(warning: Explicit Language) Waterloo Oregon Mayor Maas assaults Kif Davis under Portland Police and Mayor Hales protection
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re all this:
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/06/new_videos_offer_another_look.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/06/post_528.html
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Small-town mayor to anarchists: 'We don't put up with this crap'
Mayor Charlie Hales & Oregon Mayors Marching Group before all hell broke loose during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. Randy L. Rasmussen/Staff
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on June 09, 2015 at 5:24 PM, updated June 10, 2015 at 1:10 PM
UPDATE: New videos offer another look at clash between mayors, activists
Cultures clashed and a camera was smashed in the minutes after Saturday's Grand Floral Parade, when a small-town mayor physically intervened in a heated verbal dispute between homeless advocates and Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.
Greg Maas, mayor of tiny Waterloo in Linn County, appeared to bump into and grab "Kif" Davis, a self-proclaimed "activist-journalist" who'd been hurling angry questions at Hales. Within hours, activists posted a video of the altercation on YouTube. It shows Maas, a burly 47-year-old, making contact with Davis while another unidentified mayor urges him on.
"We're from the country, we don't put up with this crap," the unidentified mayor said.
"Hey, I need police," Davis screamed. He accused Maas of breaking his camera.
Davis said he was asking important, valid questions about a series of what he called city "sweeps" of homeless camps. Hales' "staff was blocking me," he said. "They were pushing and shoving. Then this Waterloo guy comes running, gets right in my face and grabs my camera lens, torques the viewfinder and breaks it. This all happened right in front of Hales."
Mike Bluehair, an activist-ally of Davis who filmed the altercation, said Maas went out of his way to confront Davis.
Maas said he was concerned for his family's safety. His wife, five kids and one grandchild accompanied him to Portland. He said his 9-year-old daughter was so upset by the rancor of the confrontation she broke out in tears.
He denied breaking Davis' camera.
"I didn't overreact," said Maas, a former U.S. Marine. "If I overreacted, he would have been hurt. I do know how to handle myself. I'm not afraid to protect myself or my family."
Enterprise Mayor Steve Lear was in the midst of the melee. "The guys with the cameras were clearly the aggressors," he said. "They just kept on pushing and pushing, dropping the F-bomb, and worse. Frankly, I'm surprised the guy from Waterloo didn't end it with one punch."
The mayors had marched in the parade under the banner of the Oregon Mayor's Association.
The activists dogged Hales much of the route and closed in after the parade ended. They claim the Portland Police Bureau staged daily raids of downtown-area homeless camps in advance of the parade, grabbing people's belongings and telling them to move on.
"They've done it every day for a week now," Bluehair said. "They wanted to prettify the city for the Rose Festival. It's class-based apartheid."
Officials deny the city is "sweeping" homeless camps. Sara Hottman, Hales' spokeswoman, did confirm the city is conducting a campaign to inform the homeless of available services and that they can't continue to camp on city streets and parks.
Hales for the most part refused to engage the activists Saturday. He can be seen in the video hustling away from Davis and Bluehair. "Hales took off at a slow jog," Maas said. "And his security did, too."
That left the other mayors on their own.
After his camera was damaged, Davis' rhetoric grew increasingly strident and obscene. "He did use the F word," Bluehair said. "But it wasn't addressed to Maas' family."
The confrontation continued at the Goose Hollow Inn, where the mayors gathered to meet with Hales and Gov. Kate Brown. One activist carried a banner reading "Delete the Elite."
Hales can be seen on the video on the Goose Hollow deck in a brief face-to-face conversation with Maas. Hottman said Hales was apologizing for the incident and for leaving them without security.
Portland police arrived at the scene and interviewed the principal players. The bureau would not furnish a copy of the police report.
-- Jeff Manning503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
@JeffmanningOre
Cultures clashed and a camera was smashed in the minutes after Saturday's Grand Floral Parade, when a small-town mayor physically intervened in a heated verbal dispute between homeless advocates and Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.
Greg Maas, mayor of tiny Waterloo in Linn County, appeared to bump into and grab "Kif" Davis, a self-proclaimed "activist-journalist" who'd been hurling angry questions at Hales. Within hours, activists posted a video of the altercation on YouTube. It shows Maas, a burly 47-year-old, making contact with Davis while another unidentified mayor urges him on.
"We're from the country, we don't put up with this crap," the unidentified mayor said.
"Hey, I need police," Davis screamed. He accused Maas of breaking his camera.
Davis said he was asking important, valid questions about a series of what he called city "sweeps" of homeless camps. Hales' "staff was blocking me," he said. "They were pushing and shoving. Then this Waterloo guy comes running, gets right in my face and grabs my camera lens, torques the viewfinder and breaks it. This all happened right in front of Hales."
Mike Bluehair, an activist-ally of Davis who filmed the altercation, said Maas went out of his way to confront Davis.
Maas said he was concerned for his family's safety. His wife, five kids and one grandchild accompanied him to Portland. He said his 9-year-old daughter was so upset by the rancor of the confrontation she broke out in tears.
He denied breaking Davis' camera.
"I didn't overreact," said Maas, a former U.S. Marine. "If I overreacted, he would have been hurt. I do know how to handle myself. I'm not afraid to protect myself or my family."
Enterprise Mayor Steve Lear was in the midst of the melee. "The guys with the cameras were clearly the aggressors," he said. "They just kept on pushing and pushing, dropping the F-bomb, and worse. Frankly, I'm surprised the guy from Waterloo didn't end it with one punch."
The mayors had marched in the parade under the banner of the Oregon Mayor's Association.
The activists dogged Hales much of the route and closed in after the parade ended. They claim the Portland Police Bureau staged daily raids of downtown-area homeless camps in advance of the parade, grabbing people's belongings and telling them to move on.
"They've done it every day for a week now," Bluehair said. "They wanted to prettify the city for the Rose Festival. It's class-based apartheid."
Officials deny the city is "sweeping" homeless camps. Sara Hottman, Hales' spokeswoman, did confirm the city is conducting a campaign to inform the homeless of available services and that they can't continue to camp on city streets and parks.
Hales for the most part refused to engage the activists Saturday. He can be seen in the video hustling away from Davis and Bluehair. "Hales took off at a slow jog," Maas said. "And his security did, too."
That left the other mayors on their own.
After his camera was damaged, Davis' rhetoric grew increasingly strident and obscene. "He did use the F word," Bluehair said. "But it wasn't addressed to Maas' family."
The confrontation continued at the Goose Hollow Inn, where the mayors gathered to meet with Hales and Gov. Kate Brown. One activist carried a banner reading "Delete the Elite."
Hales can be seen on the video on the Goose Hollow deck in a brief face-to-face conversation with Maas. Hottman said Hales was apologizing for the incident and for leaving them without security.
Portland police arrived at the scene and interviewed the principal players. The bureau would not furnish a copy of the police report.
-- Jeff Manning503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
@JeffmanningOre
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New videos offer another look at clash between mayors, activists
The Oregon mayors who marched in Saturday's Grand Floral Parade. Greg Maas, mayor of Waterloo, can be seen in the middle of the second row with the crew cut and green shirt. (Courtesy City of Portland)
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on June 10, 2015 at 12:55 PM, updated June 10, 2015 at 3:48 PM
Two new videos have surfaced that shine new light on the post-Grand Floral Parade altercation between Oregon mayors and homeless advocates.
Greg Maas, mayor of tiny Waterloo (population 300) became an instant folk hero to some Oregon conservatives when the video came to light showing him bumping and grabbing homeless activist Kif Davis, who had been relentlessly following and questioning Portland Mayor Charlie Hales during and after the parade.
Maas told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he felt Davis posed a threat to him and his five kids at the scene. Davis claimed Maas broke his camera.
No one was hurt in the incident and Portland Police Bureau made it official Wednesday, it has no plans to cite anyone involved. Yet the case raises important questions about democracy and dissent in the era of Go-Pro cameras and YouTube videos.
The first new video was taken by Davis and offers a first-person view of the altercation. The video shows Davis hemmed in by a human blockade of Hales staffers, leading to an obscenity-laden rant. The last 30 seconds of the video shows Maas fast approaching Davis, followed by the screen going dark as the camera breaks.
Editor's note: Videos contain profanity.
Maas was one of several mayors across the state in town to march in the parade with Hales and his wife. As Maas and Davis collided, Loel Trulove, mayor of Tangent, yells: "We're from the country, we don't have to put up with this crap."
Backers of Davis say his first-amendment rights to protest and question public officials were violated. He and other activists have been highly critical of Hales and the city for recent attempts to clear homeless camps.
Critics say the issue is public decency. They claim Davis went far over the line from public dissent to personal attack.
"As City Hall staff, we expect to be yelled at," said Hales staffer Sara Hottman. "But we had little kids at the parade; both staff members' kids and kids of the visiting mayors. We had a mom with a stroller walking with us. A staffer's daughter was scared to tears. The families shouldn't have had to put up with that long tirade of obscenities and insults, the pushing and shoving."
The second video is a long compilation of the video already released and Davis' footage, which activists feel offers a more complete look at the confrontation. They claim Maas went out of his way to get in Davis' face.
"If he felt threatened and feared for his family, why didn't he stay with them rather than run into the danger zone from half a block away," asked Mike Bluehair, another Portland activist who filmed the video.
-- Jeff Manning
503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
@JeffmanningOre
Greg Maas, mayor of tiny Waterloo (population 300) became an instant folk hero to some Oregon conservatives when the video came to light showing him bumping and grabbing homeless activist Kif Davis, who had been relentlessly following and questioning Portland Mayor Charlie Hales during and after the parade.
Maas told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he felt Davis posed a threat to him and his five kids at the scene. Davis claimed Maas broke his camera.
No one was hurt in the incident and Portland Police Bureau made it official Wednesday, it has no plans to cite anyone involved. Yet the case raises important questions about democracy and dissent in the era of Go-Pro cameras and YouTube videos.
The first new video was taken by Davis and offers a first-person view of the altercation. The video shows Davis hemmed in by a human blockade of Hales staffers, leading to an obscenity-laden rant. The last 30 seconds of the video shows Maas fast approaching Davis, followed by the screen going dark as the camera breaks.
Editor's note: Videos contain profanity.
Maas was one of several mayors across the state in town to march in the parade with Hales and his wife. As Maas and Davis collided, Loel Trulove, mayor of Tangent, yells: "We're from the country, we don't have to put up with this crap."
Backers of Davis say his first-amendment rights to protest and question public officials were violated. He and other activists have been highly critical of Hales and the city for recent attempts to clear homeless camps.
Critics say the issue is public decency. They claim Davis went far over the line from public dissent to personal attack.
"As City Hall staff, we expect to be yelled at," said Hales staffer Sara Hottman. "But we had little kids at the parade; both staff members' kids and kids of the visiting mayors. We had a mom with a stroller walking with us. A staffer's daughter was scared to tears. The families shouldn't have had to put up with that long tirade of obscenities and insults, the pushing and shoving."
The second video is a long compilation of the video already released and Davis' footage, which activists feel offers a more complete look at the confrontation. They claim Maas went out of his way to get in Davis' face.
"If he felt threatened and feared for his family, why didn't he stay with them rather than run into the danger zone from half a block away," asked Mike Bluehair, another Portland activist who filmed the video.
-- Jeff Manning
503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
@JeffmanningOre
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