Supposed gang sues Portland police

PORTLAND – Members of a purported street gang are suing Police Chief Michael Chitwood and one of his lieutenants for a police policy designed to keep the gang members out of Old Port bars.

Anthony Webster and Tim Dame, who belong to an organization called FSU or FSU Posse, have filed suit in U.S. District Court.

Portland attorney Michael Waxman said the suit claims the department has violated his clients’ civil rights by circulating their names and pictures among bar owners, with the warning that serving the men could make it difficult for the bars to renew their liquor licenses.

He said the suit seeks an injunction that would stop the city from circulating its list. It also asks for unspecified punitive damages, but Waxman said his clients are not seeking a big payment.

“This is about playing pool and hanging out with your friends,” he said.

Chitwood said all his officers are trying to do is keep the peace in what has been one of Portland’s most violent neighborhoods.

“I’m not going to lose any sleep over it,” Chitwood said about the suit. “I’ll sleep well tonight knowing I’ve tried to keep the Old Port safe.”

Portland police for years have described FSU as the city’s most dangerous gang. Police say the group is made up of about 20 men and several women with associations to other gangs in Portland and elsewhere.

According to a report written by police for the City Council in December, the gang has a “very violent presence no matter where they are. They, as individuals or combinations of individuals, are suspects in numerous assaults and fights in the Old Port area throughout the past several years. Many times the victims of the assaults are severely injured and required hospital treatment.”

But Webster says the police are wrong about a lot.

For instance, he said, the letters that make up the group’s name are not an acronym involving two commonly used four-letter words, but are shorthand for “Friends Stand United.”

He said the group formed as way to protect members from bullies, and has evolved into something like a fraternity. When members go out drinking, they like to go in groups of 10 or 15, he said.

“I’m not saying that we’re all angels. Some of us do get into fights. But we’re just like a big family,” he said.

Bar owners say the department’s Tactical Enforcement Unit began circulating a list of names, mug shots and descriptions of tattoos last summer. They were told that police would not recommend liquor license renewal for owners who allowed the gang members in.

Steven Roberts Jr., a co-owner of Players on Fore Street, said since getting his license in December he has posted a list of names provided by the police near the door and instructed his employees to keep those people out.

“They say these people are not allowed in, and if we let them in we could be denied our liquor license,” Roberts said.