We asked the candidates in Portland how they want the police to handle an anti-Trump riot

In four days, the United States finds out the results of the presidential election (some results, anyway). In Portland, that’s usually when the trouble starts.

The civil unrest in Oregon began the night in November 2016 when former President Donald Trump won the White House. In the following nights, demonstrators took to the streets, with some people blocking interstates and trashing property. For much of the next four years, the streets of Portland were treated as turf that violent political factions could claim. Police regularly used force – including tear gas and flash grenades – to disperse crowds of leftists. Clashes have intensified during the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, when the killing of George Floyd sent thousands into the streets and Trump sent federal agents into the city to quell the unrest, a series of events from which the city did not still fully recovered.

Most polls now show Trump’s chances of returning to the White House amounting to a coin toss — an unsettling prospect by any measure, but especially so for a city still bearing the scars of the ravages that followed his first term.

Portland police say they are prepared to deal with any disturbances. But how should they handle it? That’s a question WW solicited candidates for City Council for much of the summer as part of our “Entry Interview” series introducing the candidates to Portland voters. We didn’t present the question to all candidates, but we received a wide enough range of responses that we decided to collect them in one post.

Eliza Aronson, Lin Lin Hutchinson and Veronica Bianco conducted the interviews.

We asked: How do you want police to respond to riots if Donald Trump wins in November?

Eli Arnold, District 4: “I took my daughters to the Women’s March in 2016 – there’s a difference between protesters and vandals. I think the city can get ahead of this kind of thing by working with protest leaders to help them set clear expectations and help them avoid having their message hijacked by outsiders and vandals.

“We need the district attorney on board. We need predictable consequences for criminal behavior.”

Candace Avalos, District 1: “I was the chairman of the Citizens Review Board when everything went down after the killing of George Floyd. We know that if there are mass protests like in 2020, all eyes will be on Portland and our police response. I think the police need to take proactive measures before the election results come out, preparing for different scenarios and acting in the community. Should this result occur, the police must always follow the Constitution as well as the policies and procedures of the Portland Police Bureau.

“I was not only the chair of this committee, but I was also the chair of the subcommittee on crowd control and new support, and I produced a 40-page report after the 2020 protests, explaining what I thought were best practices that were not being met . Unfortunately, I think many of our recommendations have been left in a drawer somewhere. I think the biggest problem Portlanders had was the indiscriminate use of less-than-lethal force on community members who were trying to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights.”

Olivia Clark, District 4: “People have the right to express themselves, but they don’t have the right to destroy property, and when well-intentioned demonstrations turn into riots, then we need real consequences. We can block the streets. We can provide protection in advance, but if it turns into chaos, the police must act and they must use all legal means to stop the chaos, if that happens.”

Jamie Dunphy, District 1: “Trump won’t win, but there will still be a conversation about Portland being a protest city. We need to be intentional about working with businesses in places we know are most likely to have protest activity and not be caught red-handed. We can do some construction projects or build infrastructure, like using fences around target points and blocking streets.”

Timur Ender, District 1: “I don’t think Donald Trump is going to win or that everything is going to turn into chaos. Speaking as a resident, I’ve noticed that police posture and tactics used can have a pretty strong impact on how an event ends. I say this as someone who had tear gas on my property when I had nothing to do with a protest. The entire city does not participate in a protest. It feels like this is not rocket science and maybe there are other proactive ways to look at crowd management.”

Mitch Green, District 4: “I believe the police should respect protesters’ First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble. I’ve seen firsthand the imbalance when you’re down there. You’ve got veterans, you’ve got a Mothers’ Wall, you’ve got black people protesting for black lives, and we’ve seen a very violent police crackdown. Then we saw the police standing with their backs to the Proud Boys and other right-wing agitators who have a history of violence. I think the police should use all the tools they have to avoid violence, to avoid the use of riot gear, tear gas.”

Terrence Hayes, District 1: “We need to communicate clearly that the protests in downtown Portland will not change anything that happens in that White House. We must ensure that we will not allow leadership in Washington, DC to change our narrative in Portland, Oregon. That said, we can’t destroy our city. You can’t destroy property and get mad when the police act like the police. If it’s peaceful, the police must stay away. But when we start breaking windows, we have to expect the police to intervene.”

Tiffany Koyama Lane, District 3: “I don’t suppose there will be riots. I support people taking to the streets to express their pain and anger. There are ways to defuse situations that are about to turn violent.

“When I think about Portland in 2020 and the federal forces that have been sent in, this is not the way to de-escalate. If you treat every movement of people in the streets as if it’s a riot that needs to be quelled, then I think that’s what it becomes. I think we’re doing more outreach with these small businesses, especially central small businesses, and thinking about routes if there were protests.”

Chad Lykins, District 4: “We should learn from what Tom McCall did in 1970 at Vortex One. Start planning logistics to keep people and property safe. Go ahead and start issuing permits, renting equipment, scheduling medical and security personnel, and planning street closures. If we do that, we can be a city that respects our First Amendment rights without being a city where every public gathering results in police beating protesters or protests turning into riots.”

Stan Penkin, District 4: “I know the police are preparing for potential riots. I want to see them respond with restraint, and the problem in those situations is, how do you distinguish between protesters and people who are just there as innocent bystanders or peacefully protesting? I certainly want to see the police exercise restraint and only act when absolutely necessary.”

Elana Pirtle-Guiney, District 2: “I think when we assume that a rally or a protest is going to be a riot, we’re setting ourselves up for a violent response. The first thing we need to do in preparing for any kind of rally or protest is to prepare for a peaceful response to ensure that we don’t have law enforcement inadvertently escalating interactions between protesters and the police. If you have protests and law enforcement shows up in riot gear, that escalates everything — and that’s not safe for anyone.”

Moses Ross, District 4: “We have to be prepared for any negative response that people might have. I don’t think it’s going to be as dramatic as people think, especially with the Harris-Waltz ticket. I think we will see Trump lose by large enough margins where he will be uncontested. I don’t think a special task force is needed.”

Sarah Silkie, District 4: “I hope it’s not just the police. If there are street protests, I’ll probably be there with them, and if it’s safe enough, I want my whole family to join me. Nonviolent, nondestructive, and even disallowed protests should be allowed. I am optimistic that Harris will win. I think we need more women in elected office, don’t you think? We should think, what if we are prepared with public events that encourage people to express themselves in a nonviolent way as well – think, music and arts? For a big festival, you’d have medical people available and you’d have a police presence as a safety thing, not in riot gear, but, for example, we have a lot of people out and we’re ready to have a lot of people out. “

Bob Weinstein, District 4: “I believe in the democratic process and an orderly transition to power. I believe people have a right to peaceful protest and I fully support that. If some individuals decide to cross the line and engage in criminal behavior, as we saw in 2020 and again when the PSU library was recently robbed for a million dollars worth of damage, I think the police should respond with a level adequate force. to stop behavior and arrest individuals. We have just elected a district attorney who will prosecute criminal behavior associated with the riots, if they occur.”

Nat West, District 2: “I hate to see local businesses destroyed and my friends lose customers because of protests or riots, but also because of the media narrative around the protests just consuming all the oxygen of what Portland is. I would ask the protesters to set their goals ahead of time and work towards those goals, and as long as we don’t hurt each other, I expect the police to stay out of the way.”