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After Portland City Council voted to ratify a new contract with the police union on Wednesday, activists with the group Don't Shoot Portland say they will try to recall City Commissioner Amanda Fritz.
Don't Shoot Portland, a group closely affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, is also demanding the resignation of Mayor Charlie Hales, whose term ends in January.
But they say they will target their recall effort at Fritz, who they had previously considered an ally.
Activists plan to formally file papers Friday to launch a recall effort against Fritz, says Don't Shoot Portland spokesman Gregory McKelvey.
In advance of the 3-1 vote, Fritz listed off a series of reservation about the police contract.
"She said all the things that were wrong with it and then voted for it," says McKelvey. "We just felt really betrayed by Amanda."
McKelvey says he and fellow activists are outraged not only by the new contract with the Portland Police Association, but with a police crackdown on protesters at City Hall. Ten activists were arrested, and many were pepper-sprayed.
Related: Portland police pepper-spray Black Lives Matter activists in City Hall clash.
McKelvey issued an open letter to Hales tonight on Facebook. It concludes:
In the past, says McKelvey, Fritz had won respect from the activists for, among other things, her support of Right 2 Dream Too.
But police pepper-sprayed Ibrahim Mubarak, the founder of the homeless camp, during the protests.
"Once he got pepper sprayed, we lost respect for her," says McKelvey.
Fritz could not immediately be reached for comment tonight.
The new police contract gives police sizable raises while eliminating the 48-hour rule—long the target of activists for allowing cops two days to consult a lawyer in the event of an officer-involved shooting.
The activists' objections center on a draft policy on body cameras, which allows police the chance to review video before writing a report.
Willamette Week