Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams pleaded Monday for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to call up the National Guard, saying she has been asked repeatedly but has so far refused to send troops to help “desperate” officers besieged by rioting.
“I spoke to the governor three or four times yesterday,” Mr. Wheeler said at a press conference. “I did make the request on all three of those occasions for support from the National Guard. The governor had alternative strategies that she suggested, including deploying more state police resources.”
He also said he agreed with Mr. Williams, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, who said law enforcement is in “desperate harm’s way” in the face of the increasingly violent and destructive protests.
“What I saw at the justice Center and the Hatfield Courthouse this morning is sickening,” Mr. Williams said. “This has to stop, and in order for that to happen in the city of Portland, we need help. We need more help in terms of resources for law enforcement. I’m asking the governor of Oregon to active the National Guard.”
Portland police arrested another 14 suspects on Sunday night, the third straight evening of large-scale, violent protests, which saw rioters break windows, throw projectiles at police, detonate “industrial-grade” fireworks, set fires, and vandalize downtown businesses.
“We subsequently asked for more additional tools that could be used in the field. That was agreed to by the governor and supported,” Mr. Wheeler said. “Based on last night, however, I agree with what the U.S. Attorney has said, and I agree with what my colleagues in the Portland Police Bureau have just confirmed with me, which is we do need more resources, more people, more personnel.”
So far 22 states and the District of Columbia have deployed the National Guard, the state military reserve force.
“We need leadership. We need action now. This can’t go on. That’s my ask this morning. Mayor Wheeler needs help,” Mr. Williams said, adding, “Everyone is doing their best but we need bodies.”
Wheeler on National Guard activation plea:
— Genevieve Reaume (@GenevieveReaume) June 1, 2020
“I spoke to the governor three or four times yesterday. I did make the request on all three of those occasions for support from the National Guard.”#LiveOnK2 #PortlandProtests pic.twitter.com/msC0ZF6iQ6
Mr. Wheeler, who faces a reelection runoff in November, said that any National Guard troops would be deployed for “the purpose of securing and protecting facilities,” such as the Justice Center, and that there would not be a “widespread deployment.”
“That in turn would free up our local law enforcement who is trained in crowd management to be deployed throughout the community and address issues related to activity in the community,” Mr. Wheeler said.
Mr. Williams agreed that bringing in the National Guard could potentially make things worse, but “at some point you have to do the right thing, and right now our law-enforcement partners are in desperate harm’s way.”
“I suppose, yeah, there’s a risk every day in things that we do, and sometimes you just have to accept it, and act in a way you’re going to draw a line in the sand,” Mr. Williams said. “And you say you’re going to do everything you can do to support law enforcement. That line’s here. It’s been crossed. It’s time.”
He said public officials have the support of “people who are legitimately and lawfully and caringly protesting. They don’t want this.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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