Portland protester describes beating by federal officers.
'Chris David, of Portland, was struck repeatedly by federal officers' batons during a downtown rally on Saturday.
Christopher David is not the man of steel.
The Portlander earned that and other nicknames — some call him "Captain Planet" or "Supersoldier" — after he stood as solidly as a rock while federal officers pepper sprayed him and struck him at least five times with a baton during a rally outside the Hatfield Courthouse on Saturday, July 18.
Of the attack, captured on video by the Portland Tribune, David says he "just took it."
"I knew I was never going to react. I was never going to fight back," he said. "I'm a little too old to be beaten by a bunch of young guys."
David, 53, is hardly an anti-establishment type. He says he attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland after high school, later serving with the Navy Seabees while becoming a commissioned officer and aeronautical engineer.
The unmatched series of protests here have waxed and waned for more than 50 nights, but Saturday's rally was David's first, his attendance spurred by reports of unmarked vans snatching protesters off the streets without due process.
He arrived around 8 p.m. and was just planning on leaving when federal officers burst out of the bricked-up front of the courthouse around 10:45 p.m.
David said he slowly approached the officers, hoping to engage them in dialogue.
"I felt these gentlemen were violating their oath of office, and I wanted to talk to them," he explained.
Things didn't go according to plan.'>>>
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