In the summer of 1997 Portland Trail Blazer Clifford Robinson, his brothers, and friends were the subject of blatant racial profiling by Portland (Oregon) police. Robinson was seen entering his vehicle with paintball guns, the cops were called by someone that reported that Robinson and his party had assault rifles, and a public safety alert was broadcast on local and national media.

Robinson's vehicle, along with its occupants, was subjected to a paramilitary-style blockade near the Portland waterfront, which was widely publicized. Heavily armed Portland police did not find assault rifles in Robinson's vehicle for obvious reasons (there weren't any), however, they did locate remnants of cannabis in the vehicle. Despite the cannabis being outside of the reach of where Robinson was located in the vehicle (driver seat), Robinson was charged with possession of cannabis, presumably because of his celebrity status.

That cannabis charge was widely covered by national media instead of the extreme abuse of public resources and blatant racial profiling that Robinson and his party had to endure.

This blatant racial profiling incident has since gone unaddressed. That is unacceptable. Please sign this petition to demand that the City of Portland apologize for this incident. A public apology will never fix the past, however, it can at least clear the record and make it widely known that what happened to Robinson and his party in 1997 was shameful. The City of Portland can never fully move forward if it cannot acknowledge the harms that it created in the past. Thank you for signing this petition and sharing it with everyone that you know.

More information regarding the racial profiling incident described in this petition can be found here: https://apnews.com/f7eb349befd2dc8e9a78f99950ada42d