In 2020, he screamed "defund the police". Now with crime exploding, the Portland mayor wants more cops.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler YouTube screenclip

Portland Mayor admits failure in dealing with Antifa, asks for federal, state help

Posted by: | |Categories Around The World, Featured
Share:

PORTLAND, OR– For months now, many have wondered when someone was going to try to put a stop to the all out chaos raging through the streets of Portland. From Antifa burning buildings to the ground and attacking police officers, to residents and business owners fleeing, Portland has officially lost control. 

Now, Portland’s Mayor, Ted Wheeler, has finally come to his senses it seems, and has admitted his flawed approach when dealing with Antifa, in addition to asking for federal and state assistance to help put an end to all of the madness taking place. 

On New Year’s Day, Wheeler said in a press conference:

“My good-faith efforts at de-escalation have been met with ongoing violence and even scorn from radical Antifa and anarchists,” 

He continued:

“In response, it will be necessary to use additional tools and to push the limits of the tools we already have to bring the criminal destruction and violence to an end.”

The Mayor went on to say:

“It’s time to push back harder against those who are set on destroying our community and to take more risks in fighting lawlessness,” 

The Mayor’s remarks follow the violent Antifa attacks on New Years Eve that Law Enforcement Today reported on. The New Year’s Eve celebrations in Portland reportedly “devolved” into riotous acts, with fireworks and other incendiary devices being lodged against the federal courthouse and law enforcement within the city. 

 

LET reported that according to reports from Portland Police, firebombs were said to have been hurled at police officers and fireworks were aimed at the courthouse, which has been the target of rioters for most of 2020:

“A gathering in downtown Portland has devolved into a riot. Participants have thrown multiple firebombs at officers and launched commercial grade fireworks at the Federal Courthouse and Justice Center.”

 

The firebombs described by the PPB were later clarified to have resembled Molotov cocktails, in which two of them were reportedly thrown by members within the amassed crowd. 

 

In an announcement made on Twitter, the PPB declared the gathering to be a riot and instructed all those in the area to clear out: 

“The violence from the crowd has prompted a declaration of a riot. All persons in the area of Southwest 3rd Avenue around Southwest Main Street are ordered to leave to the south and west immediately.”

“If you do not leave you are subject to arrest, citation, and/or the use of force, including but not limited to impact weapons and tear gas.”

“We should be clear what this was last night, it was about violence and criminal destruction, period,” 

Mayor Wheeler called upon federal, state, county, and local law enforcement partners to work with him to develop “clear plans to address anarchist violence.” He also asked the Oregon Legislature to increase the penalties for people who engage in repeated acts of criminal destruction and vandalism, according to Breitbart.

In his New Year’s Day statement, Wheeler made an attempt at sounding authoritative, saying:

“We need more accountability and we need to hold people responsible for their criminal conduct.”

Following the apology statements, Wheeler admitted his lack of authority and enforcement of the laws may have added to the chaos.

According to Breitbart, Mayor Wheeler said in an article published by The Oregonian:

“I hope it is not an ongoing phenomenon,”

He continued:

“Our objective is to protect lives and end the occupation. And nobody should take this as an invitation to do it anywhere else. The end result could turn out very differently.”

The mayor claimed that he did not understand how when most people should be focused on hope and the future in the New Year, others can cause such destruction, saying:

“hope and optimism that can come with the dawn of a new year, why would a group of largely white, young and some middle-aged men, from all reports, destroy the livelihood of other people who are struggling to get by?”

He continued:

“It’s the height of selfishness,” 

He concluded his statement by saying:

“There are just some people who want to watch the world burn. That’s what we’re up against here.”

Do you want to join our private family of first responders and supporters?  Get unprecedented access to some of the most powerful stories that the media refuses to show you.  Proceeds get reinvested into having active, retired and wounded officers, their families and supporters tell more of these stories.  Click to check it out.

LET Unity

Downtown Portland businesses band together and hire private security to combat spike in crime

December 30, 2020

PORTLAND, OR- Several businesses in downtown Portland have stated that crime is on the rise and many business owners have decided to now take things into their own hands.

According to reports, places like Fuse and Candy have watched break-ins continue to repeatedly happen along with stolen cameras and damaged property. As crime continues to rise, business owners have come together and hired private security to patrol the area.

After attempting to use cameras and motion sensors to deter crime, business owners have decided to take the security of their stores one step further. Azim Patel said:

“A lot more recently, since we’ve been closed. Most of the alley businesses are closed as well. So, what you have is a lot of spaces that are essentially dead.”

At the club, Candy, owner Brad McCray said that he has had barriers and tents stolen out front on multiple occasions while trying to keep business doors open. He said:

“We have an outdoor area we’ve been trying to get established. It took us a long time to get approved and when it finally was approved, we put out some tents. And on the second day the tents were out, they were destroyed.”

Patel, McCray, and other downtown business owners partnered together to hire private security. Even though funds are currently limited, McCray said it is a worthwhile expense to protect the area. He said:

“Financially, mathematically, it doesn’t even make sense for any of us to be open. We probably all should have abandoned our businesses. I’m from this area, I don’t want to do that.”

The owners of these downtown businesses said that they are not feeling any support from city leaders. In the beginning of December, many downtown businesses band together and formed the Rose City Downtown Collective in an attempt to bring life back to their downtown area.

Most of downtown Portland Portland has boarded up windows, graffiti, and trash on pretty much every block. Vanessa Sturgeon, CEO of TMT Development said in a statement:

“We’re really struggling and it’s time to get the graffiti cleaned up. It’s time to get the trash removed and it’s time to find a really compassionate, long term solution to the homeless crisis we have in Portland.”

Sturgeon is also the spokesperson for the Rose City Downtown Collective, a group of hundreds of businesses wanting to get the city’s attention to clean up downtown Portland and put an end to the violence and riots that have plagued the city since early summer.

Sturgeon also cited Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s policy to preemptively decline prosecution of people arrested at protests for charges that did not include deliberate property damage, theft, or force against another person.

She feels that his decision to not prosecute those who commit crimes has harmed Portland’s reputation. She said in a statement:

“It’s permeating the reputation on a national level and it’s incredibly unfortunate because Portland really is a beautiful community and a really nice place to live.”

A spokesman for Schmidt claimed that the DA has and continues to prosecute cases stemming from protests where suspects are accused of property damage or physically harming someone. The spokesman cited that Schmidt’s office has prosecuted 51 cases related to property damage during protests and that it is reviewing another 35 cases for potential prosecution.

The group said that the financial help that businesses have received has not been enough to sustain them and whether a new federal stimulus package gets approved before President Trump leaves office in January is up in the air.

The high priorities for the group’s detailed action plan that will be submitted to the city council and other elected officials are to ask for prosecution for criminal destruction, find compassionate but effective care for their streets and the houseless population, create a pathway for non-violent demonstration, and make downtown a safe and secure place for businesses and residents. 

—

Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today?  With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.  
 
Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing!  (See image below.)  Thanks for being a part of the LET family!
 
Facebook Follow First
Share:
Submit a Correction
About The Author

Related Posts