User:BGinOC/Red and Black Cafe (Portland, Oregon)

The Red and Black Cafe is a worker-owned vegan coffee shop located at 400 SE 12th Ave. in Portland, Oregon. According to John Langley, a co-owner of theRed and Black Cafe, the coffee shop is a haven for anarchists and hippies and also attracts various activists as well homeless persons as patrons.

Portland Police Officer Asked to Leave
On May 18 2010, James Crooker, an Iraq War Marine veteran and uniformed officer with 2 years experience in the Portland Police Department ordered a cup of coffee at the Red and Black Cafe. After he received his coffee, he spent a few moments casually speaking with The Oregonian Freelance Reporter Cornelia Becker Seigneur before being approached by co-owner John Langley and asked to leave the establishment. In an Oregonian interview, Langley stated that the presence of a uniformed officer in the cafe made his patrons feel uncomfortable. The brief incident, clearly reflects the current tensions between the Portland Police Department and members of the community who are more worried about police shootings than protection. Considering the series of controversial deadly shootings by Portland Police officers in 2004-2010, a significant portion of Portland's populace fear the Portland Police Department and view the officers with mistrust and suspicion.