Portland State University Will Disarm Its Cops Two Years After They
Killed Jason Washington
https://socialistaction.org/2020/08/13/portland-state-university-will-disarm-its-cops-two-years-after-they-killed-jason-washington/
August 13, 2020
By ANN MONTAGUE
SAY HIS NAME!
As the exploding energy of the mass movement for Black Lives and the
protests against police violence grew in Portland, there was a vigil and
march on June 29 at Portland State University (PSU) in downtown
Portland. It was dedicated to the memory of Jason Washington, who had
been shot and killed exactly two years before by two PSU Police officers.
Michelle Washington, Jason’s widow, spoke about her devastation, “Can
anyone imagine what it is like to have your soulmate ripped away from
you?” His daughter Kayla, the oldest of his three daughters, fought
through tears as she told the crowd what PSU’s response to her father’s
death meant to her. “PSU doesn’t want you to know my father, a Black
man, a veteran, a peacemaker, was killed because PSU made a horrific
decision to legally arm their security against the wishes of students,
faculty and staff,” she said.
Students launched a new petition calling for PSU to disarm its police
officers. This was the continuation of the militant Disarm PSU coalition
which never wanted armed police on campus in the first place.
On August 13, Portland State University announced the PSU Police will no
longer carry guns, starting in September of this year. In their
university-wide email, they did not name Jason Washington or mention the
over two years of demands from students, faculty, staff and the
surrounding Portland community to Disarm PSU.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 represents the
classified workers at all the state universities in Oregon, including
the PSU Police. The three largest universities have police departments.
Both Oregon State University and University of Oregon police have
already left SEIU to join a police union.
In 2013, PSU set up a task force to discuss arming their police
department. SEIU was represented, as it was their members – the PSU
Police – who wanted to become sworn police officers and carry guns. The
multi-racial student coalition Disarm PSU was formed. They tried working
with the task force. There was a poll of students and faculty that
showed most of them were opposed to arming PSU police.
Once it was clear that the task force was not going to discuss anything
with those who opposed this move to arm the university cops, Disarm PSU
moved to the streets. They started with monthly marches through campus.
When SEIU bargained an agreement for arming the PSU Police, Disarm PSU
ramped up their opposition with frequent marches and shutting down PSU
Board meetings. Soon, even the president of the university could not
speak in public without disruption by chants of “Disarm PSU, Disarm PSU”
and shouts echoing in the room of “Somebody is going to be killed,
somebody is going to be killed.”
That is exactly what happened two years ago. Many witnesses testified
that Jason Washington was trying to break up a fight outside a bar on
the edge of campus. He had a license to carry a concealed weapon and
that night he was holding a gun for a friend. The gun was in a holster
but may have fallen to the ground during the fight. When the police
arrived someone pointed at Jason and said, “He has a gun.” Both officers
immediately shot Jason. They shot 17 times in 30 seconds. There were
nine bullets in his body. He was shot in the chest, stomach, back and
thigh. A grand jury ruled the deadly shooting was “justified.” Both
policemen still have their jobs.
At the July 20 Strike For Black Lives, SEIU 503 held a virtual noon
meeting for members to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement. Over 120
members attended. The question was asked if the PSU Police are finally
going to leave SEIU. The president of the local stated, “We have asked
the question and they are leaving.” Although it took way too long, it is
a good thing that they are leaving and a good thing they will soon be
disarmed, but it will be even better when SEIU can say that there are no
police in any union local because Black Lives Really Do Matter.
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