Civil Rights Leader and Director of Western States Center Calls for the Resignation of Portland Police Union President Daryl Turner

Turner is slated to retire in November, but Western States says that's too late.

THE BOSS: PPA president Daryl Turner, 61, will step down in November after 10 years atop the union.

The executive director of Western States Center, a civil rights group that monitors political extremism, called for the immediate resignation of Portland Police Association president Daryl Turner.

"Turner has served as the president of Portland's police union for a decade and has consistently stood in the way of responsible reforms and efforts to hold officers accountable when they violate the public trust," executive director Eric Ward said in a statement Thursday.

Ward pointed to the fact that Turner met with acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf back in July and said this meeting was "the last straw for a community fed up with unaccountable law enforcement."

"It is telling that when Portlanders from the mayor on down were united in opposition to Trump's authoritarian deployment," Ward said, "[Turner] eagerly met with Wolf and sought to facilitate collaboration between the Portland Police Bureau and the unconstitutional federal troop presence. Portland City Council ultimately voted unanimously to shut down any such cooperation."

Western States Center also initiated a petition calling for Turner's immediate resignation. It is unclear how many signatures it has gathered so far.

Since Portland protests against police brutality began in late May, Turner has been steadfast in describing protesters as rioters and calling for criminal charges to be levied against them. He has called out Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt for being too soft on protesters and blamed increasing gun violence on the decision in June to defund the bureau's Gun Violence Reduction Team.

"The words 'police reform' don't scare us," Turner said in a July 8 statement. "The rioters' total disregard for people, property and the law defines and embodies white privilege and entitlement, especially when they burn and loot communities of color."

After nearly a decade as PPA president, Turner is slated to retire from the post in November.

Ward warns that is too far away.

"We cannot wait for his term to be over in November. Turner has long since lost the trust of the community and city leaders and should resign immediately," Ward said. "Turner has had ample opportunities to serve the entire community. Instead he has established himself as a proud opponent of progress and accountability."

A spokesperson for the Portland Police Association did not respond immediately to WW's request for comment.

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