We at the ACLU of Oregon believe it is our duty to keep the public informed about the state of their civil liberties. The work we do at the legislature, in the courts, and in our communities is important, but there is no better defender of civil liberties and civil rights than a public that is informed and engaged.
Every time another Black person is murdered by the police, it’s easy to point to a single officer as the culprit. George Floyd was killed under the knee of officer Derek Chauvin — we saw it ourselves.
We once again submitted comments to the Portland Police Bureau about its crowd control policies. As we’ve done before in the City’s public comment period, we're demanding major changes to how they police protests.
If police are authorized to deploy invasive face surveillance technologies against our communities, these technologies will unquestionably be used to target Black and Brown people merely for existing.
Policing in this country evolved from slave patrols. It has never been a neutral institution.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention system was marked by its lack of transparency, accountability, and oversight.
14,000 Oregonians, many elderly and already in poor health, are currently confined in unhygienic, small, and densely populated jail and prison cells. Our justice system can’t afford to stay stagnant in this pandemic. Action now is important for the health of all of us.