Kaal posted:

I'm not intimately familiar with Portland police, but Oregon police are pretty notorious for targeting progressive youths (being as the police forces are the last true bastion of conservative power in the state). In Eugene that means raiding co-op/metal shows and attacking protesters, in Corvallis that means constant vice patrols through student neighborhoods and targeting punk street kids, and in Portland that means intimidating hip hop/gay warehouse events with overwhelming force. And I'm sure Ashland would have its own problems if the police department there wasn't such a chaotic shitshow and mostly focused on either combating California drug traffickers or being bribed by them. I would say that age and politics probably has a lot more to do with it than race.

It sounds like the City Auditors Office will be stepping in to take a look at things, and recently they've shown a willingness to tangle with the Portland Police Bureau, so perhaps something will come of that.

http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-31327-portland_cops_treatment_of_hip_hop_shows_will_be_investigated_in_wake_of_blue_monk_incident.html
http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/are-hip-hop-shows-targeted-by-portland-police/