"I want to point out I'm reading a sign I see here that says "Do No Harm." When I went to medical school we took an oath, and it is First, Do Not Harm. I practice this every day when I work in the emergence department, and I care for people and support people. Many of them are there not because of a broken leg or something that was beyond their control or our control. So many people are there because of what we as a society have done to them. We put them in a place where they are unable to be housed, where they have health inequities because of the color of their skin. And it is not okay.
I swore when I became a public servant that I would still, first do not harm. And that is an oath that I keep as a County Commissioner. I am looking into ways how we, as the Local Public Health Authority, can declare tear gas a violation of our public health.
It's so amazing to see everyone here today exercising your constitutional right to assemble, your constitutional right to speak. It is terrible to have the Federal government coming in egregiously destroying our community, abducting our citizens in unmarked vehicles. It is not acceptable, and they need to get the hell out of Portland."
-District 1 Commissioner Sharon Meieran