Back the Blue Rally Held in Front of Portland Police Precinct

A few dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct for a “Back the Blue” rally to show support for police officers.

Members of the group held signs that read “Back the Blue” and “Blue Lives Matter” during the hour-long demonstration, KATU reported.

One of the demonstrators told KATU what he thought about defunding police departments across the country.

“I think defund the police is a really bad term. We’re already running a lot of officers short. There are experiments that we’re going to do. Like sending out social workers to calls for police, said demonstrator David Potts.

“In the past all we had was police to send on those calls. That may make some sense. But not at the cost of losing police officers,” Potts added.

This is not the first time demonstrators have gathered outside the precinct for a “Back the Blue” protest in recent weeks.

A small group of demonstrators gathered to support police in front of the precinct on August 15, and the week before on August 9, an even bigger group of about 100 “Back the Blue” supporters showed up in front of the precinct.

Similar “Back the Blue” demonstrations to support the police have been held throughout the U.S.

Hundreds recently gathered in Chicago for a “Back the Blue” rally, and hundreds of more police supporters gathered across the country on Labor Day weekend to form their own “Back the Blue” rallies, some of whom were met by counterprotesters.