PORTLAND, Ore. — Tomorrow, Portland City Council is expected to approve a settlement in a case brought by the ACLU of Oregon, Public Accountability and BraunHagey & Borden LLP on behalf of local journalists and legal observers (the “Plaintiffs”) who were targeted and attacked by police while documenting racial justice protests in Portland during 2020. The settlement requires the City of Portland to maintain current policy protections for journalists and legal observers who document protests in the future, and includes monetary relief for the journalists and legal observers who Portland police injured in 2020.
The lawsuit was filed on June 28, 2020, on behalf of journalists and legal observers who Portland police shot with rubber bullets, sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray, beat with batons, targeted with flash bangs, dispersed from the scene, and in some cases, arrested. Similar police tactics were documented at protests throughout the country. However, courts in Oregon and Minnesota have affirmed the First Amendment right of journalists and legal observers to gather information, including at the critical moment of crowd dispersal and the aftermath that typically follows.
Shortly after filing the case, the Plaintiffs secured a restraining order against the City to temporarily stop the unconstitutional tactics by police, and the City agreed to bind Portland police to a longer preliminary injunction. The injunction, which remained in place for years as the case proceeded, prohibited Portland police from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against any person that an officer knows or reasonably should know is a journalist or legal observer absent probable cause that the person is committing a crime.
The injunction also prevented police from dispersing journalists and legal observers, seizing their equipment, or ordering them to cease recording or documenting the police.
While this case was ongoing, the Portland Police Bureau updated its public order events directive, Directive 0635.10, to include similar protections. Subsequently, the court dissolved the preliminary injunction. Today’s settlement includes a commitment from the City of Portland to maintain its current policy protections for journalists and legal observers through December 31, 2028.
ACLU of Oregon Legal Director, Kelly Simon: “Our right to record the police in public is a critical part of police accountability. It was a recording that exposed the violent murder of George Floyd, whose death is one of too many that remind us that our communities must remain steadfast in fighting for Black lives and against the violence of policing. We appreciate the City of Portland for taking proactive steps to improve its police practices to better honor the First Amendment rights of journalists and legal observers, and the ACLU of Oregon will continue working in the courts, the legislature, and the streets to ensure law enforcement is accountable to Oregonians.”
Matt Borden, partner and co-founder at BraunHagey & Borden LLP: “We are pleased that the City of Portland has agreed to change its policies. Freedom of the press is a constitutional check against abuse of government power—one that has become all the more critical in light of the current federal regime. Nobody should have to face the nightly storm of violence that our clients braved to capture what actually happened at the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Portland.”
Public Accountability's executive director and founder, Athul Acharya: "Journalism is not a crime. It's not a threat to public order. It is one of the fundamental freedoms secured by our Constitution, and law enforcement must respect that. Today's settlement reaffirms the City's commitment to that constitutional order and empowers journalists to continue their essential role in safeguarding democracy.”
In August 2020, the Plaintiffs also brought claims against federal law enforcement for similar violations of their First Amendment rights. Despite the first Trump Administration’s efforts to defend against an injunction, Judge Michael Simon bound federal officers to comply with similar terms to Portland police. That injunction was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Efforts to fully resolve claims against the Trump Administration remain ongoing.
Client comments are unavailable prior to the Portland City Council hearing.
The complaint is here.
Full case files including declarations and exhibits are here.
###
About the ACLU of Oregon: The ACLU of Oregon is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization with more than 43,000 members and donor supporters statewide. The organization works in the courts, legislature, and communities to defend and advance our democracy, civil liberties, and civil rights.
