The president of the Portland Police Association on Monday took protesters and elected officials to “demonize” officers who are on the front lines of the riot.
In an open letter released Monday, Daryl Turner criticized protesters for diverting “attention from an important message about social and racial equity that needs to be heard.”
Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association.
(Portland Police Association)
Turner’s letter comes after a week of mounting unrest in and around downtown Portland. The riots stemmed from peaceful protests against the racial injustice caused by George Floyd’s death in police custody in late May, but have resulted in property damage, fires and injured officers.
Turner, who is black, said that the rioters’ “destructive and chaotic behavior” defined the meaning of “white privilege” and that “their total disregard for people, property and the law embodies the law.”
Turner also criticized elected officials who are “defending these criminal actions while, at the same time, demonizing and vilifying front-line officers who protect our communities, our security, our livelihood, and our rights.”
“This cannot continue. Our elected officials owe everything to Portland to do its job. Do not widen the divide between the police and our communities, close it,” Turner said. “Do not allow meaningful dialogue and protests about racial equity and social are drowned by the sound of riots and violence.
NEW NYPD PEGS UPTICK POLICE IN RECENT VIOLENCE TO IMMATE RIKERS RELEASED
Turner’s statement garnered the support of former state Senator Avel Gordly, who was the first black woman elected to the Oregon Senate, the Oregonian reported.
“I totally agree with what you are saying,” he said later on Monday.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The behavior we are witnessing is an example of white privilege co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement, and I am concerned that elected officials really have to pay attention to what Daryl Turner is saying. His words are correct, “said Gordly.
