Officer shown the door at SE Portland cafe

Who cares, seriously.

It's his business, it's not racial discrimination, it's not controversial. Most people in this country are pretty apprehensive of police these days, so therefore the owner saw fit to have him leave so he could save some of his business.

Pretty much every cop I've ever known saw fit to harass and abuse their badge, even subtly, just to be an asshole basically. Most people don't want to go into a coffee shop and have to worry about "staring at the cop too long" so said cop can go out and harass them when they leave, or put a ticket on their car just because he can. Yeah, cops do that. This is why he was asked to leave, because people don't want to deal with this crap anymore. Think it's offensive? Tough. Don't be a cop then and you won't have to deal with it.

Being a cop is a job, it's not some holier than thou pedestal to have respect thrown your way just because. Get over it, do your job, respect others, and maybe they will respect you. Clearly, people aren't respecting cops these days.. maybe said cops need to look at the reason instead of, once again, acting self-righteous and privileged and saying "you can't do that because I'm a cop".

Children, I swear. It's too bad these children are also quite particularly violent and aggressive.

[edit on 5-6-2010 by SyphonX]

reply to post by LetFreedomRingLoud


anything to back this up? not that i find it wildly improbable. just a little meat on that bone would be appreciated. esp, the part about the cia takeover in 2003, and what happened prison-wise would be helpful. thanks.

Originally posted by K J Gunderson
Choosing to be a cop and not getting your free coffee as a result...

What makes you think he wanted free coffee? Most of the cops I know couldn't care less if they got free stuff. I'm the same way. And I'm a security guard. I've had restaurants and other businesses offer me discounts or free services. And I try to turn down every single one of them whenever I can. And if they still give me a discount I always put $2 to $5 in their tip-jar.

While it's true that PPB does not have a great reputation - this smells (the action of the Owner) but he does have the right. I think it shows lack of class and poor business service, but 'eh...

On the other hand, here's another story that happened near the same time period... so it shows yet again, that you can't judge a book by it's cover.

off duty officer (Portland) saves man's life at local eatery

So basically the cop is talking to a woman and her daughter. The paranoid manager tells him to leave because he is uncomfortable and making his customers uncomfortable. Doesn't appear that the woman was uncomfortable, in fact she seemed irritated it happened.

Maybe his other customers are wanted by the police or suffering from anxiety or something. Obviously something is going on with the manager.

On the plus side, it involves a white cop, white manager, and white customer. So Jesse Jackson doesn't need to come back here...

Originally posted by tacho On the plus side, it involves a white cop, white manager, and white customer. So Jesse Jackson doesn't need to come back here...

Don't get me started on Jesse Jackson. lol.

On a separate note: That police officer said he was in there so he can get to know the neighborhood he was patrolling. He was probably going to pick up a coffee on his way out. And I can assure you he wasn't going to ask for a free one. How is that unfair?

Originally posted by Marked One

Originally posted by K J Gunderson
Choosing to be a cop and not getting your free coffee as a result...

What makes you think he wanted free coffee?

That is why cops hang out in coffee shops. Seemed simple enough.

Most of the cops I know couldn't care less if they got free stuff.

I did not say cops are running around looking for free stuff. I said they expect free coffee. That is how it has worked around here for well over 30 years and I never meet resistance when offering that stereotype outside my local area...well almost never.

I'm the same way. And I'm a security guard.

LMAO!

I've had restaurants and other businesses offer me discounts or free services.

So shops at the mall you patrol offer you bribes? Hardly the same thing.

And I try to turn down every single one of them whenever I can.

Sometimes it is just too hard though?

And if they still give me a discount I always put $2 to $5 in their tip-jar.

My personal hero.

Originally posted by Marked One
And I can assure you he wasn't going to ask for a free one.

I have no problem believing he was not going to ask for a free anything as well. That would be wrong. On the other hand, the gaggle of cops here that are on their way to (some already in) prison for murder, corruption, forgery, false imprisonment, manslaughter, various drug, theft, and forgery charges actually used to come to the place I worked oh so long ago. They never asked for their free coffee either. I am assuming they also know things like murder are wrong but hey.

It hurt his little feelings....so join the support groups in PDX for victims of abuse and realize he is reaping what is sown.
Yeah all LE here, I said it. He is reaping what was sown by his brothers in blue.
So with a stifled tear he says his feelings were hurt. I can think of a half dozen innocent civilians who would think he deserves it while wearing the blue uniform of shame. Perhaps if he was not representing a KNOWN bully (Portland Metro) he would get support instead of the boot.
I know good people who have called Portland Metro over burglary and were set up with drugs and BUSTED! Every one had the nerve to criticize the lack of response and insisted on an officer response, everyone had a bag of drugs "found" while they were there and not one was ever charged just harassed to the point of tears for a couple women. There was talk of the police being in on the burglaries.
So yeah Portland Metro has a very public stain and also an unspoken undercurrent of intimidation and violence to those who call on them to do there job.
I am sure given the neighborhood this perception is even more well deserved than in the middle class neighborhoods in which the cases I described took place.

TO LAW ENFORCEMENT!
First of all change your name back to public servant and start being one again. You want respect and think you can brutalize it into your constituents, rather than earning it as we all must, you will never be respected unless a change is made in your operating attitudes, only feared, distrusted, and unwelcome.
I have had the real pleasure of knowing a few LEO's who embody this but they are completely outnumbered by the "bad" and just performing their daily duties is an assault on your pocketbook more than your protection.

The store owner WILL pay for hurting the little officers feelings. Either by the cops themselves or the cadre of paid crooks who work for them.
This is how the law works here in Oregon.
N.

reply to post by K J Gunderson

So shops at the mall you patrol offer you bribes? Hardly the same thing.

I don't work shopping malls.

Sometimes it is just too hard though?

No it's not.

My personal hero.

Save it.

This is quite an interesting story. BTW the officer went into the cafe as a customer and did indeed pay for his coffee.

Here is where I read about the incident
First read...

Second...

As a few other posters here said, it's an anarchist restaurant, in a place and time of hi profile shootings.
The officer kept to the high ground in this incident.

Later, when I spoke with the policeman in greater detail, he said: “I don’t think the public is aware that that is how it is and all you can do is put the best foot forward and be professional and kind. This person (at the cafe) has his personal opinion. Look at his surroundings. He surrounds himself only with people who think the same way. That person will never be treated poorly by me. It is a cultural thing. We are failing ourselves. The public does not know what we deal with every day. Just two days in a row I have dealt with murderers. You also have to understand that the police are unable to combat the info about the police because what we are allowed to share is confidential information.”

(from the first read)

edit to get rid of link I couldn't make work

[edit on 5-6-2010 by desert]

if the cop in question was good honest going after real criminals then its wrong but if the cop was a total douche im glad they kicked him from the coffee shop.

Originally posted by K J Gunderson

Originally posted by Marked One
And I can assure you he wasn't going to ask for a free one.

I have no problem believing he was not going to ask for a free anything as well. That would be wrong. On the other hand, the gaggle of cops here that are on their way to (some already in) prison for murder, corruption, forgery, false imprisonment, manslaughter, various drug, theft, and forgery charges actually used to come to the place I worked oh so long ago. They never asked for their free coffee either. I am assuming they also know things like murder are wrong but hey.

Are you talking about cops from Oregon? If yes, list some sources so I can read up.

Originally posted by Marked One
reply to post by K J Gunderson

 

So shops at the mall you patrol offer you bribes? Hardly the same thing.

I don't work shopping malls.

I know, you are one of the elite neighborhood patrolling security guards that I see out protecting the people all the time.

No it's not.

You said sometimes you refuse it, not me.

Save it.

Exactly!

reply to post by projectvxn


Look at your entire reply:

Police officers have no more right to be in a private establishment than you or I. The business owners have the right to refuse and remove anyone they wish.

Your comparison quotation is so far out of context it hurts. Remember that it was secret police and other authorities that came for the communists, Jews and many, many others.

Re-read the second paragraph. It is obvious that you are addressing a specific person. Who? Anybody's guess.

It would be very courteous for you to include a "Reply to" tag, so that we know who you're talking to.

Of course, we could go back through the entire thread and try to piece together the conversation.

But it would be so much easier if you would just follow standard protocol.

Originally posted by mishigas

Re-read the second paragraph. It is obvious that you are addressing a specific person. Who? Anybody's guess.

It was clearly and address to the OP who supplied the aforementioned comparison quote.

It would be very courteous for you to include a "Reply to" tag, so that we know who you're talking to.

It would be more courteous to save that kind of confusion for U2U messages instead of making us all suffer for your lack of understanding, no?

Of course, we could go back through the entire thread and try to piece together the conversation.

Or you could just read the Opening two posts of the thread you are replying to and understand the context of things being said.

But it would be so much easier if you would just follow standard protocol.

He did. He replied to the thread in general which is standard practice when generically addressing the OP of a thread.

I hope that helps.

Well, I've just read the witness's two blog entries, and if her version of events is accurate, then it sounds like the manager at that cafe is just paranoid. But, just because this was her perception of events, does not mean it is the whole story. I'm less likely to put my trust in her perception after reading the second blog, in which she makes herself sound like a worshiper of authority figures who has no idea that other people in this city might have had different experiences with police than she has.

Yes, personally, I believe that most cops out there are decent human beings just trying to do their jobs. But that's not the whole reality.

One reader commented that I was simply a white, suburbanite who has no idea what it is like in North Portland. And I answer that the very point of what I was trying to talk to the police officer at the café about, was our Sudan refugee friends who lived in North Portland, one of whom – a 14 year old — the Police saved.

I am willing to bet that being black or some other ethnicity in North Portland is pretty different than being white. I say that as a white person. I know the cafe owner is a white guy too. But I'm willing to believe that he may have some other reason for being uncomfortable around police than just being a jerk.

I'm glad the witness blogger has had positive experiences and knows others who have had them as well, but that doesn't invalidate all of the bad things that have happened to others in Portland.

reply to post by K J Gunderson

It was clearly and address to the OP who supplied the aforementioned comparison quote.

No, it was not clear at all. And you jumping in here breaks the line of communication that I was trying to establish with him.

It would be more courteous to save that kind of confusion for U2U messages instead of making us all suffer for your lack of understanding, no?

Actually, no. I see this quite often. It is a measure that creates confusion. Maybe by putting it out here in the open, others may benefit from it.

Or you could just read the Opening two posts of the thread you are replying to and understand the context of things being said.

It didn't and doesn't work that way in this, or most cases.

He did. He replied to the thread in general which is standard practice when generically addressing the OP of a thread.

Not standard practice, especially when several pages have gone by.

I hope that helps.

It didn't help one bit. It inserted the risk of him not answering since he may think you cleared things up, when it's clear that you have no clue on the issue.

Originally posted by AmethystSD
I'm glad the witness blogger has had positive experiences and knows others who have had them as well, but that doesn't invalidate all of the bad things that have happened to others in Portland.

Yes.

What I took away from this incident is the officer's comment, "That person will never be treated poorly by me." That shows strength of character over the too much valued physical strength (hitting, yelling, etc) or negative reactions (like revenge). Someone else may have sensed a personally humiliating situation and reacted in a totally negative way. Does a situation in which we find ourselves bring out better or lesser qualities we can choose to use?

A phrase I've found useful in my life is, "Don't step in it, walk around it." When I came into a police station as a crime victim and found the young officer acting like I had committed a crime, questioning me in a harsh tone of voice, it was hard to not be negative, but at the moment I had to focus on my situation and not his problem, so I walked around it.

The one highly tragic Portland incident fresh on minds is the killing of the mentally ill man, which is another story in which our society leaves law enforcement a major player in public mental health in this country.

Originally posted by desert
The one highly tragic Portland incident fresh on minds is the killing of the mentally ill man, which is another story in which our society leaves law enforcement a major player in public mental health in this country.

Portland is like the homeless capital of the US, I just do not understand why so many end up in this neck of the woods. Being homeless, especially the long term ones, they have mental illness from mild to extreme, so I agree a good chunk of the blame in this case is the State that doesn’t have programs to help these people and they stay on the streets that sooner or later will evolve into problems.