MAINTAINING ORDER Governor beefs up Portland patrols after fatal shooting
Portland, Ore. — Oregon state police will patrol Portland’s nightly protests with help from officers from neighboring communities, seeking to tamp down on vandalism and violence following the fatal shooting of a rightwing Trump supporter as the city approaches 100 consecutive nights of Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
The plan, announced late Sunday by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, also creates a group, which included Mayor Ted Wheeler and local Black leaders, to help chart the path forward for the liberal city struggling to regain its footing under a national spotlight.
President Donald Trump has made Portland and its Democratic leadership a frequent target and the centerpiece of his “law and order” re-election campaign theme. He demanded that local and state leaders call in the National Guard after Saturday’s fatal shooting.
A supporter of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer was killed amid skirmishes between Trump supporters who led a car caravan through the city and Black Lives Matter protesters who had gathered for another night of demonstrations.
Police have not made an arrest in the case. The victim was identified by the founder of Patriot Prayer as Aaron “Jay” Danielson of Portland.
“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 on the city’s streets.
“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.