Holly MatkinPortland, OR – A Portland police officer’s comment about a reporter’s assumptions regarding his gender identity has caused a stir on social media (video below).
The incident was captured on video by freelance journalist Shauna Sowersby, who later posted the footage to Twitter shortly after 4 a.m. on Sunday.
The video showed police conducting a search on a handcuffed protester on a dark street near a large, white police van.
“Is there a female officer present to do this?” Sowersby asked another bystander as they watched the scene from a short distance away.
“Good question,” the male onlooker responded.
The journalist then directed her question at the officers.
“Do you have a female officer present while you’re patting her down?”
“No, we don’t – nope,” an officer responded as they continued searching the suspect.
“How do you know that I don’t identify as a female?” another officer chimed in.
Several people began laughing as the officers led the suspect towards the back of the van and placed her inside.
“F—kin’ smart-ss,” the male bystander retorted.
“We hate you!” another protester yelled out.
The footage received mixed reviews on social media as critics and supporters voiced their opinions.
“That cop must be identified ASAP,” one outraged commenter wrote. “If you identify him he’ll be fired 100%.”
“Sadly, some females think this is a joke,” another user wrote. “Apparently they are maga followers.”
Another commenter complained that “random people” cannot just “go around identifying as whatever they like.”
“Only trans people get to do that,” he added.
Others referred to Portland police as “racist, homophobic and transphobic.”
But many Twitter users pointed out that there appeared to be a double-standard with regards to law enforcement officers and gender identity.
“The officer is allowed to [identify] as a female,” someone noted.
“The cop said he was a woman,” another Twitter user wrote. “Under trans logic, you need to accept him as a woman.”
“This is a great example of how the world the progressive left is creating for themselves will become very uncomfortable. You can’t rely on gender norms if you’re an advocate for no gender norms,” one person commented.
Another Twitter user said that “woke political religion” has been working to create this type of situation for years.
“Woke dogma states there are not even biological differences between male or females,” the post read. “That anyone can identify as anything… at any time. Wokeists didn’t really think this out very well.”
The Portland Police Bureau and Oregon State Police arrested a total of 16 people during the rioting on Sunday night.
Hundreds of people marched to the Police Protective Association (PPA) building, which had been broken into and burned the night before.
“When the march reached the PPA, Portland Police made sound truck announcements to the crowd warning them not engage in criminal activities such as vandalism or attempting to set the building on fire,” according to the press release.
Despite warnings that they would be subject to tear gas and control munitions, the crowd barricaded streets with fencing and dumpsters “within 3 minutes,” PPB said.
They also ignited a fire in the middle of the street in front of the PPA, forcing an ambulance heading to a medical call to reroute.
When police declared an unlawful assembly, rioters started attacking them with eggs and commercial grade fireworks.
“Due to the direct attacks on officers, a riot was declared at 10:10 p.m.,” PPB said.
One smaller group headed back over to the PPA building, where they were again warned to disperse before several arrests were ultimately made.
Police subsequently left the area “in an effort to deescalate,” but members of the group responded by blocking Lombard Street with fencing, dumpsters, and small fires, according to PPB
They eventually dispersed on their own.
Six officers were wounded during the weekend riots.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Obscene Language:
Male PPB officers detaining a female protestor and patting her down w/ no female officers present. I asked if they had a female officer to do patdown, one responded by “nope” the other said, “how do you know I don’t identify as a female?” Other officers laugh. #PortlandProtests pic.twitter.com/bSabNSHXSf
— Shauna Sowersby (@Shauna_Sowersby) August 9, 2020
