The Oregon Department of Justice is the latest institution in the state to bring legal challenges to federal agents conducting arrests in Portland over the past week.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Protection Service, claiming they unlawfully detained individuals in Oregon without probable cause.
Rosenblum blamed the department for escalating tensions in the city.
“These tactics must stop,” Rosenblum said in a statement. “They not only make it impossible for people to assert their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. They also create a more volatile situation on our streets. Every American should be repulsed when they see this happening.”
The Oregon DOJ also announced it is conducting a criminal investigation into the alleged injury of Donavan LaBella by federal agents using impact munitions on July 12.
It is also investigating the alleged arrest of Portland resident Mark Pettibone by federal agents in tactical gear on July 16 in downtown Portland while he was walking down a sidewalk. Pettibone has since been let go, the Oregon DOJ statement read.
Oregon Public Broadcasting originally reported on both incidents, which has since garnered national attention.
Portland was recently visited by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to inspect protest areas including at the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse.
Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell confirmed Friday that Portland Police Union President Daryl Turner met with Wolf last week.
This newest lawsuit follows weeks of protests against police brutality in Portland, which has brought a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and an investigation by the Oregon U.S. attorney.
The Portland Police Bureau, which faces its own allegations of misconduct, has been barred from using tear gas unless the “lives or safety of the public or the police are at risk.”
A video posted to social media by Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling Friday night shows a gas being deployed by police officers onto protesters.
On Saturday, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty issued a damning statement to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Twitter following weeks of criticizing Wheeler for his handling of police conduct in the city.
“Mayor Wheeler, if you can’t control the police, give me the Portland Police Bureau,” Hardesty said.
That day, Wheeler announced that he had directed members of the Portland Police Bureau’s incident command to no longer cohabitate with federal agency operations.
“While sharing a space helped facilitate clear communication, based on recent actions by federal law enforcement officers I am not comfortable having them in our space,” Wheeler said.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf tweeted that the move was “dangerous” and put “lives at risk.”
Protests against police brutality have continued in Portland in the months since the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota Police on May 25.
Posts on social media showing federal agents deployed in the city began surfacing around early July.
An undisclosed number of federal agents including those from Homeland Security have been deployed across the country following President Donald Trump’s June 26 executive order protecting American monuments.
