The city of Portland, Oregon is known for its picturesque neighborhoods, historical buildings, and more microbrew pubs than you can throw a wood-carved tap handle at. Unfortunately, having been on the receiving end of a frequent flow of Marxist, anarchist, socialist, etc. agitators coming up to Seattle to inject violence into the latest, leftist lunatic demonstration of the week, Portland is also known for its contribution to the political degradation of a nation. This week, it has, as they say, upped the ante.
According to a story by Stephen Dinan in the Washington Times, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler “encouraged Occupy ICE, saying he supported their cause and didn’t want Portland’s police to interfere with their demonstration.” Mayor Wheeler is using the local police to advance his leftist, social justice diktats, by intentionally ignoring the risks to federal police. I’ve warned about this. This is bad.
Think about what this means? His Honor seems to believe federal employees chuck their constitutional rights out the window at the city limits when they enter Portland. Last I checked, ICE requires their law enforcement agents to be American citizens, whom, by definition, fall under the protection of the U.S. Constitution. (Strange that leftists feel even illegal aliens are under the full protection of the Constitution but, apparently, not federal cops.)
The 14th Amendment guarantees the government cannot “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” I’m pretty sure ICE agents qualify as “persons.” Does Mayor Wheeler believes ICE agents are persons? How better to demonize an enemy than to dehumanize them.
Seemingly, Mayor Wheeler doesn’t believe in equal justice, does he? Social justice obviously forms his political, social, and cultural conscience. His radical leftist ideology informs him to treat people differently depending on various leftist political “victimhood” factors. One factor, evidently, is you only merit Portland Bureau of Police protection if you agree with Wheeler’s political positions.
What a lousy human being Wheeler must be, judging by his unconscionable actions. Now, I don’t make that statement lightly. His actions may be born of ignorance rather than malice, but the result is the same: He’s putting cops at risk.
People are welcome to their peaceful political opinions. But, I’d argue the mayor’s position is not a peaceful one. In fact, it’s loaded with all manner of potential violence. One form of violence is that committed by leftist demonstrators against ICE agents and federal property. (Incidentally, anyone else see the tons of garbage left behind by these ostensibly environment-loving, social justice warriors?)
By prohibiting Portland police officers from responding to calls for assistance from their federal law enforcement brothers and sisters, Wheeler is committing a heinous act: denying to American citizens the equal protection of the laws. Via virtue-signaling, Wheeler has assumed the mantle of the universal arbiter of what is good and right. Chairman Wheeler will decide if you merit police protection in his town. What kind of mayor—kind of person—does that?
I have to point out that the mayor’s actions are also yet more reasons for cops de-policing. Morale implodes when leaders don’t allow their cops to be cops. And assisting other cops is a huge part of being a cop. American law enforcers are a tight lot. There are few professions where employees trust each other with their lives: military, firefighters, and cops come to mind.
I can’t convey to you the frustration a law enforcement officer would feel from having an elected leader order him/her not to assist a fellow cop in danger. We view all law enforcement as family. For a mayor to order his cops not to assist another cop in need, whether municipal, university, county, state, tribal, or federal, is unthinkable. It’s anathema to the reason cops exist.
So, what happens the next time one of Wheeler’s local political opponents call the police because someone has threatened to assault them, or they’ve been a crime victim? Will the mayor order his police department to flag phone numbers or home and work addresses of political opponents, so he can put them on a no-response list?
Does Wheeler’s political prohibition against using “his” police force to defend ICE agents extend to other American citizens with whom the mayor disagrees politically? Seems like a ridiculous question, right? Well, it is ridiculous, as ridiculous as an American mayor withholding police services from his fellow Americans, under his protection, in his city.
What’s next for this leftist radical mayor? What if an Occupy ICE PDX demonstrator sets the ICE detention center on fire? Will Mayor Wheeler allow his firefighters to put out the blaze?
