Newspapers publish letters from Portland DSA members all the time. Occasionally, the takes are too hot for corporate news media. We are publishing those letters here.
Portland City Councilors: Pass Police/ICE Mask Ban
At a time when our community’s trust in federal law enforcement has reached its nadir, it is crucial that the City take steps to restore our faith and confidence in those sworn to protect Portlanders and uphold the laws. The “Right to Know Who is Policing You” ordinance would do just that. When we authorize uniformed and armed law enforcement to patrol our city, and at times to restrict our freedoms, the ability to immediately recognize those officers and distinguish them from masked and anonymous vigilantes or impersonators can be a matter of life and death.
Last month the legislature passed and the governor signed HB 4138, directing state and local police agencies to implement policies like those found in the proposed ordinance. Policeofficers, whether local, state or federal, are public servants whom we entrust with solemn responsibility. This ordinance would codify the City’s policy as one of “trust, but verify,” grounded in transparency and backstopped by accountability in cases where that trust is misplaced or abused.
Requiring clear, visible identification, including recognizable uniforms identifying the specific agency and individual officer,protects all members of our community including sworn officers themselves. This ordinance is an important step toward repairing the damage that has been done to community–police relations in recent years, and underlines our commitment to the bedrock principle of the rule of law, no matter how tattered and torn that principle may be in Washington, DC.
I urge every member of city council to support this ordinance.
-Michael W.