PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) — Most of the approximately 550 people arrested in Portland, Oregon, since May 29 in protests against police brutality and systemic racism won’t be prosecuted, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Tuesday.
Just 11 days into his new term as elected district attorney, Schmidt announced Tuesday that his office will decline to prosecute cases related to the protests that do not involve violence, theft, or deliberate property damage. His office will not pursue charges of disorderly conduct, interfering with a police officer, criminal trespass and most charges of rioting. There will be no change in how prosecutors handle cases like arson and assault.
Schmidt said Tuesday that the policy was an attempt to “create a forum” for Portlanders to express their “collective grief, anger and frustration” about the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, and about “the countless other abuses people of color have endured in our country throughout history.
“As prosecutors, we acknowledge the depth of emotion that motivates these demonstrations and support those who are civically engaged through peaceful protesting,” Schmidt said at a Tuesday press conference. “We recognize that we will undermine public safety, not promote it, if we leverage the force of our criminal justice system against peaceful protestors who are demanding to be heard.”
Charges of resisting arrest will be treated with “a high level of scrutiny,” to consider the chaos of mass demonstrations and whether police have subjected protesters to clouds of tear gas in the moments before arrests, Schmidt said.
He added that his office has a team of 10 deputy district attorneys reviewing all protest-related charges.
Out of about 550 people arrested for their part in Portland’s 75 straight days of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, about 50 were charged with felonies that have already been prosecuted, according to Nathan Vasquez, senior deputy district attorney. Another 100 were charged with felonies in cases where Schmidt’s office has asked police to complete additional investigation before deciding whether to pursue the charges. For the remaining 400 people facing misdemeanors, Schmidt’s office will likely drop all charges.
The announcement came on the day after police arrested hate crime survivor Demetria Hester. Hester was assaulted in 2017 by Jeremy Christian, on the night before Christian slashed the throats of three men on a crowded commuter train, killing two. The night before the murders, Christian cornered Hester on a MAX light-rail train and screamed racist insults at her. He followed her off the train and assaulted her, damaging her vision in one eye.
Hester sprayed Christian with Mace and managed to get away, and immediately reported the incident to a Portland police officer who had been called to the scene by the train’s conductor. But the officer let Christian walk away from the train, instead focusing his questioning on Hester. Seventeen hours later, Christian murdered two men and nearly killed a third on that very same train.
At his sentencing hearing, Christian again screamed at Hester, this time as she gave her victim impact statement: “I should have killed you, bitch!” Christian yelled as deputies dragged him from the courtroom.
Hester is now a prominent protester, out every night leading chants with a megaphone. She heads the group Mothers United for Black Lives Matter. Dressed in yellow, the group’s members often link arms and form a line directly in front of police, saying they want to protect protesters from police violence. On Sunday night, police appeared to single Hester out for arrest, plucking her from within a group. Video of the incident shows her complying with officers as they lead her to a van.