Port of Portland's Quasi-Governmental Police Bureau Called in to Quell Protesters

Miki Barnes
July 28, 2020

Since the heartless killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on 5/25/2020, people from across the U.S. and around the globe have gathered to express their outrage and to demand changes to the laws, policies, regulations and social norms that perpetuate the racist and socioeconomic disparities that have contributed to the wrongful deaths and mistreatment of Black, Hispanic, Indigenous peoples and other minority groups in this country. Floyd's death is one in a string of killings and assaults of unarmed black people at the hands of the police. The circumstances leading to his death understandably spurred a wave of profound grief and frustration over the systemic racism in nearly every institution in this country.

Portland, Oregon, is one of the U.S. cities that has garnered national attention due to the demonstrations that erupted following Floyd's death. By all accounts, the vast majority of protests have been peaceful. Despite the steady progress made in addressing some of the protestors' concerns, the Trump administration ordered federal officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group, into the city. The heavy-handed tactics exhibited by these camouflage-garbed agents has further increased the public unrest and underscored the lengths to which the existing power structure will go to suppress the voice of the people in an effort to maintain white privilege.

Since the arrival of federal agents, one peaceful protestor sustained a fractured skull and brain injury after being shot in the head with an impact munition by a U.S. marshal. Many other peaceful demonstrators have been subjected to tear gas and pepper spray. Some were physically assaulted with batons. Reports have also surfaced about people being abducted by federal agents and forced into unmarked vans.

Multiple Oregon and Washington State Law Enforcement Agencies Descend on Portland

Even before the federal forces arrived, a dizzying array of law enforcement agencies were brought in to suppress public outcry.

Oregonian reporter Shane Kavanaugh, in a 7/26/20 article stated, "Portland Police and other local agencies have arrested at least 460 people on suspicion of mostly misdemeanor crimes since the protests began in late May." A review of these "local agencies" deserves careful scrutiny.

According to a 7/07/2020 Oregonian article,

"The Police Bureau has requested staffing help from Oregon State Police, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Salem police, Port of Portland police, Clark County Sheriff's Office, Washougal police and Vancouver police, Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said."

A 7/18/2020 Oregonian article indicated that the Washington and Clackamas County sheriff's offices were also asked to help out.

Port of Portland's Corporate Funded Police Department

All of the above mentioned law enforcement agencies, including those in Oregon and from across the border in Washington state, participate, at least in some small measure, in the democratic process by promoting tax levies to pay for police services as well as providing opportunities for the electorate to vote for police chiefs and/or for the city council members that oversee police operations. All, that is, except the Port of Portland Police Bureau.

But wait a minute – why does the Port, a quasi-state agency charged with the task of overseeing public airports and marine terminals, have its very own police department? And why is it being used to address non-Port related activities? Though the Port by state statute is accorded municipality status on par with city and county municipalities, none of the members of its board of commissioners are elected. Instead they are appointed by the governor. As a result, decisions made by the Port are subject to neither voter approval nor oversight. Nonetheless, the Port exercises an enormous amount of power including, but not limited to, the statutory right to pass ordinances, levy taxes, declare eminent domain and, apparently, to form its own corporate funded, quasi-governmental police force.

A 7/23/2020 phone conversation with a spokesperson at the Port of Portland Police Bureau revealed that the Port police department is subsidized primarily by the commercial airline industry. She was uncertain about whether or not taxpayer dollars or other monetary sources were used to fund this department. She further said that the Port Police Department answers to the Director of the Port, Curtis Robinhold, who was chosen by the non-elected Port commissioners to serve in this position.

In this regard it is important to keep in mind that none of the protests following the death of George Floyd have occurred on Port owned properties, which include marine terminals and three airports – Portland International (a commercial passenger facility), and two general aviation airports whose primary tenants are for-profit flight training businesses such as Hillsboro Aero Academy and ATP, both of which are owned by out-of-state investors.

Mr. Robinhold and his employer the Port of Portland work primarily for the corporate entities that utilize their airports. Towards this end, it has long history of suppressing public input, choosing instead to exploit local communities in the interest of generating profits and funneling money into the hands of the aviation industry. It appears that their police force is in place to protect the Port tenants and their corporate cronies from highly dreaded, unanticipated, and frightening encounters with democracy.

Port of Portland Police Department Powers

Per the Port's Police Department website,

"Port of Portland Police have the same authority as other Oregon police. In addition to traditional law enforcement, we help travelers and enforce federal security rules."

"We ensure the security of our airports and other properties. That happens through frequent patrols, the enforcement of our security plan, and collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as state and local partners."

"Our officers respond to emergencies including crimes in progress, arrests, traffic accidents, missing persons cases and criminal investigations. We also handle situations like escorting public figures through security, and managing high-profile cases that involve the media and large crowds."

The Port should be required to level with the public about exactly what "federal security rules" it enforces, what their so-called "security plan" is, and what protocols they have put in place for "managing high-profile cases that involve the media and large crowds." And just exactly how do they collaborate with "the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as state and local partners?" How many officers and other staffers work for the Port Police Bureau? Which specific airlines are funding this department and how many other police departments throughout the U.S. are privately funded by aviation businesses? Many other questions remain, not the least of which is why the Governor and the Oregon State legislature serve as conduits to the establishment of a corporate run police department that is completely lacking in public oversight. These kinds of authoritarian structures are essentially fascist at their core and as such pose an ongoing threat to democracy.

Port of Portland Perpetuates Special Privilege

The Port of Portland powers and governance structure serves as a prime example of how special privilege and social inequities are enshrined into law by predominantly white legislators, many of whom all too often use their positions to shortchange and exploit their own constituents in the interest of pumping money into the pockets of their corporate cronies. Giving a non-elected board of Port commissioners the power to form their own corporate funded police department is a case in point. The very existence of this department in conjunction with its use to quell peaceful protesters represents an abhorrent assault on democracy.

The Port has a long exulted in the authority granted to it by the Oregon Legislature. So much so that it included the following in its "Partners in Progress: Port of Portland Celebrates 100 Years 1891-1991" historical overview, a document that is, in large part, a picture gallery of the white men who shaped the Port into the totalitarian juggernaut it is today:

"After voters approved Port of Portland / Dock Commission merger in 1970, and the Legislature expanded the Port District to include Washington and Clackamas Counties in 1973, an Oregonian reporter quipped that the increased reach of the Port gave it the authority 'to do anything short of declaring war.' 'But,' the Oregonian continued, 'we're not even sure about that because they haven't tried it yet.'"

More than 70 years ago Franklin Delano Roosevelt warned that "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power."

In light of the dangers the current Port of Portland governance structure poses to democracy, the Port's Police Department needs to be completely dismantled. No non-elected quasi-government agency should have the right to form a police department or to deploy it to quell peaceful protestors. In addition, due to the complete absence of an election process for choosing members of the Port of Portland Board of Commissioners, the Port should be immediately stripped of its municipality status. Non-elected municipalities are the hallmark of totalitarian regimes and as such undermine, rather than contribute to, a healthy democracy.

Sources

Bernstein, Maxine. City Details Portland Protest Violence, Damage, Cost of Repairs in Response to Motion to Restrict Tear Gas, Crowd Control Weapons. Oregonian/OregonLive. (7/07/2020). Last accessed on-line on 7/27/2020.

Kavenaugh, Shane. Trump Sent the Feds to Quash Portland's Protests: What We Know Amid the Nightly Turmoil. The Oregonian/OregonLive. (7/26/2020). Last accessed on-line on 7/27/2020.

KOIN 6 News Staff. Man Hit with Federal Officer's Impact Munition at Protest Leaves Hospital. (7/25/2020). Last accessed on-line on 7/27/2020.

Port of Portland Police Department website. Last accessed on-line on 7/27/2020.

Rambo, K. Use of Emergency Agreement by Portland Police and Multnomah County Sherriff Raises Questions. Oregonian/OregonLive. (7/18/2020). Last accessed on-line on 7/27/2020.