FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE:      January 21, 2022

Salem, Ore. — The Salem Police Department is aware of recent Portland-area media reports concerning an offensive image and meme related to protests. We understand the concerns and questions the captioned-image raises with our community. It is important for our community to know that no Salem Police staff was involved in the development or presentation of the offensive graphic.

A statewide basic crowd control training event is commonly hosted by several agencies and attended by officers from across the state of Oregon. The Salem Police Department provides instructors and instruction material for portions of this multi-day training. Salem Police instructors present their own materials and do not routinely co-present or co-produce with other agencies. No Salem Police staff provided instruction for the presentation module in question.

More importantly, the image and the meme do not reflect the values of the Salem Police Department or our expectation of conduct displayed by officers during any contact with the community. We take seriously our responsibility to protect the community while respecting individuals’ right to free speech and assembly, and our commitment to strengthening the public’s trust and confidence continues to be our focus and priority.

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