Portland police officials said they have canceled vacation time for officers and plan to have a significant presence at Saturday rally between dueling groups.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Portland Police Bureau Deputy Chief Chris Davis said though the agency is stretched thin because of nightly protests and a recent wave of retirements, there will be many officers ready to keep groups apart.
“We have canceled regular days off and we anticipate having a fairly large number of our officers here,” Davis said.
One of the rallies is an event in Delta Park being hosted by the Proud Boys, a far-right group that regularly engages in violence at political protests. The other event, a counterprotest, is being held in nearby Peninsula Park.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said that while the police response to the competing events is “going to depend on how fluid the situation is," the goal will be for a large contingent of officers to keep groups separate.
At a similar protest Aug. 22, opposing groups used baseball bats, bear spray and paintball guns to assault each other without police intervention. The following week at a demonstration in Portland to support President Trump’s reelection campaign, a self-proclaimed antifascist protester shot and killed a member of the group Patriot Prayer — another far-right group that regularly travels to liberal cities to engage in street clashes.
Speaking Thursday, Davis said even though people in Oregon are allowed to carry firearms at protests under certain circumstances, it escalates tensions.
“Our preference would be that we don’t bring guns,” Davis said. “That causes us a heightened level of concern.”
This story will be updated.
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