PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Bob Day, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and Portland State University President Ann Cudd spoke to media Thursday afternoon about the morning's operation to clear out pro-Palestine protesters who had occupied the university's library, as well as ongoing protests and police presence on the campus.
Portland Police Bureau officials said the library was cleared just after 10 a.m., adding that they had arrested 12 protesters, only four of whom were PSU students. With the campus closed for a third consecutive day, most of the South Park Blocks were empty early Thursday afternoon, aside from a small area still filled with demonstrators and police.
Saying that he was speaking in his capacity as Police Commissioner, Wheeler thanked the officers for clearing the library in way that was "safe and effective," and also thanked Oregon State Police for assisting. He described the operation as a success "up to this point," but added that "no one is declaring victory" yet because the situation is still ongoing and fluid.
He also referenced Wednesday night's protest march through downtown, during which windows were smashed at several businesses, saying that his office has been communicating with the impacted business owners. He reiterated calls for peaceful protest and said that protesters who destroy property will be prosecuted.
"I, for the life of me, do not understand how terrorizing local business operators can possibly impact events in the Middle East," he said. "If you believe that by damaging a business — which frankly harms the frontline employees who work in those businesses, and we've had reports that they were frightened, they were traumatized — if you believe damaging those businesses or trashing a library on a university campus will impact events in the Middle East, then you are delusional."
Day echoed Wheeler's comments, and praised what he described as the collaboration between PPB, Wheeler's office, the university administration and Gov. Tina Kotek's office to help address the PSU situation and keep up with policing elsewhere in the city in the meantime.
He also addressed an overnight incident at the PPB training facility on Airport Way, during which more than a dozen police vehicles were set on fire. He said other law enforcement agencies have already offered to loan the bureau vehicles to fill the gap in its training efforts.
"I've been asked several times if I see these as related or connected; right now we're looking at them as individual events. They're all individual events, and we are in the process of investigating them fully and thoroughly with the appropriate resources," he said, but added "I'm not naïve to the fact that there may be connected, there may be some crossover."
Schmidt thanked protesters who have behaved "peacefully and civilly," and said he would not tolerate "destructive behavior" such as graffiti, breaking windows and setting fires, and that his office would continue to work with the police bureau, including with a prosecutor embedded in the investigation.
"We will prosecute these cases; we'll use every tool at our disposal to make sure that people are held accountable," he said.
Schmidt, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O'Donnell later released a joint statement condemning the damage to businesses, the PSU library and the vehicles at the training facility.
"We are united in our commitment to protect the right to freedom of speech and expression while ensuring the safety of our community. Those who engage in unlawful activity will be held accountable to the greatest extent of the law. Multnomah County will continue working in close coordination with the Portland Police Bureau and Oregon State Police to make sure we are prepared to respond to acts of violence and criminality," the joint statement read.
In a statement, Portland Metro Chamber CEO and President Andrew Hoan echoed support for PSU, state government officials and city law enforcement, saying in part, "Portland State University is one of our region’s most important educational institutions and we look forward to a peaceful and quick resolution so the community can begin to heal from this event.”
Speaking at the news conference, Cudd said PSU originally hoped to reopen the campus and resume classes Thursday, but that became untenable when protests escalated Wednesday night, and there were threats from protesters to "take over additional buildings."
She said the university administration only asked for police assistance after "extensive negotiations" with the protesters, and reiterated earlier comments saying that the negotiators were close to a deal on Tuesday in which she had pledged that no student would face discipline or legal charges if they left the library voluntarily on Wednesday.
"The students who remained in the building chose not to take that option," she said. "We also made it clear to all faculty, staff and students remaining the library that that was trespassing. They had plenty of opportunity to leave prior to the police arriving."
PPB Sgt. Kevin Allen said police began a planned clearing operation at the library at around 6 a.m., starting by taking an elevator to the top and securing the roof, then working their way down to the ground floor. Officers ran into several improvised barricades, he said, mainly on the first floor, which made the operation take several hours.
"When we approached the bottom floor, a group of people who were in the library fled out the front door," he said.
Police made a few arrests, he said, and a few officers received minor injuries, including an officer being sprayed with a fire extinguisher. More arrests were made as police proceeded to secure the perimeter of the building, including one arrest of a protester who was striking an officer with a hard improvised shield.
Some members of the crowd tried to block a police van that was holding some of the people who had been arrested, Allan said, requiring more police to be called in to help the vehicles get out. After that, the police teams returned to the library perimeter, which he described as still an active scene.
"The goal now is to get it secured, and Portland State University is working on that process as we speak," he said.