"Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people - perhaps more than 100,000 - exercised their right to assembly in our city. My top priority is always to protect the safety of everyone involved. Additionally, I want to try to limit acts of vandalism and disruptions to transit. By these measures the weekend was highly successful. In the end, no one entered the freeways, and acts of vandalism and transit disruption were minimized. There were five arrests and no serious injuries were reported.
"The Police Chief and I clearly communicated our expectations prior to demonstrations. When possible the City contacted and coordinated with event organizers to prevent what's happened in the past: acts of violence, vandalism, and disruption that lasted into the early morning hours. Generally speaking, the higher the degree of coordination between the city and event organizers, the smoother the event.
"The vast majority of participants in demonstrations were there for one reason - to peacefully demonstrate. Unfortunately, in any gathering of this size there is always the potential that some will have different goals - to incite conflict and confrontation. No one likes to see the use of crowd control devices. I certainly don't. When these devices are used, I want to be sure that they are used under the proper circumstances. Early indications are that their use on Friday night was appropriate. I will of course review post-action reports to make sure that was the case."
An additional note: If you were present at any of these events and wish to file a complaint or a commendation relating to sworn officers of the Portland Police Bureau, please contact the City's Independent Police Review Division.
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