On Thursday, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who has called for defunding the police and derided those who called 911 unnecessarily but was then found to have called 911 when a Lyft driver ended her ride, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FHqW4fQ9_Q&amp;feature=emb_title&amp;ab_channel=eGovPDX">defended her 911 call</a>, saying it was “another example of being black in America” and blaming “white supremacists” for her fear and subsequent 911 call.
Speaking at a virtual city council meeting on Thursday that was discussing the adoption of the 2020 fall budget monitoring process, Hardesty stated, “I want to end with this: recently you’ve read articles about me and a Lyft driver. Another example of being black in America and being put in a position where I have to be the one to look out for my personal safety; didn&#8217;t expect the Lyft driver to do it, certainly didn&#8217;t expect the police to do it. It was my responsibility to make sure I got home safe, and I did everything I could to get home safe.”
&#8220;When you&#8217;re living in a city where white supremacists are proudly riding around in their big trucks with their flags and you&#8217;re a black person and somebody wants to put you on the side of the road at night,” she continued. “Not gonna happen.”
According to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-city-commissioner-defund-police-called-911-lyft-driver">Fox News</a>, Hardesty allegedly demanded that Lyft driver Richmond Frost roll the windows up because she said she was cold. Lyft&#8217;s instructions for its drivers on how to deal with the coronavirus <a href="https://www.lyft.com/safety/coronavirus">state clearly</a>: “Roll down the windows during trips and / or use the car’s vents to bring in fresh outside air. Avoid using the recirculated air option for the car’s ventilation.”
“Hardesty, who heads up Portland&#8217;s 911 system, had been picked up from Ilani Casino in Washington when the series of disagreements began,” <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8936655/Portland-commissioner-wants-18m-cut-police-department-called-911-Lyft-driver.html">the Daily Mail</a> reported.
<a href="https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/487428-392372-commissioner-hardesty-safety-concern-prompted-lyft-ride-911-call">The Portland Tribune</a> noted that “Hardesty has pushed to cut the police budget noting that many 911 calls are unnecessary, and police response often not needed.&#8221;
Hardesty told the Portland Tribune, “I don&#8217;t call 911 lightly, but I certainly am not going to do anything that would put my personal safety at risk. I knew that having him call the police would put me in danger. And that&#8217;s why I proactively called 911. It&#8217;s a lot harder when you are black or brown in America to make that decision &#8230; But I ultimately had very limited options.”
Frost said, “I spent 40 years in the service business. There&#8217;s always a few people, you cannot please them no matter what you do,” adding that the 911 call from Hardesty “was so unnecessary … To argue and belittle and to treat me the way I felt she treated me was completely unnecessary.”
Hardesty claimed that the Chevron station was about to close, stating, “I didn&#8217;t know how long I would have to wait. There was no way I was going to get out on the side of the road, in the dark, because some driver has an attitude, and decided I should just get out and just whatever happens happens.”
Hardesty stated in her complaint to Lyft, according to the Daily Mail: “I requested a ride, the driver came to the wrong pick up location, He then blamed me. I asked him to roll the window up on my side and he started to yell, ‘I can&#8217;t because the regulations require each window to be cracked.’ He then pulls over in the dark on the side of a gas station and told me he was cancelling the ride. I had no interest in being left on the side of the road by an angry driver. He threatened to call the police. I called the police &amp; another car. Both arrived at the same time. It is totally inappropriate to expect a woman to get out of a vehicle in the dead of night because any angry person demands it. This is a safety issue for your customer. Your driver was in no danger.”
Lyft replied: “The feedback alleged that you refused to exit the driver&#8217;s vehicle after they requested you do so. As a reminder, drivers are free to end a ride for any reason as long as the drop off is in a safe location. Safety is our top priority. We take these matters very seriously. We encourage everyone using Lyft to be respectful of others. This helps maintain a safe and inclusive community. Please know that future reports of this nature may lead to additional action being taken on your account.”
At the Thursday meeting, Hardesty also stated:
<blockquote>I want to appreciate the tens of thousands of people who have taken to the streets of Portland night after night after night demanding justice and police accountability. …. I also want to say that this budget does not reflect the moment in history that we’re in. We have an obligation to rise up and be bigger and bolder than we ever imagined we could be. When we are suffering as a community and we continue to get lip service to either black lives mattering or to transforming how policing operates in this community, it is disheartening. …
When the assumption is somehow I should sing Kum-Bah-Yah along with people who have not had my lived experience, who’ve never been black in America, who’ve never been targeted by the police, who’ve never cried with family members who’ve lost loved ones at the hands of police? I reject that totally and without reservations. … For the most part, I’m told to be polite, play along with my white, middle-class colleagues, and just pretend that black lives matter in a building that has never prioritized black lives. … I’m told that we should all figure out how to be collegial with each other; let me tell you, white people will never be comfortable talking about racial inequality.</blockquote>
A partial transcript of the 911 calls from Hardesty and Frost is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-official-who-said-most-911-calls-are-unnecessary-calls-911-when-lyft-driver-cancels-her-ride">here</a>.

Jo Ann Hardesty

Portland Official Who Called 911 After Lyft Driver Canceled Ride Says She Feared ‘White Supremacists’

Police

White Supremacists

A Portland City Commissioner who pushed to cut funds to the police department and claimed most 911 calls are unnecessary called 911 when a Lyft driver tried to cancel her ride and drop her off at a gas station.
According to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-city-commissioner-defund-police-called-911-lyft-driver">Fox News</a>, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty allegedly demanded that Lyft driver Richmond Frost roll the windows up because she said she was cold. Lyft&#8217;s instructions for its drivers on how to deal with the coronavirus <a href="https://www.lyft.com/safety/coronavirus">state clearly</a>: “Roll down the windows during trips and / or use the car’s vents to bring in fresh outside air. Avoid using the recirculated air option for the car’s ventilation.”
“Hardesty, who heads up Portland&#8217;s 911 system, had been picked up from ilani Casino in Washington when the series of disagreements began,” <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8936655/Portland-commissioner-wants-18m-cut-police-department-called-911-Lyft-driver.html">the Daily Mail</a> reported.
<a href="https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/487428-392372-commissioner-hardesty-safety-concern-prompted-lyft-ride-911-call">The Portland Tribune</a> notes that “Hardesty has pushed to cut the police budget noting that many 911 calls are unnecessary, and police response often not needed.&#8221;
Hardesty called 911, followed by Frost doing the same. In Hardesty’s call the exchange went like this:
<blockquote>HARDESTY: Well, I&#8217;ve got a Lyft driver that decided he would just drop me off at a filling station. Well, I&#8217;m not getting out of the car, in the dark, at a filling station, not happening. All because I asked him to put the window up. But I&#8217;m not leaving. He says I have to get out of his car or he’s calling the police. So I decided to call for him.
911 OPERATOR: Okay. I mean, technically, it’s his property and you have a civil agreement. There’s no crimes involved.
HARDESTY: Well, he said he was calling the cops.
911 OPERATOR: It’s not a crime to call the cops.</blockquote>
Hardesty started to speak, prompting the 911 operator to ask, “What was that?”
<blockquote>HARDESTY: I said, I am not going to allow him to leave me on the side of the road. I paid for a ride and he says he canceled it, so I&#8217;m just going to sit here until he sends me another ride.
FROST: I can’t send you a ride.
911 OPERATOR: Only you can order another ride.
HARDESTY: This is not a police issue? Then I won’t hang up, but I’m not getting out of this car in the dark.
911 OPERATOR: Do you understand that only you can order another ride?
HARDESTY: Well, I didn’t cancel the ride; he canceled the ride.
911 OPERATOR: Which is his obligation as a human being on the basis he has a right to cancel a contract like that. It’s not a crime; part of your user license agreement when you accept taking rides with strangers. So I can have an officer come out but they’re not going to be able to make him stay there.
HARDESTY: I mean, he can’t go anywhere cause I’m not moving until another car comes.
911 OPERATOR: So I can have officers come out. Where are you?
HARDESTY: I don’t know where I am. Apparently I’m at the Chevron.
911 OPERATOR: In what city?
HARDESTY, prompted by Lyft:  In Richfield.
911 OPERATOR: What’s your name?
HARDESTY: My name is Jo Anne Hardesty.
911 OPERATOR: All right. We’ll have officers come out.</blockquote>
Frost’s call started with him alerting the 911 operator where he was and who he was. Then this exchange followed:
<blockquote>FROST: I got a customer where I canceled the ride. I’m a ride-share driver and I canceled the ride. And I’m taking her off the freeway to the filling station so she can order another ride. I canceled the ride so that he could no longer involve or engage with me; she’s refusing to get out of my car. I’ve attempted to tell her she’s not going to get another ride; she can perfectly do that, get another driver but she’s refusing to do that.
911 OPERATOR: And she’s in your car now? Are you in there with her?
FROST: Yes. I’m sitting in the front seat; she’s in the back seat. I can step out of the vehicle if you’d like me to do that.
911 OPERATOR: Oh, no, no, no. That’s okay. And she’s already called us. Is that right?
FROST: Yes. She called.
911 OPERATOR: Okay. We do have a call entered in Richfield A police officer is dispatching a call as of right now unless they get diverted for another emergency or what-not they should be coming to you. Has she any weapons or anything like that on there?
FROST: I doubt it.
911 OPERATOR: Okay.</blockquote>
After asking for identification again, the 911 operator asked, “She hasn’t been violent or anything like that, right?”
<blockquote>FROST: No. She’s just refusing to get out of the car.</blockquote>
Hardesty told the Portland Tribune, “I don&#8217;t call 911 lightly, but I certainly am not going to do anything that would put my personal safety at risk. I knew that having him call the police would put me in danger. And that&#8217;s why I proactively called 911. It&#8217;s a lot harder when you are black or brown in America to make that decision &#8230; But I ultimately had very limited options.”
Frost said, “I spent 40 years in the service business. There&#8217;s always a few people, you cannot please them no matter what you do,” adding that the 911 call from Hardesty “was so unnecessary … To argue and belittle and to treat me the way I felt she treated me was completely unnecessary.”
Hardesty claimed that the Chevron station was about to close, stating, “I didn&#8217;t know how long I would have to wait. There was no way I was going to get out on the side of the road, in the dark, because some driver has an attitude, and decided I should just get out and just whatever happens happens.”
Hardesty stated in her complaint to Lyft, according to the Daily Mail: “&#8217;I requested a ride, the driver came to the wrong pick up location, He then blamed me. I asked him to roll the window up on my side and he started to yell, ‘I can&#8217;t because the regulations require each window to be cracked.’ He then pulls over in the dark on the side of a gas station and told me he was cancelling the ride. I had no interest in being left on the side of the road by an angry driver. He threatened to call the police. I called the police &amp; another car. Both arrived at the same time. It is totally inappropriate to expect a woman to get out of a vehicle in the dead of night because any angry person demands it. This is a safety issue for your customer. Your driver was in no danger.”
Lyft replied: “The feedback alleged that you refused to exit the driver&#8217;s vehicle after they requested you do so. As a reminder, drivers are free to end a ride for any reason as long as the drop off is in a safe location. Safety is our top priority. We take these matters very seriously. We encourage everyone using Lyft to be respectful of others. This helps maintain a safe and inclusive community. Please know that future reports of this nature may lead to additional action being taken on your account.”

Portland Official Who Said Most 911 Calls Are Unnecessary Calls 911 When Lyft Driver Cancels Her Ride

Lyft

Portland

On Wednesday, the city of Portland — which has been decimated by rioters the last three months — banned the use of facial-recognition technology by local police.
“Its decision to prevent both local government and businesses from employing the technology appears to be the most sweeping ban yet by an individual city,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/0">CNN reported</a>, adding:
<blockquote>The <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/765749">new rule</a> prevents <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/765749">&#8220;private entities in places of public accommodation&#8221;</a> in Portland from using it, too, referring to businesses that serve the general public — a grocery store or a pizza place, for instance. It does not prevent individuals from setting up facial-recognition technology at home, such as a Google Nest camera that can spot familiar faces, or gadgets that use facial-recognition software for authenticating users, like Apple&#8217;s Face ID feature for unlocking an iPhone.</blockquote>
The rule explains, “Face Recognition means the automated searching for a reference image in an image repository by comparing the facial features of a probe image with the features of images contained in an image repository (one-to-many search). A Face Recognition search will typically result in one or more most likely candidates—or candidate images—ranked by computer-evaluated similarity or will return a negative result … Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities have been subject to over surveillance and disparate and detrimental impact of the misuse of surveillance.”
The rule also states, “The City of Portland must be a welcoming city, a sanctuary city, and an inclusive city for all, including residents and visitors.&#8221;
Leftist Democrat Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler stated, &#8220;Technology exists to make our lives easier, not for public and private entities to use as a weapon against the very citizens they serve and accommodate.”
Jann Carson, interim executive director of the ACLU of Oregon, reacted with <a href="https://www.aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/aclu-oregon-comment-portland-ban-facial-recognition-technology">effusive praise</a> for Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty and vitrol for the Portland Police Department, ranting:
<blockquote>Portland Police for months have been gassing, beating, and violently attacking the people of Portland to suppress their demands for racial justice. With today’s vote, the community made clear we hold the real power in this city. We will not let Portland turn into a surveillance state where police and corporations alike can track us wherever we go.
Face surveillance is an invasive threat to our privacy, especially to Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, and women, who frequently are misidentified by the technology. We appreciate Commissioner Hardesty’s leadership and applaud Portland for banning the government and corporate use of facial recognition technology.</blockquote>
It would make sense Carson praised Hardesty; in July she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-city-commissioner-claims-police-sent-saboteurs-to-start-violence-cause-fires-then-she-apologizes">stated</a> that it was the Portland police, not the rioters in the city, who started fires around government buildings and triggered violence.
&#8220;I am old enough to remember that during the Civil Rights movement, the police had provocateurs…intentionally added to the group to do disruptive stuff,&#8221; Hardesty told <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a33385651/portland-jo-ann-hardesty-protests/?fbclid=IwAR3I6VvPjn9a8DMZOvaDD6ZRNh7sI16HPMOg2XQU603xe26wK3dFDFmnRhs">Marie Claire</a>. &#8220;I have no doubt in my mind, I believe with all my heart, that that is what Portland police are doing &#8230; I believe Portland Police [Bureau] is lying about the damage — or starting the fires themselves — so that they have justification for attacking community members.&#8221;
Speaking at a webinar on Wednesday hosted by Western States Center, Hardesty stated, &#8220;I absolutely believe that it is police action, and they are sending saboteurs and provocateurs into peaceful crowds so that they can justify their inhumane treatment of people who are standing up for their rights.”

US-UNREST-PROTEST-POLICE

Portland Bans Police Using Facial-Recognition Technology

Facial Recognition

On Wednesday, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty stated that it was the Portland police, not the rioters in the city, who started fires around government buildings and triggered violence.
&#8220;I am old enough to remember that during the Civil Rights movement, the police had provocateurs…intentionally added to the group to do disruptive stuff,&#8221; Hardesty told <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a33385651/portland-jo-ann-hardesty-protests/?fbclid=IwAR3I6VvPjn9a8DMZOvaDD6ZRNh7sI16HPMOg2XQU603xe26wK3dFDFmnRhs">Marie Claire</a>. &#8220;I have no doubt in my mind, I believe with all my heart, that that is what Portland police are doing &#8230; I believe Portland Police [Bureau] is lying about the damage — or starting the fires themselves — so that they have justification for attacking community members.&#8221;
Speaking at a webinar on Wednesday hosted by Western States Center, Hardesty stated, &#8220;I absolutely believe that it is police action, and they are sending saboteurs and provocateurs into peaceful crowds so that they can justify their inhumane treatment of people who are standing up for their rights.”
&#8220;Portland police have consistently lied to the public,&#8221; the city commissioner continued. &#8220;They&#8217;ve lied to our congressional delegation about whether or not they were coordinating activities with this federal secret police force. Portland was never out of control. Portland&#8217;s police overreacted, which gave 45 [President Trump] permission to send in these troops,” as <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2020/07/22/city-commissioner-hardesty-blames-mayor-wheeler-portland-police-bureau-for-federal-occupation/">Willamette Week</a> reported. &#8220;We have an ignorance at the highest levels in our city government,&#8221; Hardesty added, &#8220;people who just assumed that if the police said it happened, it really happened.&#8221;
In the Marie Claire interview, Hardesty attacked President Trump, saying, “Forty-five does not want to hold an election in November because he knows he will lose, even with all the dirty tricks he will play. And so we may end up with martial law and elections canceled because there’s too much urban unrest for us to do something stupid, like voting someone into office.”
Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association, fired back at Hardesty over her charges against the police. &#8220;If Commissioner Hardesty has evidence of her outlandish accusation, she should immediately produce it,&#8221; he asserted. &#8220;Of course, there is no such evidence. This is just one more example of Commissioner Hardesty putting her personal political agenda ahead of the best interests of the citizens of Portland.&#8221;
Wednesday night, Hardesty <a href="https://www.kptv.com/news/hardesty-claims-police-incite-chaos-during-recent-protests-ppb-has-strong-response/article_f50a1152-cc7f-11ea-8f7a-83d2492c46d6.html">apologized</a> for her allegation provided without evidence. &#8220;Today I let my emotions get the most of me during council and the comment I made to the press,&#8221; Hardesty said. &#8220;But I&#8217;m angry, frustrated, and horrified by what has happened these past 50 days. I&#8217;m angry that even as a City Commissioner, I am coming up against countless barriers from protecting protesting Portlanders from the deluge of tear gas, pepper spray, and other munitions on a nightly basis. Every night I am terrified that someone will be killed because of an officers&#8217; inability to de-escalate or walk away from a situation. Or my worst fear, that those that seek to discredit protests are helping initiate it.&#8221;
She continued: &#8220;As a child of the Civil Rights movement, it is my experience – and those who studied history know this too – that in justice movements and mass protests, people have been sent to infiltrate these spaces to create incidents that justify enhanced police actions. Using unfounded claims and misinformation is something no one in any position of power should do, and you deserve better. I appreciate the reminder that as a public servant I need to be careful making statements out of misinformation, and I take this to heart. I hope this is something Portland Police Bureau will also remember as they put out nightly statements regarding the protests, their conduct, and their involvement with federal officers, because we can all agree lives are on the line.&#8221;
&#8220;We all have bad days but most of them don&#8217;t happen publicly,&#8221; Hardesty added. &#8220;I have always said we can disagree without being disagreeable, but today I did not meet that standard, and I&#8217;m sorry.&#8221;

Menu

Jo Ann Hardesty

Portland Official Who Called 911 After Lyft Driver Canceled Ride Says She Feared ‘White Supremacists’

Portland Official Who Said Most 911 Calls Are Unnecessary Calls 911 When Lyft Driver Cancels Her Ride

Portland Bans Police Using Facial-Recognition Technology

Portland City Commissioner Claims Police Sent Saboteurs To Start Violence, Cause Fires; Then She Apologizes