Red & Black in corporate media??

Officer shown the door at SE Portland cafe

by Anne Yeager

kgw.com

Posted on June 3, 2010 at 7:08 PM

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland Police Officer Jim Crooker said he was embarassed after a manager kicked him out of the Red and Black Cafe in Southeast Portland -- just because he was a uniformed officer.

"At first it was humiliating. I was there to get to know the neighborhood so I can offer better service," said Crooker.

May 18, Officer Crooker stopped at the cafe for a cup of coffee when he ran into customer Cornelia Seigneur. She wanted to tell him thank you for all of his hard work.

But one of the managers interrupted their conversation.

"As I recall, he said I don't feel safe with you here, " said Seigneur, "He's looking at the police officer. My daughter and I were stunned." But why would the manager kick out the police officer?

The Portland Police Bureau has faced public criticism and protests, after some recent high profile deadly shootings. Manager John Langley says police harass his customers, many of whom are homeless.

"To me, a uniformed officer doesn't represent safety. It makes me feel unsafe and my customers feel the same way." said Langley. Officer Crooker quickly obliged and walked out the door.

But the incident upset Cornelia Seigneur so much that the freelance writer wrote about it online.

"I was really shocked and disappointed. I was sad and I feel that a human being was being humiliated, " said Seigneur.

Langley mades no apologies. He said if he see a police officer, again, he would ask that officer to leave.

"The job of the police involves persecuting houseless people, immigrants, and having them in this space doesn't feel right."

Nice that the tables are occasionally turned on the offifuckers. R&B, thank you for your stance and courage.

And then 'google up'; "Cornelia Seigneur" to understand where this is from and going...

there is a "sudden increase of suspicious activity" in that immediate area shortly..........

we really appreciate the responses on here. we def need the love right now, our phones have been ringing off the hooks, mostly with threats, and our facebook and yelp have been getting ragged on, we can't exist without you! this is our tenth year open as a radical community space; and we intend to be here even longer as a place where you can hang out with friends, eat amazingly cheap organic food, learn about and support crucial causes, hear awesome music, and scheme for a better world! up the worker co-ops!