Gresham, OR: Coffee Not Cops Report Back

Report back from Coffee Not Cops event in Gresham, Oregon.

On Monday, cops in so-called Gresham, OR held an event called Coffee With A Cop at a corporate coffee shop. Autonomous individuals working with Free Lunch PDX decided this would be the perfect opportunity to stage a Coffee Not Cops event on the adjacent sidewalk. We showed up with our supplies not sure what to expect. Gresham is a suburb of Portland, OR, and has a reputation of being poor, white, and racist. Midway through setting up, a worker walked up to see what we were about. Upon seeing one of our anti-cop coloring sheets, he just said “Ohhhhh, we can’t be doing that here…” Beg your pardon sir, but it would appear that, yes, in fact, we are doing that here. He headed back inside to snitch on us, but nothing else came of it.

In fact, their whole event was kind of lame. Gresham PD only spared two pigs for the event, and we got word that the majority of attendees were young moms swooning on the men in uniforms. At one point, the aunt of Bodhi Phelps talked with us for a bit, and filled us in on how things were going inside the coffee shop. We talked with the father of a cop who didn’t support our message, but appreciated us offering another view. We also talked with a man who’s childhood best friend was a cop, and who agreed with us in a lot of ways that police were a dangerous presence in our communities. We made sure to avoid taking a combative tone in the hopes that we could have meaningful conversations with people, and this tactic led to all of our interactions being positive and informative. At one point towards the end of the event, four separate police cruisers descended on the coffee shop for an apparent coffee break. We greeted them with middle fingers and made sure they knew how we felt about them.

This was a very easy event to set up, which only required a handful of comrades, a table with zines, and coffee. We support more comrades hosting Coffee Not Cops events, especially given the low risk nature of these events. While we all chose to mask up to conceal our identities, the action was completely legal as we made sure any mobility assistance devices would be able to pass our table with ease. Coffee With A Cop is a nationwide program, but police also like to attend civic league meetings, and events at public schools. Jails and courthouses are also great spots to set up, especially if inmates are regularly released and you can provide jail support. The concept of policing must be challenged, and a demoralizing anti-cop presence will ensure that police departments everywhere continue to struggle to find new recruits. It is also vital that we do outreach with fellow community members regarding the dangers of calling the police (especially on marginalized community members) and offer viable alternatives.