Kayla’s Story
George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020 has sparked necessary outrage and mass demonstrations. It has also rekindled important debate about the cost-benefit of an armed police system. As a community based organization here in Portland we want to be affirmative in our stance with the community and vocal in our call to action. One of our very own has experienced the direct hardship of these senseless, unnecessary tragedies. We believe that this is something we can overcome here in the city of Portland and this is where we start: acknowledging our past transgressions and doing what's right to rectify them. The following story is from Kayla Washington. We hope you'll read her words, and join us in action.
On June 29, 2018, Jason Washington was shot and killed by Portland State University campus police while he was trying to break up a fight. In that moment, it didn't matter that he was the only one trying to deescalate the situation, or that he was trying to get back home to his family. It didn't matter that he took his friend's gun from him only to prevent a dangerous outcome from occurring. That night, when officers failed to properly announce themselves, when they fired within 30 seconds of arriving, when they fired 17 times indiscriminately, we lost an incredible man. He was a Navy veteran. A postal worker of over two decades, and Shop Steward for Branch 82—representing his fellow mail carriers.
But most importantly, he was my father.
The decision those officers made that night to act out of fear rather than follow proper protocol cost my family everything. We lost the most loving, generous, down to earth man in our lives. Our family will never be the same. My father was our family and friend’s rock. He knew how to love each one of us in a way we all needed. Ask any one of his friends who Jason was to them and they will say “he was my BEST friend.” He was a friend to every single person he met. He made sure everyone he came in contact with felt that love and light he radiated. His supervisors, coworkers, and customers loved and respected him as well. He always went out of his way to help people with their routes and provide the best customer service he could give. He is missed dearly and this world is a much darker place without him here.
Today
To this day, PSU refuses to acknowledge that what happened was a direct cause of their officers not following protocol and their fear of a black man. They are trying to prevent incoming students and the community from remembering that they played a major hand in these modern day lynchings. PSU doesn’t want you to know that my father, a black man, a veteran, a peacemaker, was killed because PSU made a horrific decision to lethally arm their security, against the wishes of students, faculty, and staff. In fact, the school added more armed officers after killing Jason Washington.
They don’t care.
The past two weeks have been a powerful reminder of how collective action can rattle entrenched systems and force the conversation on long overdue reforms. With these wounds freshly exposed for all of us, I’d like to appeal to those of you looking to extend these changes to our city, so that no one has to lose a loved one in the senselessly tragic way that my family and I had to.
What you can do:
Disarm PSU Now is a movement actively pushing for long-lasting disarmament, restructuring, and increased transparency of Portland State’s Campus Public Safety Office (CPSO).
SIGN the petition we've endorsed calling for the immediate and permanent removal of armed policing on PSU's campus.
JOIN the Disarm PSU Now protests, find their next events on their website.
FOLLOW @disarmpsunow or visit their website to learn more about their specific reform objectives and how you can help support the cause.
WRITE to university president, Stephen Percy, to press for the reforms we believe will make our neighborhood safer and more accountable for all residents.
In closing, I would invoke a refrain that has swelled across the country’s protests over the last fifteen days:
“Say their names.”
The plea reminds us that this moment is not just about George Floyd, but about all of those we’ve lost over the years to a national apparatus of unaccountable police violence.
As we take this time to mourn, respect, and pursue justice long deserved for past victims, I appreciate you hearing my father’s story, and I thank you for reinvigorating the fight.
