Portland police stop people from taking discarded food from the grocery store dump to the winter storm

A group of Portland police officers clashed with people trying to recover disposable food from a local grocery store after the store lost power. Witnesses said officers acted aggressively and did not allow people to enter the store.

On Tuesday, photos were widely shared of the Fred Meyer grocery store in West Hollywood, Portland, Oregon, showing police officers guarding garbage cans while people tried to pick up food that had been thrown out. According to police, the grocery store lost power due to the recent severe winter weather that hit the majority of the U.S., and staff were forced to throw away food.

Police said they reported to Fred Meyer after an employee called twice to argue with a group of people with employees and refuse to leave the property. The store employees told police the food could not be donated or eaten due to the lack of refrigeration, and said they were trying to explain to the crowd people. Police reported that the crowd had grown to nearly 50 people.

According to Juniper Leona Simonis, a Portland resident who was at the scene during the absence, nearly a dozen officers blocked a crowd of about ten people from two landfills filled with disposable food and did not allow them to enter the store. do not go. Simonis said they were taking photos of police when officers called a driver and threatened to arrest them.

‘[The manager told] I violated them and that they could arrest me if I did not stop, ”Simonis told NowThis on Wednesday. ‘I had to leave the property and move my car a block further. When I did, the police started leaving. ”

Simonis said after the police left, a group of people returned to the dumpsters to go save the food for themselves or to donate. The crowd grew to more than 20 within an hour, Simonis said. Several photos showed that the garbage was full of packets of meat, cheese, drinks, vegetables and more.

Simonis also said the city had spent ‘its precious resources’ on several police officers to threaten a crowd of less than ten people instead of putting that money on food, shelter and essential supplies. Portland was hit by a winter storm over the weekend, which caused severe damage, including to power lines, which knocked out thousands of electricity.

“The store should have worked with the mutual aid organizations that reached out to them throughout the crisis to hand over the food to those who have the ability to distribute it to those in need,” Simonis said. ‘The police smile, [laughing], and chat. ”

Fred Meyer responded to people on Tuesday, saying, “Perishable food is no longer safe for donations to local hunger relief agencies.”

“Our shopping team became concerned that residents in the area would consume the food and be in danger of carrying food, and they involved local law enforcement with an abundance of caution,” wrote the company. “We apologize for the confusion.”