PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - Demonstrators that have been occupying a portion of North Mississippi Avenue as part of the Red House eviction protest took down the barriers blocking the roadway on Monday evening.
The barriers were removed by 6 p.m., after people in the encampment began taking down pieces of the blockade Sunday.
The barricades were put up in the street about a week ago after the Kinney family was evicted from the Red House for a second time on Dec. 8.
The street is back open on N. Mississippi after a nearly week long eviction blockade protesting the eviction of the Kinney family who lived at the #RedHouse. @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/MrZyxYoONY
— Bridget Chavez (@BridgetChavezTV) December 15, 2020
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said Monday that the family and the developer who now owns the property are in talks. However, a statement released from the Red House group said, in part, “The family has yet to be contacted by the developer or his counsel.”
“Staff are definitely in communications with both parties and they are serving as an intermediary and I am very confident they will reach an amicable resolution on this,” Wheeler said.
FOX 12 reached out to both the Kinney family and the developer, but still have not heard back.
Wheeler said that his goal remains the same, to protect lives and end the occupation peacefully. He would not go into the specifics of the negotiations.
“When I say that I will not accept an occupation, particularly an armed occupation, I mean it,” he said.
Wheeler added that there is no deadline for when the blockade needs to be removed and the street opened up again.
“As long as progress is being made and the police bureau continues to advise me that de-escalation strategies are working, we will continue down that path, there is not a specific date or time,” he said.
Encampment at Red House in north Portland. (KPTV/Air 12)
A release from the Kinney family “demands the mayor’s office to promise law enforcement will not take action against Red House occupants in exchange for reopening of the city street.”
Wheeler said flat out that will not happen.
“No,” Wheeler said. “People are held accountable for their actions. And again if you’re holding a weapon, you are not helping the situation, you are hurting it. We don’t solve political or policy differences by holding on to a weapon. That is not negotiation, that is extortion.”
The eviction was originally a Multnomah County Sheriff’s operation and Portland police were acting in a secondary mutual aid role. On Monday, Wheeler called on more collaboration from the county.
In response, the sheriff’s office said, “We worked very closely with PPB in the weeks leading up to the law enforcement action on Tuesday, Dec. 8, and we remain just as committed in assisting our partners at the Portland Police Bureau as we all strive for a peaceful resolution.”
The Portland Police Bureau on Monday issued another release stating the “whole situation requires extraordinary patience.“
“As work continues toward the restoration of peace and order, victims of crime in the Humboldt neighborhood, and even elsewhere the city, may have delayed reporting crimes to police,” according to PPB.
PPB also asked anyone who has been the victim of a crime in Portland over the last several days, but has not reported it, to do so online by calling the non-emergency number at 503-823-3333.
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The Link LonkDecember 15, 2020 at 06:59AM
https://www.kptv.com/news/road-blockade-taken-down-at-site-of-red-house-eviction-protest-in-n-portland/article_6899ff6a-3e68-11eb-a016-8f5c04debc2b.html
Road blockade taken down at site of Red House eviction protest in N. Portland - KPTV.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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