Opening statements got underway Tuesday in Multnomah County at the one of the first civil trials against the city of Portland to allege unreasonable police violence during the 2020 racial justice protests. The case is being watched closely by civil rights attorneys as a potential bellwether for the more than a dozen cases coming in the trial’s wake.
Judges dismiss or recommend throwing out 2 civil suits that challenged Portland police ‘kettling’ tactic
Updated Jan 11, 2021;
Posted Jan 11, 2021
On June 4, 2017, Portland police detained more than 300 people on Southwest Fourth Avenue between Southwest Morrison Street and Southwest Alder Street after closing down Chapman and Lownsdale Squares and ordering protesters to disperse north.
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Two federal judges in separate opinions have either dismissed or recommended throwing out two civil suits challenging the mass police detention of hundreds of people during competing demonstrations downtown in June 2017.
Despite heavy community objection to the tactic called “kettling” and a critical report from Portland’s police review office, the rulings mark a win for the city.