Ore. governor’s plan rejected
Sheriffs of towns near Portland not sending deputies
PORTLAND, Ore. — A plan by the governor of Oregon to use sheriff’s deputies from surrounding counties to help patrol Portland following the deadly shooting of a right-wing Trump supporter was sharply criticized by law enforcement officials who said it wouldn’t end the “cycle of violence” in the city that’s approaching 100 consecutive nights of often-violent Black Lives Matter protests.
Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, announced the plan Sunday to temporarily use deputies from two counties,
as well as Oregon State Police troopers, to help Portland police as the liberal city struggles to regain its footing in the glare of the national
spotlight.
But the sheriffs in both those counties said Monday
they would not send deputies to Portland.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said flooding the city with more law enforcement would never work because Portland’s newly elected district attorney has dismissed charges against hundreds of protesters arrested for nonviolent, low-level crimes. In addition, Roberts and Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett said the liability for their deputies would be too great.
“The same offenders are arrested night after night, only to be released by the court and not charged with a crime by the DA’S Office. The next night they are back at it, endangering the lives of law enforcement and the community all over again,” Roberts said. “The criminal justice system will need do its part and hold offenders accountable.”
Charles Boyle, the governor’s chief of staff, said: “It is up to each county to determine the personnel and resources they have available to volunteer for this effort.”
Boyle said the governor appreciated Clackamas County’s willingness to backfill calls normally taken by state police while troopers are in Portland.
The rejection of Brown’s plan leaves state and city police to work the protests in the wake of the fatal shooting of right-wing Trump supporter Aaron Danielson. It also leaves uncertainty about the future in Portland as President Donald Trump puts the chaos in his campaign crosshairs.
A small memorial for Danielson took shape Monday near where he died on a sidewalk in front of a parking structure.
“Portland is a mess, and it has been for many years. If this joke of a mayor doesn’t clean it up, we will go in and do it for them!” Trump tweeted Monday, a day after tweeting that the mayor was a “fool” and a “weak and pathetic Democrat mayor.”
Brown has so far declined to send the National Guard to Portland but instead announced a coalition of multiple law enforcement agencies to handle the short-term crisis. In a statement, she said right-wing groups like Patriot Prayer had come to Portland “looking for a fight” and vowed to stop more bloodshed.
“We all must come together — elected officials, community leaders, all of us — to stop the cycle of violence,” she said. “But this is only the first step. Real change will come from the hard work to achieve racial justice. And it starts with all of us listening to each other and working together.”
Some Black community leaders were upset with the plan to put more officers on the streets. Portland police have come under fire for using tear gas against protesters and have been criticized for being overly aggressive.
“If you’re just there, the odds of getting arrested at this point are almost so high as to the point of being guaranteed,” said Shanice Clarke, one of the founders of the Black Millennial Movement and a frequent protester.
Clarke also criticized a news conference held by Wheeler on Sunday, when he engaged directly with Trump in what she called “political theater.”
For Black people to feel they are being listened to in Portland, the mayor needs to do more than “just showing up to a press conference and saying it’s Trump’s fault,” she
said.
The Portland police also drew criticism Monday for not doing more to keep the dueling groups apart and for letting the situation get out of control. Police Chief Chuck Lovell defended his officers, saying the clashes between protesters and Trump supporters were spread over many city blocks and the shooting took just seconds.
“While it’s easy to cast blame on paramilitary and alt-right groups on the one side, or anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter groups on the other, the responsibility to safeguard communities rests with government,” said Eric Ward, executive director of the nonprofit Western States Center, which helps marginalized communities organize social justice campaigns around the West.
“In Portland, law enforcement has regularly failed to keep our city’s streets safe.”
Oregon State Police were at protests Sunday night, supporting Portland police. Authorities arrested 29 people and declared an unlawful assembly.
State police also took over patrols in Portland in July following two weeks of massive demonstrations against the presence of federal agents in the city. This time, they will also provide local police with more than two dozen body cameras.
Many of the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland have ended with vandalism to federal and city property, including the federal courthouse and City Hall. In July, Trump sent more than 100 federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security to safeguard federal property — a move that instead reinvigorated the protests.
Thousands of people clashed with the federal agents each night for two weeks.
Those agents withdrew July 31, but smaller nightly protests have continued in pockets of the city. More than 600 people have been arrested since late May.