Apparently, some small children in Portland have been given lessons not only in civics, but also in manners and elegant use of the English language, as they were shown on camera being encouraged to say “F*** the police.”
These kids say, “fuck the police.”#PortlandProtests #fuckthepolice pic.twitter.com/MSMf5SqKcG
— Rod Webber (@RodWebber) July 23, 2020
The National Police Support Fund has written, “Law enforcement officers need to make countless life-or-death decisions every day, and public support for that work is critical. People need to feel confident that police officers have their best interests in mind as they work tirelessly to protect and serve their communities. A decline in trust and respect makes it much more difficult for officers to do their jobs. One minute of resistance from a community member during an incident could literally be a matter of life or death.”
Attorney General William Barr stated in December 2019:
To my mind there is no more noble profession than serving as a law enforcement officer. You put your life and well-being on the line to protect your communities. And your families spend anxious nights, night after night, so the rest of us can sleep in peace. That job has always been a difficult job, but it’s probably – no time where it is more difficult than today …
This profession these days calls on a special kind of bravery … we’re fighting an unrelenting, never-ending fight against criminal predators in our society, and while there are battles won and lost each day, there is never a final resolution; a final victory is never in sight, and yet we, and you, continue to perform your duty of protecting the community day in and day out. And that takes a very special kind of courage to wage this kind of fight; a special kind of commitment, a special kind of sacrifice.
After relating the appreciation Americans have shown for their men and women in uniform, Barr continued, “Today, American people have to focus on something else, which is the sacrifice and the service that is given by our law enforcement officers. And they have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves.”
On Wednesday, Portland’s City Council unanimously passed two resolutions barring members of the police from working with federal law enforcement; the moves also barred them from arresting or using force on journalists and legal observers. One resolution stated that any member of the Portland Police Bureau who “provides, requests, or willingly receives operational support from militarized federal forces” will be subject to discipline, Fox News reported.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon has issued a temporary restraining order blocking police in Portland from arresting or using physical force against journalists or legal observers at protests. He wrote that police “are enjoined from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force directed against any person whom they know or reasonably should know is a journalist or legal observer unless the police have probable cause to believe that such individual has committed a crime. For purposes of this order, such persons shall not be required to disperse following the issuance of an order to disperse, and such persons shall not be subject to arrest for not dispersing following the issuance of an order to disperse.”