The revelation that a document used to train police in Portland, Oregon, included a far-right meme joking about violence against protesters came as the city faces criticism about its handling of 2020 protests.
A protester flies an American flag while walking through tear gas fired by federal officers.
The images are from the same company.
The last slide of the slideshow contains a mock prayer that celebrates brutalizing demonstrators, but it was released Friday in a lawsuit against the city.
The meme features a photo of a helmet-clad person striking a civilian, with text that suggests "dirty hippy" protesters should be "cuffed and stuffed" and "stitched and bandaged."
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement Friday that it wasn't clear who created the slide or if it was used during a police training session.
Wheeler said the slideshow first came to the city's attention in September, prompting a still-ongoing internal affairs probe, and Portland officials initially didn't release the document publicly to safeguard the investigation's integrity.
Wheeler said he was disgusted that offensive content was added to a training presentation for police officers.
The key background.
The lawsuit was filed by the activist group Don't Shoot Portland over the city police department's response to a series of tense protests in 2020. The city has faced lawsuits and criticism for its use of tear gas and aggressive crowd control tactics during the protests, which were part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations. Federal law enforcement agents were criticized for cracking down in summer 2020.
Police training on protests ends with a mock prayer.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
