Stomachs churn after Portland police face-off with crowd picking through mountain of food… tossed during power outage (PHOTOS)
Portland, Oregon has made headlines after police were called in to stop people from rummaging through a dumpster full of food that allegedly spoiled due to a power outage. Social media users found the incident hard to stomach.
A power outage caused by a winter storm that has wreaked havoc on multiple US states prompted a supermarket to discard perishable items deemed unsafe due to lack of proper refrigeration. After two dumpsters were filled with meat, dairy and other items, a small group of people began to form in the store’s parking lot, apparently angry that so much food was being discarded. Photographs show some people picking through the dumpsters in search of a free meal.
perhaps my favorite moment was when someone spotted a tiramisu and lifted it exalting "Let Them Eat Cake!"8/ pic.twitter.com/0JirzlkzLS
— Dr. Juniper L Simonis; The Professor (@JuniperLSimonis) February 17, 2021
An employee of the grocery store called 911 after fearing that the situation could escalate into violence, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said in a statement. Officers arrived at the scene and after consulting with the store’s workers, tried to explain to the group that the food was not fit for consumption and could not be donated. The PPB claimed that no one in the crowd was “willing to have an open dialogue” and instead taunted the officers and employees.
When I arrived on at the Hollywood @Fred_Meyer in Portland this evening, I was greeted by 12 @PortlandPolice officers who were apparently guarding two dumpsters full of food that mutual aid orgs were trying to distribute and hungry folks were trying to eat 1/ pic.twitter.com/xyTIcTBMeI
— Dr. Juniper L Simonis; The Professor (@JuniperLSimonis) February 17, 2021
This photo of a dumpster in Portland full of free meat being tossed bc of a power outage went viral...Police got wind and are threatening to arrest people who show up to get some. Get a life. #DefundThePolicepic.twitter.com/JnK48yABhM
— Crystals in the Coochie Tweeter✨🔮🐈💦 (@BasicBlaecGirl) February 17, 2021
The crowd grew to about 50 people before officers warned them to leave the area or risk being arrested for trespassing on private property. The dumpster divers dispersed but later returned to the site after officers left, the PPB said. Police declined to respond to a second call from the store, deciding that the situation did not pose an “imminent threat to life or threat of serious injury.”
The standoff was picked up by national media, resulting in an avalanche of social media commentary.
Numerous Twitter users argued that the grocery store was simply trying to protect itself from potential litigation, noting that the business could suffer serious consequences for giving away food that was later deemed unsafe to eat.
I understand why the store did this. The food could not be deemed safe after being out of refrigeration for an extended period of time. Better to be safe than let people eat food that may be bad. This store had already gone without power for an extended period of time.
— Mitch ™Ⓜ️ (@kade6767) February 18, 2021
Others felt that the altercation showed a clear lack of empathy and that there was no justification for calling the cops. It was outrageous to allow so much food to go to waste, many argued.
“Just let them eat!” urged one observer.
Not a good use of policing. Thrown out food should be free for the taking in an emergency. Take at your own risk; or is it better to starve? Perhaps a better use of policing here would be to collect the food at required drop off points and distributing it before it spoils.
— tricia piety (@PietyTricia) February 18, 2021
Journalist Andy Ngo, who writes about the activities of Antifa activists in Portland and other US cities, suggested that the police were called because the crowd nearly “rioted.”
A Portland grocery store dumped perishable foods that were no longer safe to eat due to days of power outage. #Antifa activists gathered to try & take the unsafe items so they could distribute them. This forced the store to call police. They nearly rioted. https://t.co/7zocRHliMCpic.twitter.com/9CxzcS6nLi
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) February 17, 2021
Portland has seen regular confrontations between far-left activists and police in recent months. On Friday, protesters pelted police with snowballs as they marched through the city, damaging several businesses along the way.
Also on rt.com ‘No arrests’: Portland protesters pelt officers with ice, break windows of businesses as police RETREAT and post pictures (VIDEO)Like this story? Share it with a friend!