Police will have an increased presence on the streets on Inauguration Day and the days surrounding it as a precaution.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Police Bureau is collaborating with federal, state and local partners ahead of Inauguration Day on Monday. They have activated Unified Command, which includes PPB, Portland Emergency Management and Portland Fire and Rescue.
People can expect to see increased staffing and higher police visibility on the streets, at least through next Tuesday.
It’s a fluid plan, although it closely resembles law enforcement’s plan back in November during the election.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day said the biggest difference between their response now and in years past is their collaboration and unity with their partners that has improved their response. In 2017, thousands flocked the streets in response to Donald Trump’s initial inauguration, resulting in a chaotic night.
“We cannot not believe our experience, and those experiences and those beliefs are real; I don’t want to dismiss those, but I’m committed as the chief of police to create space for us to be able to explore our humanity in a different way, non-enforcement, non-chaotic, non-high stress situations,” Day said.
New Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez also expressed his position on ensuring that peace and public safety prevail.
“The right to protest does not include the right to vandalize buildings, break windows or hurt people. If you break the law during these events, you will be prosecuted, period,” he said.
While the November 2024 election was peaceful, he attributes that to the collaboration between the community and the different agencies.
Overall, Day said crime is trending down in major categories, including vandalism. He said it is his expectation that this will continue through the weekend and throughout 2025.
“I’m confident as we enter in to the weekend that we have a good plan in place, staffing resources, support of the folks behind me and others, and look forward to seeing Portlanders once again show up in a way that demonstrates as the mayor said so well, our values, our characters, our strength and really demonstrate to the United States as a whole that Portland is a city where all are welcome and all are allowed to express their thoughts on that,” said Day.
So far, PPB said they are closely monitoring three events in downtown Portland and inner eastside areas. None of those three have permits. They said they have connected with those groups and will keep an eye on them in the days to come.
Day said if there isn’t much public unrest to respond to, they will use the additional resources to address other critical problems in the community.
“We do want to take advantage of chances that we can to reduce our traffic fatalities, so maybe if we’re not managing public order, maybe we have a focus on traffic; we continue to emphasize getting people into deflection and making sure we’re emphasizing our outreach to people that are steeped in addiction, so maybe there’s an opportunity to use some of these resources to get more people connected to services,” he said.
In a statement, PPB said Wednesday that “Individuals who engage in violent activity or property destruction will be investigated and are subject to arrest and prosecution. That does not always happen in the moment. PPB members will continue to conduct follow-up investigations, make arrests, and forward cases to the Multnomah County District Attorney for prosecution. Just because arrests are not made at the scene, when tensions are high, that does not mean that people are not being charged with crimes later.”
As for businesses, PPB also said it is entirely up to businesses whether they decide to board up their stores or not.
However also in a statement, they said, “Businesses should proactively remove sandwich boards, furniture, and construction materials. Secure dumpsters outside of your business prior to events so these objects cannot be used as projectiles, barricades or fuel for fires.”
While they also wrote police services may be delayed in the event of a significant incident, they said to not let that impact a decision to call 911 for life threatening situations.
President-elect Trump’s inauguration will be on Monday, Jan. 20.
PPB said there are no identified threats related to Inauguration Day at this time.
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