By Associated Press • 

Oregon governor resists using National Guard in active role

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press

PORTLAND — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Monday she won’t send National Guard troops to actively help quell violent protests in Portland over the killing of George Floyd because they aren’t needed and that “is exactly what President Trump wants.”

At a news conference, Brown said she would send 100 state police from around Oregon to assist the city, and would activate 50 unarmed National Guard troops to work in support and behind the scenes. Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump slammed many governors as “weak” in teleconference and demanded tougher crackdowns on burning and stealing during some demonstrations.

“You don’t defuse violence by putting soldiers on the streets,” Brown, a Democrat, countered. “Trump wants governors to deploy the National Guard as a show of force to intimidate the public. I want to ensure that the public can safely raise their voices in this much-needed call for reform."

Portland remains under a curfew order that takes effect at 8 p.m. nightly. On Monday, however, the police went even further and ordered all citizens out of a large area of downtown Portland starting at 4 p.m. On Twitter, the agency said demonstrators could protest outside the no-go zone.

“All persons must leave the area immediately. Failure to leave will subject you to arrest. Leave now,” the tweets read.

Police have arrested at least 75 people in the past three nights during demonstrations over the killing of Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee against his neck.

Eleven adults were arrested during protests Sunday and three juveniles were detained. Earlier Monday, authorities said projectiles — including “large, industrial grade mortar-type fireworks” — were thrown at officers and windows in a federal courthouse had been shattered.

Brown said the violence is being perpetrated by a small segment of the demonstrators and said she refused to deploy the National Guard on Sunday at Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's request because she was concerned it would escalate a tense situation.

“This is a very difficult time for our state and our entire nation. Senseless violence does not honor George Floyd’s death,“ she said, adding later that ”having soldiers on the streets of America is exactly what President Trump wants.”

Earlier Monday, U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy J. Williams had asked Brown to deploy National Guard troops to the city to guard infrastructure such as federal courthouses and police offices.

“What I saw at the Justice Center …. was sickening. This has to stop and in order for that to happen in the city of Portland, we need help,” Williams said of the protests Sunday. “We need bodies, we need more numbers to do something to stop this ridiculous violence. This just cannot keep up.”

The violence came after thousands of protesters held a largely peaceful demonstration outside the Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland. At one point, some police officers took a knee with protesters and three people in the crowd had a private talk with Police Chief Jami Resch, authorities said.

“We saw people at their very worst and we saw people at their very best," said Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis, who thanked protesters who remained peaceful. “Our strategy last night was to make sure that whatever happened, the police bureau was not the cause and so we decided to give them a greater space and give them the time to express themselves.”

The Multnomah County GOP criticized the police response in a statement, saying the Portland Police Bureau and Wheeler were being too easy on protesters and should not have allowed them to violate the curfew order without consequences.

“After all of Portland’s experience with mass protests, can the police really be so incompetent as to fail to encircle these crowds and arrest them all? Of course not. This is a deliberate policy choice to promoting further disorder," said Chairman James Buchal.

Elsewhere in Oregon, authorities said between 7,000 and 10,000 people gathered at the federal courthouse in Eugene on Sunday and marched to a local park in a peaceful demonstration. After the event ended, about 1,000 people continued to protest.

Some protesters surrounded a car after its driver sprayed something at them and another occupant fired a gun into the ground, angering the crowd, police said. Authorities intervened and no one was injured. In another incident, a man with semi-automatic weapon got out of a Jeep that was parked in the road but a protester was able to keep the crowd back until the man got back into the Jeep and left, said Eugene police spokesman John Hankemeier. The incident is under investigation.

In Salem, up to 400 people marched and got into a confrontation with police that resulted in between six to eight arrests.

Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck until he stopped breathing. The encounter was caught by a bystander on video. His death has prompted protests across the U.S. and Europe.

 

Comments

Jim

Kate Brown is a terrible leader and needs to be out of the position she holds. She has hidden her self from the public for a week. This state will never fully recover if we don’t get rid of her.

GRM

Better to work for the good of the people than appear every minute on Tv and Twitter to release nonsense l

tagup

Yeah, she turned off the lights and went to the bunker....no wait...that was someone else...

Jim

Trigger you liberals much? Kate Brown is the most inept leader of any kind that has ever held public office in this state. I’ve been around a long time and seen them come and go and she’s not qualified to run the local dump.

Bill B

I don't agree with the Portland mayor's politics, but he is heads and shoulders a much better leader.

RobsNewsRegister

>Tagup

The Secret Service determines when the president or vice president go into the bunker. For point of reference, according to Dana Perino, who worked for the Bush administration, they had to carry Dick Cheney because he didn't want to go into it after 9-11. Sort of a funny sight if you think about it.

GRM

So, as soon as one doesn’t salut your opinion he is a liberal ? I’m an independent voter and I keep my eyes open to all directions. And as an entrepreneur in several states and Europe I can tell you something . It is not easy and needs a lot of qualifications to run or manage a dump. Even the local one. Perhaps you better don’t jump to conclusions in future.

Finch

I'm with you Jim and it can't be soon enough. But unfortunately there will undoubtedly be another one right behind her because most states that touch an ocean are run by idiots.

tagup

Rob, of course you are correct...I should never doubt anyone’s courage, especially those with such an extensive and exemplary military service record...no wait...that was someone else...:)

RobsNewsRegister

Lol. That's a good one. I still can't get Cheney being carried off out of my head. Sounds like an SNL skit.

Lulu

How about a few choruses of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" from 1969, coincidentally when the draft lottery began?

Web Design and Web Development by Buildable