After days of discussion surrounding escalating violence by law enforcement during city protests, Portland police showed no signs of force and made no arrests at the July 14 demonstrations.
According to a report filed by the Portland Police Bureau, “no CS gas, crowd control munitions, or force was used,” resulting in zero arrests and voluntary displacement of crowds.
Over the weekend, Mayor Wheeler expressed concern after Trump’s deployment of federal officers to Portland resulted in an increase of violence between citizens and armed law enforcement.
“I remain deeply concerned about the actions of the federal officers,” said Mayor Wheeler.
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According to the police, “a group of a couple hundred demonstrators gathered at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland and marched all throughout downtown Portland before ending their march at Pioneer Square. After a few speeches, some demonstrators left Pioneer Square and headed to the Justice Center while the others left the area.”
At one point, demonstrators lit a fire near their barricades. However, the police reports say that the demonstrators put out the fire themselves without police involvement.
After attempting to remove some of the barricades that were built at the intersection of 3rd and Salmon while protesters moved to another location, Portland police “disengaged” with the crowd as they returned to the area.
The report says “the crowd dissipated over the next several hours” following disengagement.
“We need to rethink how we manage conflict, how we deal with uncomfortable situations, what communities need in moments of distress, what constitutes a crime, and what an appropriate response looks like,” writes Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in an open letter plan to install new reform in Portland.
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