Portland Police Chief Day holds Oct. 3 press conference on ICE facility, public safety (Photo: PPB Facebook)
Will they or won't they?
That is the looming question on whether or not the Oregon National Guard will settle down on the Portland ICE facility based on a federal appeals court decision handed down Monday.
For now, local law enforcement is the primary source of protection. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) releases reports daily documenting the number of arrests made on South Waterfront.
"To date, the total number of arrests related to nightly protests in the South Waterfront is 53," the PPB reports today.
That is three more than Oct. 16, OpGov.ai's last report on the facility.
PPB's last Facebook post on the local detention center, Police Chief Bob Day noted "protests in Portland often bring together sharply conflicting viewpoints in a very small area, creating tensions that can escalate quickly."
The chief also discussed "releasing body-worn camera footage related to the arrests, acknowledging the importance of public trust," as noted in the press conference.
Speaking of arrests, OpGov.ai researched the Portland City Council's Agenda to see if officials will discuss Monday's decision, but there was no item on the document regarding the ICE facility, for the Oct. 22 meeting. However, there is a $300K payout to resident Adam Gregg from the PPB for a 2022 wrongful arrest, which was vacated.
Maybe now with more transparent body-worn footage as the chief promised, wrongful arrests that cost taxpayers money can be diverted. As for public safety, currently Portland locals question the chief, as seen below.
Portland Police Bureau Facebook comments showing citizen questions and concerns over ICE facility (Photo: PPB Facebook)
The 2-1 ruling on Monday states that President Donald Trump is not exceeding his own authority by deploying troops here.
But not yet.
Today, Portland officials, who refused to answer press inquiries from OpGov.ai, must wait to see if another lower decision can be overturned before troops march in.
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