Some Portland police officers, notably those who are members of the LGBTQ community, expressed outrage this week when they received a request from Pride Northwest to consider wearing something other than their police uniforms to march in the Pride Parade on Sunday.
Debra Porta, executive director of parade host Pride Northwest, said Friday the organizers made the request because some members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender community "are not open to having conversations with people simply because that uniform is there.''
Porta said a significant divide exists between police and some members of the public, particularly people from marginalized communities. As a result, some parade goers told Pride Northwest that they don't feel comfortable attending alongside police in uniform, Porta said.
"To that end, we are asking LGBTQ and allied people in law enforcement, who plan to march in the Portland Pride Parade NOT to march in uniform,'' Porta wrote in a letter to Portland police and shared with officers this week. "Maybe wear department polos or other shirt -- something besides the uniform. To be clear, we are NOT asking you not to march.''
Document: Pride Northwest letter
Porta then clarified in another email sent to police and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office that Pride Northwest "does NOT have a preference that personnel not march in uniform. Our one and only ask is that individual officers give thought to that choice. We, as an organization, will honor and celebrate whatever choice someone makes. There isn't a right or wrong for us.''
Porta said she met Tuesday with police and staff from the mayor's office to relay Pride Northwest concerns.
Document: Pride Northwest clarification to officers
Some Portland LGBTQ officers blasted the request as a backward and contradictory move that essentially sends the message: Hide who you are.
Lt. Tashia Hager wrote on Facebook that she won't shy away from wearing her uniform during the parade.
"Today I learned I was asked to step back into a closet by a group of people who should know better,'' she wrote on the social media site. "I have been a part of the gay community in Portland for 25 years. I would like to think that the ideals of inclusion and acceptance are not only what the gay community preaches but it is also what it practices. To fail at this endeavor is a hypocrisy that I cannot ignore. I am proud to be a Portland Police Office where my sexual orientation has been more widely accepted than it has in our community at large.''
Hager told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she felt "sad and mad'' when she first learned of Pride Northwest's request.
"To have my own gay community tell me to hide a part of who I am seems to be against everything they stand for,'' she said.
Retired Portland police officer Lisa Clayton also sent an email to Pride Northwest, voicing her dismay.
"I am disgusted at your political pandering. ... I thought inclusion and acceptance was part of your mantra? '' Clayton wrote. "Your thinking is: You must hide that part of your life that we don't like or agree with, come out and be out as long as you conform to that which we think is acceptable. Since when is being a wonderful, respected, loving, kind, generous gay woman not acceptable? Oh yeah when you are a Portland Police Officer.''
Robert Ball, commander of the Police Bureau's reserve officers program who is active in the city's gay community, said he contacted the parade organizers directly to complain.
"I thought it was a mistake,'' he said. "In my view, it actually sets us back.''
He first marched in uniform in the parade in 1996 and remembers how scary it was for him then. At that time, Mayor Vera Katz noticed he was uncomfortable and extended her hand, offering to march beside him.
"You think about how far we've come,'' said Ball, who recently put together a film called "Diversity in Blue'' featuring interviews with local LGBTQ officers talking about what it was like for them coming out and working in a patriarchal institution.
Former Portland Police Chief Tom Potter was the first city police chief to march in uniform in the parade in the early 1990s, partly in support of his lesbian daughter Katie Potter, also an officer. At that time, other officers in uniform turned their back on him.
In 2002, Katie Potter, with her partner and their then-2-year-old daughter, rode in a stagecoach at the head of the parade as its grand marshal. Katie Potter told The Oregonian/Oregonlive then that she would "wear her police uniform as a statement about her ability to be even-handed and respectful of all citizens on the job.''
Porta, the Pride Northwest director, said she also remembers how significant it was when Tom Potter marched in the parade.
"Pride Northwest is a little caught in the middle here,'' Porta said.
The concerns came from some LGBTQ members after the police response to the dueling protests in downtown Portland on June 4 that brought out alt-right supporters of President Donald Trump and several groups of counter-demonstrators, she said.
Police used flash-bang grenades and pepper spray balls after they said some people threw bottles and other objects at them. They ended up arresting 14 people. Mayor Ted Wheeler has asked Police Chief Mike Marshman to explain the reason for some of the tactics.
"It's not as simple as saying times are changing,'' Porta said.
"We absolutely recognize the work and effort that our LGBTQ officers have put into getting to where they are, in being out and proud in their profession,'' she added. "While issues around marginalized communities (including LGBTQ) and law enforcement have always been there, in this current unsettled time, particularly with the recent protests and police interactions in Portland, the concern has just become more visible and vocal.''
Porta said Portland officers and Multnomah County sheriff's deputies will continue to be honored and celebrated at the parade, no matter what they choose to wear.
"We only want folks to consider the historic impact of the symbolism of the uniform, and the potential barriers it places between them and connecting with community who don't have a positive history with law enforcement,'' she said.
Chief Marshman, Ball, Hager and other officers said they all expected to participate in the parade and to march in uniform.
The Multnomah County Sheriff's office is taking a different tact.
"We are not participating in the parade,'' Sheriff Mike Reese said Friday night.
Ball said he would also extend his hand and march alongside anyone who feels uncomfortable with law enforcement or meet with anyone out of uniform to try to help bridge that divide.
"The more diverse our police departments are, the more trust there will be between the community and police,'' Ball said.
Hager said having officers in uniform participate in the parade should be viewed as "an opportunity to bridge that gap.''
"I would hope acceptance and understanding is a two-way street,'' Hager said. "We all need to work at that.''
-- Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian