Eugene’s Independent Police Auditor said the city’s police acted reasonably when they declared a Jan. 30 protest at the Eugene federal building a riot, and police did not break state laws during the incident.
“We looked at what Eugene Police did. Did they use any force, did they use any munitions? The overwhelming evidence was that they did not,” said Police Auditor Craig Renetzky. “There was nothing that showed any use of force by the Eugene Police.”
A memo from Renetzky said his office reviewed more than 200 videos provided by law enforcement, hours of radio traffic, police reports, videos provided by complainants, social media posts, news coverage, the limited video made public by federal authorities, and more.
It said the situation matched the definition of a riot set out by Oregon Revised Statute 166.015:
“A person commits the crime of riot if while participating with five or more other persons the person engages in tumultuous and violent conduct and thereby intentionally or recklessly creates a grave risk of causing public alarm.”
It pointed out that federal staff were inside the building for hours with no way to leave safely while protestors banged on and eventually broke windows.
He said the declaration did not force police to take certain actions, but it did open alternatives to them.
“Now, all that means is that they [declared the riot],” he told KLCC. “They didn’t need to use force. But before they would do that, obviously for everyone’s protection they would want to declare it, protect everybody, and that’s essentially what happened.”
The memo also said that there is no evidence that Eugene Police officers violated the state’s Sanctuary Promise Act, which prohibits law enforcement from aiding in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Renetzky said the matter is now being investigated by EPD Internal Affairs, which will be monitored by the auditor.
The auditor’s office is still awaiting a federal public records request for complete surveillance videos from the federal building, which could change its review, as could the submission of new evidence.
Renetzky said the actions of Springfield Police and federal officers who were also at the scene is outside of the scope of the investigation.
