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Oregon Gov. Brown Declares Emergency In Portland As Proud Boys Rally Approaches

<p>Oregon Gov. Kate Brown speaks to reporters from her ceremonial office in the state Capitol in Salem, Ore., Monday, Jan. 14, 2019.</p>

Bradley W. Parks

The move is designed to allow the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police to control the law enforcement response to the event, the governor's office said.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency in Portland over the weekend, in a move her office said will allow authorities to better respond to a far right rally that could draw thousands to the city Saturday.

Under an arrangement Brown laid out Friday, the governor’s emergency declaration will put authority for addressing the rally — along with any counterdemonstrations — into the hands of the Oregon State Police and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. With this “incident command structure,” the Portland Police Bureau would follow the lead of those agencies.

In a press conference announcing the decision, Brown cited a pattern that has repeatedly played out in the city when far right demonstrators hold rallies to provoke counter-protesters and soon devolve into violent street brawls.

“The First Amendment does not give anyone license to hurt or kill someone because of opposing political views,” Brown said. “And when free expression is fueled by hate and coupled with an intent to incite violence, then I need to do everything I can as governor to ensure the safety of Oregonians."

The event is being organized the far right group the Proud Boys, which regularly engages in violence at protests, and is supposed to take place in North Portland’s Delta Park. A counterdemonstration is planned at nearby Peninsula Park.

State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton said the governor’s decision would lead to a massive influx of state troopers into North Portland, starting Saturday morning.

The governor declined to give figures for how many law enforcement officers from various agencies would be coming into the city, but said she was “confident that law enforcement is adequately resourced to tackle the situation.”

The arrangement also frees up police officers to use CS gas, a type of tear gas, if they determine the demonstration has gotten out of hand. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced earlier this month that he was prohibiting Portland police from using the gas, following widespread criticism officers have used it indiscriminately on demonstrators during months of demonstrations for racial justice in the city.

Earlier this week, both the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon State Police had rebuffed the Portland Police Bureau’s request for assistance with crowd control, citing the ban on CS gas. Law enforcement officials, including Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, have said they believe the gas is the safest option to disperse crowds, and warned a ban would lead to more dangerous physical interactions between police and protesters.

With the governor giving control to Oregon State Police, all three law enforcement agencies will have the option of using the gas.

“We will not remove CS gas as a possibility from these events,” Hampton said. “Under this authority, we will make this available to not only state troopers, deputy sheriffs, but also Portland police officers.”

Brown said the arrangement was agreed to in a meeting with Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty and Wheeler.

Earlier this week, the city denied a permit for the event, citing coronavirus concerns. Asked by a reporter whether the permit denial would be enforced, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said the steps police took hinged on the size of a crowd.

“We don’t know how many people are going to show up, This is not the type of thing people RSVP to,” Lovell said. “So there’s going to be the potential that we get a very, very large crowd. And given our ability to manage that crowd safely, that’ll determine what we do.”

Copyright 2020 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Dirk VanderHart, Rebecca Ellis