Portland City Council Bans Police from Assisting Federal Law Enforcement

Federal officers use tear gas and other crowd dispersal munitions on protesters outside th
Mason Trinca/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

The Portland City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday that effectively bans the Portland Police Bureau from assisting federal law enforcement, as Commissioner Chloe Eudaly accused the Trump administration of “attempting to use Portland as a proving ground for fascism.”

The resolution, which passed Wednesday, prevents cooperation between local and federal law enforcement. A local officer who “provides, requests, or willingly receives operational support from militarized federal forces” will be subject to disciplinary actions.

“Not only is the Trump administration violating the constitutional rights of Portlanders, but they are also attempting to use Portland as a proving ground for fascism, and they plan to invade cities across the country, cities that are political targets of the President,” Commissioner Eudaly, who presented two resolutions, said.

“This resolution serves as a statement of our opposition to their presence in our city, direction to our police bureau, a template for policies that other cities can advance, and a national call to action,” she continued.

Oregon Live reported:

The ban on coordinating with federal officers cites “an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by the federal government” as reason to discipline any Portland police member if they provide, request or willingly receive operational support from any agency or employee representing the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshal Service, Federal Protective Service, Customs and Border Protection or any other federal service while they are occupying the city.

The other policy condemns intentional targeting of press members and legal observers who are documenting police conduct during the protests unless city officers have reasonable suspicion that they have committed a crime. A federal judge in Portland has already ordered credentialed journalists and legal observers be exempt from arrest or threat of arrest by Portland police after officers have issued an “unlawful assembly” or “riot” declaration.

The commissioner suggested all Americans should back the council’s move to stand against the Trump administration’s assistance, regardless if they agree with the protesters, many of whom continue to carry out violent acts of lawlessness on a nightly basis.

She said:

I want to make something clear—I stand in solidarity with protesters defending Black lives, demanding racial justice, and the transformation of our justice system, but whether you agree with the protesters or not, if you believe in the constitution of the United States, you must oppose the actions of this President and the violent suppression of individuals exercising their constitutional rights.

The passage of the resolutions coincides with Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) accusing President Trump of  “attacking progressive cities with a classic ‘divide and conquer’ tactics.”

The mayor, who also serves as police commissioner, joined the violent demonstrators Wednesday night on their 56th night of protest. Several videos show demonstrators accosting the mayor. They also threw “flaming bags of garbage” at the federal courthouse, prompting a response from federal law enforcement:

Wheeler’s attempt to stand in solidarity with the violent demonstrators fell flat, as many angrily confronted him, booed him, and hurled a slew of expletives the mayor’s way, shouting, “Fuck Ted Wheeler!”:

Portland Police declared a riot around 12:30 a.m. and instructed the group to leave the area, to no avail.

According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), people “continued to congregate near the fence outside of the Federal Courthouse” and threw Molotov Cocktails “along with hundreds of projectiles.”

Per the PPB:

There were multiple fires lit by the crowd in the area surrounding the courthouse to include the heavily wooded areas in the parks and trash receptacles on neighboring blocks. Multiple vandalisms occurred including fire hydrants which were opened wasting several hundred gallons of water into the street. At least one assault was reported.

Despite the stunning presence of violence and chaos in the city, Portland Police “were not present during any of the activity described,” with the exception of the sound truck.

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