The city commissioner in Portland, Ore., has called on Mayor Ted Wheeler to surrender authority over the police department, accusing him “putting our community in …
The city commissioner in Portland, Ore., has called on Mayor Ted Wheeler to surrender authority over the police department, accusing him “putting our community in danger.”
In a series of statements and Twitter messages, City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty accused the Portland Police Bureau – which Wheeler oversees — of collaborating with the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in what she described as an “aggressive clampdown of peaceful protest.”
In one post, Hardesty refers to federal officers as “45’s goon squad” – an apparent reference to President Trump, the nation’s 45th president.
Hardesty’s remarks came Friday and Saturday, as Oregon’s largest city was in its second month of nightly unrest since the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
In that time, Portland has seen destruction that officials estimated earlier this month has cost local businesses more than $23 million.
The violence in the city has included a hammer attack against a federal officer.
In addition, acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf tweeted Friday, federal officers in Portland have been “assaulted with lasers and frozen water bottles” by suspects attempting to damage federal property.
