Portland, Oregon— The Portland Lawyers for Black Lives Matter are seeking justice for a volunteer medic who was severely injured while tending to wounded protesters in the summer of 2020. This is the second in a series of cases to be brought forth by the group, to hold agents of the Trump administration accountable for their federally funded melee and the injuries they caused on a nightly basis. Physicians for Human Rights conducted a study between July 25th and August 10, 2020 that found that “PPB officers and federal agents engaged in a consistent pattern of disproportionate and excessive use of force against both protestors and medics over the course of June and July 2020.”
Nate Cohen was one of those medics.
On July 26, 2020, wearing the widely-recognized Red Cross emblem, Cohen was shot in his chest with a tear gas canister at close range, by a federal officer—sent to protect property. His crime? Giving first aid to protesters kneeling in surrender, while federal agents bombarded them with tear gas and chemical agents. Cohen was not a protester. Nor an anarchist. Nor a violent opportunist. He was a man dedicated to serving the Movement. He ignored his own well-being and tended to those who sacrificed their bodies and reputations to express their resistance to our government’s oppression, fear, and violence.
“This was the scariest thing I’ve experienced in my lifetime,” explains Cohen, “A sitting President ordered troops into an American city to inflict violence against American civilians with total impunity. They were hiding behind anonymous uniforms of war and left like nothing happened. That is not ok. That shouldn’t happen in a democracy.”
Cohen moved to Portland in 2008 to do his undergraduate work at Lewis & Clark College. He was active in “Don’t Shoot Portland” and “Empower Portland” demonstrations in his role as a volunteer medic. His goal was to help create a safe environment for Oregonians to come together and let their voices be heard in the quest for racial justice. On that night in July, Cohen found himself among the countless non-violent citizens treated like enemy combatants by unidentified Federal officers. Cohen bled significantly after being shot in the chest with the tear gas canister and was urged by nearby protesters to go to the hospital. Someone from the Wall of Moms stepped up to rush him to Emanuel emergency room for treatment to his chest contusions.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that these agents are simply trained to hurt people. They don’t care if they’re being filmed or documented, their go-to response is harm, first and foremost,” says Cohen.
A group of dedicated lawyers has stepped forward to form Portland Lawyers for Black Lives Matter and represent individuals like Nate Cohen. Attorneys Michelle Burrows, Gabriel Chase, Nadia Dahab, Erious Johnson, Jr., Christopher Larsen, Jane Moisan, David Park, Joe Piucci, and David Sugerman have banded together to seek accountability on behalf of Nate Cohen and others, for their injuries and the violation of their Constitutional rights. Cohen v Russell, et al, 21CV12345.
“Though faced down by powerful and militarized forces, these ordinary citizens showed great courage in expressing their support for racial justice,” explains Cohen’s lead attorney Erious Johnson. “They were assaulted by troops only interested in protecting buildings at the expense of human bodies.”