• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
      Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
      Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
    • Editor’s Picks
      • The future is here
        A winding road
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        “Hold my beer”
    • On the Job
      • A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
        Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
        Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
    • Labor
      • Building positive media relations
        LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
    • Tech
      • Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
        The future is here
        How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
    • Training
      • Using critical thinking to crack the case
        Navigating cultural and language barriers
        Why you should pocket carry
        The future is here
        Training for tomorrow
    • Policy
      • Consolidation in action
        California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
        Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
    • Health/Wellness
      • The warm path and the hot path
        Understanding chronic pain and depression
        Suicide and first responder retirement
        A golden key to suicide prevention
        The urgency to protect those who protect us
    • Community
      • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
        Turning over a new leaf
        Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
        An unexpected reunion
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
      Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
      Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
  • Labor
    • Building positive media relations
      LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
  • Tech
    • Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
      The future is here
      How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
  • Training
    • Using critical thinking to crack the case
      Navigating cultural and language barriers
      Why you should pocket carry
      The future is here
      Training for tomorrow
  • Policy
    • Consolidation in action
      California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
      Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
  • Health/Wellness
    • The warm path and the hot path
      Understanding chronic pain and depression
      Suicide and first responder retirement
      A golden key to suicide prevention
      The urgency to protect those who protect us
  • Community
    • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
      Turning over a new leaf
      Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
      An unexpected reunion
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Policy

Portland judge restricts use of less-lethal launchers at protests

APB Team Published March 28, 2021 @ 12:00 pm PDT

iStock.com/drakuliren

Portland police’s Rapid Response Team was faced with tighter restrictions after a federal judge limited their use of crowd-control launchers until further training is given to officers.

U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez’s sanctions came as a result of a lawsuit by nonprofit “Don’t Shoot Portland,” a Black-led advocacy group for “social and racial justice.”

According to The Oregonian, the lawsuit sought to ban on-impact munitions, as well as to remove officers from protest duty if they violated the ban.

Hernandez’s sanctions included restrictions on firing FN303 riot guns and 40mm less-lethal launchers, as well as using pepper spray against protestors engaged in passive resistance, rather than banning the weapons outright. It also ordered the Portland Police Bureau to investigate allegations that officer Brent Taylor violated the court order by firing less-lethal munitions during a protest on June 30.

The city reported in January that Taylor had been removed from protest duty while the police internal affairs division investigated the allegations.

Attorney Juan Chavez who represented the nonprofit said of the trial, “We’re gratified that the Court has taken the City to task after months of unconstitutional conduct. We hope that the City sees this as an opportunity to move towards the kind of transformational change that Portlanders have been demanding for years. We also recognize that this ruling required a lot of brave Portlanders to step forward and hold their City to account in an open court of law…it took the voices of thousands in the streets to bring about a temporary end to this kind of wanton police violence. Black lives matter.”

The court order also ruled that further training be given to officers on protest control. The judge’s order stipulates that all Rapid Response Team grenadiers and supervisors receive 9 hours of new training during which the limitations on use of force are reviewed and prior incidents that violated the court order are also reviewed.

It also stipulated that grenadiers receive training every six months, and that the Police Bureau must distribute copies of the court order to officers, who must certify that they have read it.

The city will also give an additional three hours of training to all officers regarding the use of force at protests, including reviews of video footage from prior protests, to ensure that officers understand how to apply the use-of-force policy. The training will explicitly define “passive resistance,” “physical resistance” and “active aggression.”

In the meantime, the court order will ban police from using riot guns and less-lethal launchers until the city can certify that police have “demonstrated an understanding” of the court’s orders and that they can deal with passive resistance without unnecessary force.

Categories: Policy

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • The warm path and the hot path
  • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces 2025 Ambassador Impact Award Winner
  • Understanding chronic pain and depression
  • Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and recruit
  • Suicide and first responder retirement
  • Consolidation in action
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund launches 2025 Bid for the Badge online auction
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund announces “Restoring the Ranks” conference on recruitment and retention
  • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically wounded

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The future is here

The future is here

August 21, 2025

A winding road

A winding road

August 20, 2025

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

August 17, 2025

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

August 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.