TRUE COLORS

Portland Police Told to Bash ‘Dirty Hippies’ in Training Materials

A slide referred to officers as “humble servants with hat, and with bat” sent out to target Marxists who don’t pay their bills.

The Portland Police Bureau has launched an internal probe after a slide in a training presentation joked about assaulting protesters. The right-wing meme depicted a figure in tactical gear beating a dissenter. The image was accompanied by a bizarre call from the Lord for cops to beat “dirty hippies.” It called officers “humble servants with hat, and with bat” who were sent out to target Marxists who don’t pay their bills. The directive declared that cops would “christen your heads with hickory” and “anoint your faces with pepper spray.” According to KGW8, the meme was unearthed in documents related to a lawsuit against the city regarding 2020 racial justice protests. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called it “disgusting” and Police Chief Chuck Lovell said, “I want to make it clear that the content of this message is not representative of the Portland Police Bureau and it is disappointing to all of us who work so hard to earn the community's trust.”