Police, protesters clash during SE Portland eviction
PORTLAND, Ore. – Police evicted a Portland woman from her home Tuesday despite efforts of dozens of protesters to keep her there.
Multnomah County sheriff's deputies and Portland police officers began evicting Patricia and Darren Williams from their home at 12028 SE Pardee St. on Tuesday afternoon.
That's when an estimated 50 people from the group We Are Oregon protested the eviction at the Williams home. Several protesters were pepper-sprayed by police and one man was arrested.
This is a developing story. Watch KATU News at 5 and 6 p.m. for live updates
We Are Oregon aims to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure stay in their homes.
More sheriff's deputies and police officers were called to the scene as the number of protesters increased, according to Lt. Steve Alexander.
Several protesters gathered in front of the home carrying a long sign on a pole and pushed into the police officers and deputies in front of the home to try to get inside, Alexander said. That's when police pepper-sprayed some of the protesters.
Protester Eric Neil Bowen, 34, ran into the home and was arrested.
Earlier this month Patricia Willams told KATU News that she had lived in her home for eight years. When she was put on disability and her medical bills began to mount she asked her lender about renegotiating her loan.
Williams said her lender tried to foreclose on them as quickly as possible rather than figure out how to help her stay in her home.
“I'm going to fight with everything, with every breath in my body to help bring this injustice to light," Williams said.
The Williams family claimed they had paperwork that said they could stay in their home until Nov. 2, but the sheriff said Tuesday was the deadline for them to leave.
"It's not something we have discretion over, we feel for the family," said Cpt. Jason Gates with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. "We have to do this on a regular basis. It's an important thing to understand we're not here to cause a confrontation."
"I just want to have my day in court. They're doing everything they can to stop that," said Williams.
Williams said she has a court hearing on Friday.
Police boarded up the house and told protesters that anyone who returned would be trespassing.
Protesters began to leave at around 2:30 p.m.
The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and Portland Police Bureau will independently review the use of force, which is standard procedure.
KATU's Dan Tilkin contributed to this story.
The most complete coverage of this I have seen. Thanks, KATU.
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As to the huge number of ugly, ignorant comments attacking the Williams, you would be pathetic if your ignorance did not do so much damage to our country.
I was not very clear with my earlier attempts at sarcasm. I am sorry Mrs. Williams lost her home. But I am not responsible for it, nor is it the lender. To all who think along the lines of a socialistic society and believe there really are preditory lenders out there, I submit to you that we as a species need to adjust our self accountability. Let us not forget Mrs. Williams signed her name many times on many documents when whe bought this home. She signed promises. She signed acknowledgements of repercussions of non payment.......I am also sorry something changed with her finances that helped her decide not to make mortgage payments. But that has happened. No pay, no house. Â
@rnm Wake up! This is the biggest land grab in the history of the US since the Great Depression and entirely illegal. it's fine until they come for your home, isn't it? The banks make their profit coming and going. they profit when you take the loan, they profit when you default (fed'l insurance so the taxpayers pick up the tab in the long run); they profit when they re-sell the foreclosed property and here we go round the merry-go-round again! Heaven forbid do-gooders should stand up for them. Shame on you for being asleep at the wheel and underinformed.
 @rnm yet the 'lenders' got bailed out, funds when they were in trouble, funding intended (supposedly) to help homeowners in trouble refinance - yet the 'lenders' are NOT negotiating refinancing, & use the $ bail outs to sit on empty houses they have foreclosed on & wait out the real estate shortfalls. IF they had NOT received bailouts/$ then they would be facing the same economic stress as the PEOPLE and reasonably renegotiate, but as THEY got bailed out there is no impetus.
See also these comments: http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2012/10/30/reports-riot-cops-pepper-spray-at-home-eviction-in-southeast
Expenditures of tax dollars on foreclosure evictions is a public subsidy to bank profits and the profits of a developer industry that is poaching homes for profit.
 @LeeMur Would you rather have some sort of private secret police and private courts do this?  She is being heard in open court by a judge who is accountable to the people.  The police are public officers who are accountable to the people.
It strikes me that third-party observers are blindly believing the bank/mortgage broker, while deriding the protesters for blindly believing the homeowner. Stop and consider that you might not have all the information regarding this situation. Foreclosures are not as cut-and-dry as they might appear.
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An example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iZBRrP5J5Q
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 @Jeff You mean "cut-and-dried"?
 @Dean Fuller  @Jeff  I've heard it both ways. Thank you for bringing this important issue to light.
 @Jeff So, he had an adjustable rate mortage that adjusted. Shocking!
Not shocking to the lender who understood the terms of the loan. But perhaps a surprise to the chap who was allowed to sign a mortgage he had no understanding of.Â
@'CouvGuy @Jeff @'CouvGuy Not entirely correct. Read up on it. Predatory lending is illegal and the lenders are being sued not just by private citizens but by the feds.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444024204578046823657285356.html
@'CouvGuy @Jeff  You know the feds are suing the lenders for purposefully defaulting private citizens and then collecting federal insurance monies, turning it into a scam not just vs. private citizens but insurance fraud as well. Yeah, you question the buyers, but you gonna question the federal insurance fraud claim? Yeah, I didn't think so. It's called Predatory Lending and it's illegal.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444024204578046823657285356.html
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 @Jeff  @'CouvGuy  @Lynn77 You and I can disagree with insulting our motives, don't you think...??
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Cancer, loss of a job, death of a partner, acts of god, etc.....they are sad, unfortunate...and not the bank's fault. Â Period.
 @'CouvGuy  @Jeff  @Lynn77  @'CouvGuy Pretty genuine empathy. It extends as far as "That's too bad you are dealing with cancer. But help you stay in your house while you deal with it? No way!" Again, I would argue that while you can't fix stupid, stupid was not the problem-- dishonesty was. And you can fix dishonesty.
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I think banks, whose financial failure was only saved by taxpayer dollars, working with homeowners who are facing financial troubles to help them modify their mortgage, is quite different than the idea of discounted cars due to the auto bailout. A person becoming homeless is not quite akin to a person paying full price for a new car.
 @Jeff  @Lynn77  @'CouvGuy  I didn't reply because you basically made my point for me; "....It seems pretty widely accepted that what happened prior to 2008 in the housing market was not legal, but there was little oversight to get it under control. And yet even now, when we can look back and really get a sense of what happened, there haven't been a slew of arrests....".  Perhaps there haven't been a "slew of arrests" because the majority of bank actions are perfectly legal...??  And, your point about the bail out playing into the whole situation strikes me as a non-sequitur.  Since our tax dollars kept GM and Chrysler afloat, is every American taxpayer getting huge discounts on those new cars...??  Right....I thought so.
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With respect to the folks in a tough spot, the truth is you can't fix stupid. Â If someone is bound and determined to buy a house they can't afford, they and they alone should face the consequences at some point. Â It's not the bank's responsibility to figure out a way to keep someone in a living situation that they can't afford. Â Now, I have genuine empathy for folks facing unemployment, illnesses, etc. Â But, if they can't pay the mortgage, they don't own the house. Â Seems pretty straight forward to me.
 @Lynn77  @Jeff  @'CouvGuy Well "couvguy" never responded, but you're free to delude yourself anyway. Quite a compelling retort you've constructed here.
 @Jeff  @'CouvGuy Yeah...just give up this debate, Jeff. You've been pwned.
@'CouvGuy@Jeff@'CouvGuy
I'm not sure it can be compared with those examples of more tangible con schemes. It seems pretty widely accepted that what happened prior to 2008 in the housing market was not legal, but there was little oversight to get it under control. And yet even now, when we can look back and really get a sense of what happened, there haven't been a slew of arrests. I think it's because of the complexity of the situation- I've heard the stories about lawyers coming in to these firms to investigate, and if they're able to figure out what's going on they're hired by the firm. Additionally, I think the bank bailout has to factor into the question of morality. The people whose taxes helped pay to keep these banks afloat are the same people now being given the âno pay, no stayâ attitude. If one side helps the other out in a time of need, reciprocity is owed.
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 @Jeff  @'CouvGuy Jeff, the flip side of the coin is that there are charlatans and con men that sell cars, siding, carpet cleaning, investment schemes, etc.  They're out there.  At the end of the day, while they may be and often are found criminally guilty, morals unfortunately don't play here.  If it's illegal, they'll get busted.  If it's not, they won't.  Unfortunately, If someone's bound and determined to make poor life choices, oftentimes there's little that can be done.  At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of the consumer to not sign a contract or purchase a product they don't have any understanding of. Â
 @'CouvGuy  @Jeff I'd like to think I wouldn't. But in an industry like mortgage brokering, where brokers were encouraged to sell unfavorable financial products to people who wouldn't understand what a bad deal they were, I could be fooled by a knowledgeable lender excited to sell to me for a high commission. You're not responsible for his ignorance, but I think the lender has a moral responsibility not to enter into an agreement when one party does not understand the terms. That's part of what spurred the financial crisis.
 @Jeff Would you sign something you didn't understand..??  And, we're responsible for his ignorance how..??
why not stop paying the medical bills and pay the home loan? screw doctors, they make enough dough already
We had a series of surprises which totaled $700K, mostly medical. Less than 40% of Americans have $700K on tap so we are not alone. We saw the writing on the wall and reacted quickly with financial counseling (although we had no credit card debt or loans other than one car payment and our house payment). We also did the loan modification process (as the news states 'they see all the time') it was a joke, seemed like a lender delay tactic and total waste of time. Your financial situation can change fast and bite you. Not sure why everyone is ripping on the people with the misfortune here. I would suspect these people paid their bills at one point if they qualified to purchase a house in the first place. Lighten up!
She was nothing more than a squatter, claiming someone else's property as her own. She gave the home away when she decided to not make the payments on it. Nobody owes her a home! She has made her choices in life that has landed her in this position. She needs to take responsibility for those choices.
 @Freedom1267 Right she chose to have a heart condition over owning her own home. Yours is a shortsighted comment.
 @Electrodes1300  @Freedom1267 That's insane to imply someone who doesn't pay their bills because they have medical bills should be treated differently than someone who doesn't pay their bills because they want to buy a new TV. Or someone who has 20 kids to feed. Or someone who just plain loses their job, or gets fired. Where the Hell do people get this sense of self-entitlement? And why the Hell are so many people calling themselves home-OWNers, when they are really just rent-to-owning. I'm sure if your neighbor rents a television and doesn't pay, it get's repo'd, are you going to protest THAT?
 @Lynn77  @Electrodes1300  @Freedom1267Â
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Yeah, why would anyone feel entitled to a home and medical treatment? How snobby.
They put her on disability. Can a section 8 house be far behind?
People need to pay their bills.....that being said, I think it's stupid to have empty houses and homeless people at the same time, stupid
 @archon312 Simple answer - you should buy a couple of those empty houses and give them away.
 @'CouvGuy  @archon312 What?  Like they'd spend their own money; all they know how to do is steal (taxes) and make someone *else* pay for everything.  They have zero strategy, no back up plan (unless standing around in the rain is useful, but seriously?) with their *$ coffee.
 @archon312 What responsibilities do banks have, archon312?
The problem of homeless is:
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1. Mental illness ranks as the main cause. The mentally ill cannot hold a job easily and are rarely hired. Thus, they have no ability to earn, pay bills and have credit.
I recieved a letter from my home mortgagor. They said they have decided to raise my payments due, because their bills have gone up. As a bona fide local protester, I said sure. I can understand that. I will send more money. hows that as an example for the same exact thing?
That makes no sense whatsoever. Either you are completely ignorant or you have an ARM loan. Â
 @rnm - Do you mean that your escrow amount is going up because of property taxes/insurance (if so - your bills went up, not theirs) - or that you have a variable rate loan? If not this makes no sense.
@Somonecaresaboutsomething Maybe I mis stated. Sorry. I was trying to make example of the reverse. I dont understand how people can justify this homeowner staying. If her finances are in jeopardy, I am sorry but if she cant make payments the house has got to go. She cant change her expectations of her promissory note any more than the bank can.
@rnm Just wait until taxes are jacked up at the begining of the year. I've already raised my prices and my vendors have raised their prices. I will raise them again on New Years Day. Nobody rides for free....
@Billy Batts I believe you missed the sarcasm
Ya know people, i don't have all the answers... I just know that I scratched and clawed my way to where I am today.... I was a single mom, living in a dump... And one day I told myself... I am not likely to win the lottery, I am to independent to wait for someone else to help me take my kids to a better place. I knew I had to do this for myself. I scraped together the money for a down payment and bought me and my kids my little house. I raised my boys with good work ethics, go to work everyday! Go to school everyday! No one handed me anything.... I WORKED FOR WHAT I HAVE! you don't see me on the news crying the blues about poor me... I just put on my big girl pants and showed my kids how to be a productive member of society... We all have good times and bad times in our lives... Life is what YOU make it~~~ *Star
 @Stardancer Good for you--and for all you know, the people in this story are the same way. Sadly, many people in this country are one bad accident or health problem away from losing everything.Â
Congrats and good for you.Â
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I'm tired of hearing about people with no initiative that feel they are owed something. It wasn't long ago I was making minimum wage and barely feeding my family. It takes a lot of hard work to get ahead in life but it can be done. There are plenty of success stories that are not told because most of us don't whine to the news everytime something doesn't go our way.
Both parties are to blame. The laws surrounding bank loans should change drastically (or maybe they have, this I do not know!) but people should not try for loans they can not pay back. You are not innocent if you borrow money based on what your fortune teller told you... Pay off your debt, save money, buy a house the right way. Pay it off, and then if you have money to spend, spend it, but don't go spending money you don't and will never have.
 @Swamp141 There was this group called ACORN, led by a community activist named Obama, who campaigned to get mortgage restrictions loosened so that more minorities could buy homes. It led to the housing bubble.Â
 @moej  @Swamp141 Oh right, it's always those pesky minorities who are to blame.Â
 @moej  @davejpdx  @Swamp141 You know absolutely nothing about history. How can you blame the poor for the ills of the country when the rich have been sticking to the poor through the history of mankind. Banks bundled those loans and sold them on wall street as securities so that they could make an even larger profit. Banks did not care if the owners foreclosed or not since they are not the owner of the note...only the servicer. Learn what you are talking about before making idiotic statements.
 @davejpdx  @moej  @Swamp141 I am not the one who pulled the race card, it was ACORN who had the specific goal of lowering lending standards so that more minorities could get home loans. This was not an editorial comment on my part, it was fact. Your "rebuttal" to my comment was little more than a feeble attempt to imply I am a racist in order to marginalize my comment. Sorry that facts get in the way of your ideology.Â
 @moej  @Swamp141 Don't forget the intimidation campaign led by jessi jackson, and al sharpton to get these loans to people that had no jobs, or were not eligible for a regular loan.
@moej I don't honestly know much about that. I just know that people need to take responsibility for their own actions. End of story. I am poor as hell, and I live in a horrible neighborhood. It is full of murders, drugs, robbery, you name it....but I am working my way out of it and someday I will own my own house far away from this spot. If all the poor people owned their own homes, they'd still ruin them. RIp them apart, shoot holes in them. The problem runs much deeper.