STATEMENT: Given the current unprecedented environmental conditions, Multnomah County urges demonstrators to keep protest as short as possible

September 12, 2020

STATEMENT FROM CHAIR DEBORAH KAFOURY ON DEMONSTRATION AT DONALD E. LONG JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER  

Given the current unprecedented environmental conditions from wildfires across our region, we urge demonstrators — who plan to come to the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center — to keep this event as short as possible. 

Like every other member of our community, the youth currently at the regional center and their families are also confronting the stress and anxiety brought on by the wildfires. The safest thing for all members of our community to do is to avoid this hazardous air quality and stay indoors until the fires are contained and the smoke clears. 

The months of protests have succeeded in bringing broader attention to the injustices of our current systems. Multnomah County is committed to our continued partnership with community members working together on reducing racial disparities and transforming the current criminal legal system.