Portland police have spent tens of thousands of dollars on less-lethal munitions and tear gas canisters in response to nightly protests against racism and police brutality.
From May 30 through July 14, the city’s police force has spent more than $117,500 on impact munitions, chemical weapons and equipment for using them, according to invoices obtained through public records requests by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Police also spent more than $40,000 on fences during that same time frame, which encompasses the first seven weeks of protests.
It remains unknown how much more Portland police have spent since then. The protests have continued for more than 100 days.
Portland police’s use of force during protests, including deploying tear gas, impact munitions and pepper spray, have drawn criticism from activists and public leaders, resulting in numerous lawsuits and new restrictions on their ability to use force.
The invoices show Portland police continued to buy more crowd control munitions amid the criticism. Here are four main takeaways from the invoices:
1. The day after protesters and others caused widespread property damage in downtown Portland on May 29, police immediately began stocking up on supplies for crowd control.
Portland police spent $68,380.75 riot control agents and equipment such as gas mask filters and parts for pepper ball guns from May 30 through June 9, invoices show. One dollar of every six—or $11,319.60—went toward tear gas.
The supplies came from three stores in three states.
Portland police bought $32,467.20 worth of rubber ball rounds, tear gas, pepper spray grenades and foam marker rounds from San Francisco supplier LN Curtis and Sons on June 1, invoices show. Police also ordered $12,881.25 worth of gas mask filters the same day.
Portland police stocked up on similar supplies from Curtis Blue Line, a Tigard law enforcement supply store and subsidiary of LN Curtis and Sons. Police spent $15,822.85 on tear gas canisters, as well as rubber ball grenades, pepper spray and smoke grenades between May 30 and June 3, invoices show.
Portland police also spent $7,209.45 on smoke grenades, tear gas, pepper spray grenades, pepper balls and equipment for the guns used to fire pepper balls from Hurricane Butterfly, a Tukwila, Washington supplier, on June 1 and June 9.
2. While federal officers were escalating use of force on Portlanders, and Mayor Ted Wheeler was decrying that use of force, the police force he oversees spent nearly $50,000 on the same 40-millimeter sponge rounds being used by federal officers.
Sometimes referred to as a “sponge grenade,” the munitions can cause serious injuries. Many people believe a federal officer shot Donavan La Bella with the same type of munition in the face July 11. La Bella’s injury brought widespread condemnation of federal police tactics.
Days after La Bella’s injury, Portland police bought 3,010 sponge rounds for a total of $49,123.20, according to a July 14 invoice. Around that same time, Portland police temporarily stopped leading crowd control efforts around the federal courthouse and visibly assisting federal officers.
A separate invoice shows Portland police had spent $47,719 on 2,924 sponge rounds less than four months earlier.
Portland police spokesperson Lt. Greg Pashley told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday he would have to do research to answer why the bureau has purchased so many 40-millimeter sponge rounds. Invoices show the bureau has spent more than $265,000 on nearly 16,500 sponge rounds since 2016.
The 40-millimeter “exact impact sponge rounds,” purchased July 14 are manufactured by Defense Technology and sold to Portland police by Aardvark, a tactical equipment supplier based in La Verne, California.
The rounds carry a California Proposition 65 warning because they can expose people to “chemicals including lead salts, methylene chloride and hexavalent chromium, which are known to the state of California to cause cancer, and lead salts, which are known to the state of California to cause birth defects of other reproductive harm,” according to the manufacturer website.
A bouquet is made of spent crowd control munitions and brought to a Portland protest. August 28, 2020 Beth Nakamura/Staff
3. A fence that stood for weeks around the Justice Center at the heart of the protests was costly. But fences that remained for only two days across the street at Lownsdale and Chapman squares left police with a much higher bill.
Portland police spent $42,157.50 on four fences in June and July, including a fence around the Justice Center where protesters and police often faced off. Police set up the fences around the Justice Center and next to the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on June 1 after people broke into a Justice Center office and set a fire.
The fences erected around Lownsdale and Chapman Squares in late July that were summarily dismantled by demonstrators on consecutive nights cost the city $35,910.
All of the work was completed by Superior Fence and Construction, based in Portland.
4. Nearly 20% of Portland police spending on crowd control munitions and equipment over the past four years came during the first seven weeks of the protests.
Between February 2016 and early May, before the spending associated with nightly protests, Portland police spent $524,009.15 on less-lethal munitions, chemical irritants and equipment associated with less-lethal munitions. Of the total spent in that time frame, $218,716.51 went to 40-millimeter sponge rounds, while $213,930.30 were spent on 40-millimeter less-lethal launchers.
-- K. Rambo
Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
"impact" - Google News
September 06, 2020 at 10:30PM
https://ift.tt/324PZc1
Portland police bought thousands of impact munitions in response to protests: What the invoices show - OregonLive
"impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RIFll8
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Portland police bought thousands of impact munitions in response to protests: What the invoices show - OregonLive"
Post a Comment