)." It also states that "pepper spray may be used in passive resistance situations only when authorized by an incident commander as part of a crowd control strategy."

Nichols suit asked jurors to find that Portland has a policy of using pepper spray on peaceful protesters.

The jury said that wasn't the case.

Her lawyers also asked the jury for $30,000 in damages, saying she suffered depression, nightmares and a worsening of her eczema after being pepper sprayed.

But the jury did not award her anything."
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#2
Perfect.
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#3
I want to take her in and provide rehabilitation.
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#4
So the officer pushes the victim back with a nightstick. The nightstick supposedly slipped and caught the victim in the throat/chin. The victim gets angry at the percieved attack. The officer, at whom the victim is angry due to the percieved attack, is now justified is pepper spraying the victim due to the victim's aggressive behavior.

Is that about right?
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#5
That's what it sounded like to me.

It's things like this that cause people to lose faith in the American way, and cause lifelong alienation. As a society you can do these things, and get away with them too, but you may not like the long term results it brings. Ninja
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#6
Of course, if she had obeyed police commands to step back, she wouldn't have been pushed in the first place.
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#7
Yes, I suppose she could have blindly obeyed authority. If she was that type though, she probably wouldn't have been at the demonstration in the first place.

The people have to be allowed some types of outlet.
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#8
(08-09-2013, 06:59 PM)csrowan Wrote: Of course, if she had obeyed police commands to step back, she wouldn't have been pushed in the first place.

Yep. I was going to mention that little fact. How many times were these people told to disperse? And what did they expect if they didn't? Flowers?

But to her this was totally important dude cuz cuz we are fighting for UH um well something
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#9
(08-09-2013, 07:07 PM)PonderThis Wrote: Yes, I suppose she could have blindly obeyed authority. If she was that type though, she probably wouldn't have been at the demonstration in the first place.

The people have to be allowed some types of outlet.

LaughingLaughing They are allowed until they aren't allowed.
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#10
(08-09-2013, 07:58 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(08-09-2013, 06:59 PM)csrowan Wrote: Of course, if she had obeyed police commands to step back, she wouldn't have been pushed in the first place.

Yep. I was going to mention that little fact. How many times were these people told to disperse? And what did they expect if they didn't? Flowers?

But to her this was totally important dude cuz cuz we are fighting for UH um well something

Of course, you're neglecting the part where the woman gets pepper sprayed for being upset about having a nightstick jabbed into her throat.
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#11
I agree with the outcome.
While CSRown boils it down to the basics very well, it is important to remember the context in which those basics took place. From what I read, it sounded like a chaotic atmosphere with growing tensions. A pretty volatile situation.
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#12
(08-09-2013, 08:07 PM)csrowan Wrote:
(08-09-2013, 07:58 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(08-09-2013, 06:59 PM)csrowan Wrote: Of course, if she had obeyed police commands to step back, she wouldn't have been pushed in the first place.

Yep. I was going to mention that little fact. How many times were these people told to disperse? And what did they expect if they didn't? Flowers?

But to her this was totally important dude cuz cuz we are fighting for UH um well something

Of course, you're neglecting the part where the woman gets pepper sprayed for being upset about having a nightstick jabbed into her throat.

She put herself in that position, The cops were moving people back who CHOSE to resist. BTW where is medical resort and pictures of this horrible nightstick jab wounds or bruising??

Someone should sue HER for being a whining dumbass and wasting peoples time.
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#13
(08-09-2013, 08:09 PM)gapper Wrote: I agree with the outcome.
While CSRown boils it down to the basics very well, it is important to remember the context in which those basics took place. From what I read, it sounded like a chaotic atmosphere with growing tensions. A pretty volatile situation.

Right an orchestrated chaotic atmosphere with growing tensions.
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#14
I'd like to see pepper spray forced down that cops throat, personally.
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#15
The cop did what she was supposed to do, under the circumstances which included an unfortunate accident.

The victim didn't deserve what happened to her.

That's my reading of it.
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#16
My son lived in Portland at the time and walked by that park every day for work. He said it was disgusting and unsanitary. I believe something had to be done before people got sick. I'm sure there's more to this story. Probably on both sides.
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#17
(08-09-2013, 08:30 PM)csrowan Wrote: The cop did what she was supposed to do, under the circumstances which included an unfortunate accident.

The victim didn't deserve what happened to her.

That's my reading of it.

Deserve?? Well maybe not the jab if it was as painful as she claimed. But IMO she basically got exactly what she deserved.
It's like when you see some guy speeding in a school zone and a cop catches them.
You think, YES he got what he deserved.
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#18
Like when a poacher shoots at the dummy deer.
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#19
(08-09-2013, 08:25 PM)PonderThis Wrote: I'd like to see pepper spray forced down that cops throat, personally.

Why don't you trot on down to the police academy. I'm sure they will let you watch when they all get sprayed in training.
I was gassed in the military. Some how I got over it.

Holy crap I don't get the freaking logic or lack thereof. These people purposely put them selves in a position where getting pepper sprayed is likely if not inevitable.

Newsflash Ponder, if they sat on the grass and obeyed the law no one would put their picture in the paper. They WANT to get sprayed or even better beat up.Der!!


And all you can think about is the big meanie bully cop Who was doing his job? Un freaking beeleaveable. Something is missing upstairs.
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#20
I'd like to see pepper spray forced down that cops throat, and be jabbed in the throat with a nightstick too. Then I'd like to see his police force have to pay his victims compensation, the cop be fired, and then face the misery of their partner leaving them, their house being repossessed by the bank, and their kids starve to death because the parent spent all their food stamp money on drugs instead. OK, I don't really wish death on the kids, it's not their fault. Smiling
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