PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Once-cooperative relations between police and Occupy Portland organizers have fallen apart amid allegations that police used excessive force when they broke up a downtown camp that protesters had held for five weeks.
A protester was hospitalized after officers dragged him away, and he now alleges officers beat him. Police say it never happened, and he was simply pulled away from a dangerous situation when he fell to the ground between protesters and riot police.
Mayor Sam Adams last week ordered the Occupy Portland encampment shut down. Police on Sunday afternoon cleared out several dozen demonstrators who remained.
Six demonstrators who had served as liaisons between Occupy Portland, the city and police published an open letter Tuesday saying they were giving up their positions because of police actions.
