SEE THE EVENT’S ‘HIGHLIGHTS’ AS THEY UNFOLD IN THIS VIDEO | Supporters of the Portland City Council’s fully funding the Portland Police Bureau were clearly outnumbered, and at times shouted down, by Portland Parks & Recreation activists at this outer East Portland ‘press conference’ in Hazelwood …
These backers of the Portland City Council fully funding the Portland Police Bureau show their signs of support before this unusual ‘press conference’ begins.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
What was intended to be an early Wednesday afternoon outdoor press conference on May 28, in a crime-troubled area of Hazelwood, asking the Portland City Council to fully fund the Portland Police Bureau, quickly degenerated into a rowdy debate with a large group of activists supporting Portland Parks & Recreation.
Before the press conference’s scheduled start time of 10a.m. at the TriMet Menlo Park Park & Ride lot, at East Burnside Street and 122nd Avenue, about a dozen police-funding supporters were confronted by as many as thirty parks funding devotees – with both sides carrying signs.
A parks-funding promoter joins these two people, wearing Portland Democratic Socialists of America shirts, who hold signs making their point of view known.
At the press conference site, those with Future Portland and police funding supporters gather, with parks funding advocates lining up behind them.
But, being clear, although tensions ran high at times, no fisticuffs broke out – the disagreements were merely vocal. But at times, very vocal.
Unsure we’d be able to hear the presenters over the din of the throng, Terrence Hayes, an unsuccessful Portland City Council District 1 candidate told East Portland News about the gathering, from his point of view.
“I’m just a community member that owns a business; Restore Nuisance Abatement, and who lives in outer East Portland,” Hayes said.
Event organizer Terrence Hayes starts the press conference.
“Today, personally, I am here to talk about the need of reconciliation between community and police,” Hayes continued. “I think that, a lot of times, the ‘narrative’ doesn’t help any of us, right? I’m not here to argue about $2 million; that’s not my fight.
“I’m here to talk about the fact that if we can’t draw our community and policing closer to create more healthy outcomes, it’s still problematic,” he went on.
Asked how the community could move forward, Hayes replied, “I think we have to stop creating narratives of enmity. We have to stop thinking and saying ‘either/or’ – when it can be ‘both/and’.
“If we move forward by saying that, if we want healthy parks, we also must have a police force that responds,” Hayes elaborated. “If we want to have a healthy police force, we invest in their policy, and invest in the best way that gives us the best outcomes, including that accountability has to be there. And they have to be fully equipped.”
Portland should have both good policing and parks, Terrence Hayes insists.
Hayes thought for a moment before adding, “You do this by prioritizing. Now, I realize that I don’t bear the burden that our current City Council members bear. I’m not here to judge the body of work that they are doing. What I’m saying is, I don’t think we should be having arguments about $1,000,000 build-outs in the budget.”
Without a PA system, East Portland speakers, in favor of maintaining full funding for Portland Police, like local resident Monica Cory and Lents Neighborhood Livability Association Chair Todd Littlefield, were shouted down by parks supporters – and could hardly be heard.
See some of the “highlights” captured at this event:
Surprising to outer East Portland residents – who found the event to be more of spectacle than a press conference – was that many of the other speakers were from Gresham, or West Portland.
Not one of the scheduled speakers, Sandy Chung, Director of the ACLU of Oregon is permitted to step up front to say that Portland Police Bureau’s funding should be reduced and that money be diverted to Portland Parks & Recreation.
Vadim Mozyrsky, past candidate Multnomah County District 1 Board of Commissioners, expresses his views.
To follow up, we sent Hayes an email asking for his opinion of the event’s result; but so far, we haven’t had a response.
© 2025 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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