Veteran who was harassed by Antifa over flag: Portland cops in ‘mass exodus’ over lack of support – Fox News

Retired Marine Corps officer Gabriel Johnson argued on "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday that many police officers in Portland, Ore., are leaving the department because "they are not supported."

In July, living only a block away from the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in downtownPortland, which has become an epicenter of violence in the city, Johnson marched into the chaos carrying his American flag.

He told Fox News at the time, "I was being called the N-word by Black people. People were chasing me around with baseball bats."

He said he also witnessed a 65-year-old Black veteran attempt to stop the burning of Johnsons flag, only to be beaten by alleged Black Lives Matter protesters.

On Tuesday he told host Ainsley Earhardt, "Iwas actually kind of surprisedbecause I was greeted with thishatred,hatred for the American flag andfor what it stands for and for me, it was really asymbol of justice and a unitingsymbol that people shouldremember to bring us backtogether."

He added that "people in the city really havelost a sense of community andthe community for everyone including theofficers that are out thereserving night in and night out."

ANTIFA ATTACKS PORTLAND POLICE UNION

Late last year, Portlands police department said it received an "unprecedented" number of officers leaving their jobs midcareer to take lower-paying jobs elsewhere and on Sundaythe citys main newspaper published an articleofferinga glimpse intothe reasons why manydecided toleave.

The Oregonian reported thata total of 115 officers have left the departmentsince July 1, 2020,representing"one of the biggest waves of departures in recent memory."

The paper saidit reviewed 31 exit interview statements from these officers that showed a certain level of disillusion with the job. A retiring detective reportedly wrote in one that the community showed officers "zero support."

"The city council are raging idiots, in addition to being stupid. Additionally, the mayor and council ignore actual facts on crime and policing in favor of radical leftist and anarchist fantasy. Whats worse is ppb command (lt. and above) is arrogantly incompetent and cowardly."

Johnson reiterated that sentiment saying he believes "the massive exodus" is due to the lack of support.

"We knewgoing into the new year that wewere going to have a massiveretirement, but now what wereseeing is a massive exodus andI think it's purely just fromthe way that they are notsupported," he said.

"This is one of the only citiesin America where you canactually throw Molotov cocktailsat police officers and expectthem not to do anything, but what weve seen in return fromthem is professionalism.These folks have stood there.They have taken it."

"Theyre human justlike us and believe me it doesaffect them," he continued.

Portland, Oregon, wasthe center of some of the countrys most destructive protests in 2020, which coincided with the citys largest jump in homicides in 26 years, according to the paper. KOIN reportedthat the homicide rate in the city continues to be high and detectives are having a challenging time keeping up with the workflow.

The city experienced 55 killings in 2020and the paper pointed out that the victims ranged from eightmonths to 71 years old.

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A spokesperson for the Portland Police Department and the city did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment. However, Ted Wheeler, the citys mayor and therefore head of its police department, told the Oregonian in an email that the city has a "laser focus on building a better public safety system."

"And, as we pursue change to meet Portlanders needs and expectations, we must focus on support and care for our employees."

Fox News Edmund DeMarche, Teny Sahakian and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Veteran who was harassed by Antifa over flag: Portland cops in 'mass exodus' over lack of support - Fox News