Mayor Wheeler reacts to Portland May Day riot

KEN: WELCOME TO KOIN 6 NEWS AT
NOON.
I'M KEN BOODIE.
JENNY: AND I'M JENNY HANSSON.
BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
ARE STILL TALLYING UP THE DAMAGE
AFTER MAY DAY PROTESTS TURNED TO
RIOTS.
KEN: WE ARE NOW GETTING REACTION
FROM CITY LEADERS ABOUT THE
VIOLENCE.
TREVOR AULT IS LIVE RIGHT NOW
WITH MORE.
TREVOR?
TREVOR: WE HAVE BEEN WORKING
SINCE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON TO GET
SOME TYPE OF INTERVIEW WITH
MAYOR TED WHEELER.
TIM BECKER IS WITH HIM RIGHT
NOW, WE WANT TO SHOW YOU SOME
LIVE VIDEO AND TAKE UP THE
AUDIO.

IN FACT, GIVEN WHAT WE WERE
SEEING ON SOCIAL MEDIA, GIVEN
WHAT HAD HAPPENED A FEW DAYS AGO
, GIVEN WHAT HISTORICALLY
HAPPENS ON MAY DAY, WE WERE
ABSOLUTELY EXPECTING THERE WOULD
BE A LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE
COMING IN WITH THE INTENTION OF
DISRUPTING WHAT WAS OTHERWISE A
PEACEFUL MARCH.
WHAT DID SURPRISE ME WAS HOW
QUICKLY THEY JUMPED INTO IT.
TYPICALLY, THEY WAIT UNTIL AFTER
DARK BUT THESE GUYS DECIDED TO
GO VERY QUICKLY AS SOON AS THEY
GOT BY THE FEDERAL BUILDING,
THEY STARTED COMMITTING ACTS OF
VANDALISM.
THE POLICE ACTED QUICKLY TO
IMMEDIATELY CANCEL DEPARTMENT
AND BEGAN ARRESTING PEOPLE WHO
THEY WERE OBSERVING COMMITTING
ACTS OF VANDALISM.
THAT'S EXACTLY WITH THE POLICE
BUREAU SHOULD BE DOING.
I APPLAUD THEM AND THANK THEM
FOR BEING THERE DURING DIFFICULT
AND POTENTIALLY UNSAFE
CIRCUMSTANCES.

DO YOU THINK THEY COULD HAVE
TAKEN A TOUGHER STANCE, WAS THAT
SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE
DIRECTED TO DO?
IT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING I
SUPPORT.
SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN IN
OFFICE, THERE HAS BEEN A HUGE
CONTRAST IN POLICE PRESENCE.
THE ACTIVITY YESTERDAY
WAS ABOUT
30 MINUTES.
A LOT OF TALK ABOUT USE OF
FORCE.
FIRST OF ALL, WHAT DO I
ATTRIBUTE IT TO?
WE HAVE BEEN CLEAR IN OUR
EXPECTATIONS.
I SAID A FEW DAYS AFTER I TOOK
OFFICE, WHEN IT CAME TO THESE
LARGE-SCALE PROTESTS, WE WOULD
PROTECT FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS,
WE WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO
SECURE A PERMIT, THAT WE WERE
NOT GOING TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO
BLOCK REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEMS, THAT WE WERE NOT GOING
TO ALLOW THEM ACCESS TO BRIDGES
OR FREEWAYS FOR THEIR PROTECTION
AND SAFETY AND THE PROTECTION
AND SAFETY OF EVERYBODY ELSE IN
THE COMMUNITY, AND UNDER NO
CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD WE EXPECT --
EXCEPT OF VIOLENCE OR VANDALISM.
WE SENT A CLEAR
STANDARD, WE
HAVE UPHELD A CLEAR STANDARD,
AND THAT IS WHAT I WILL CONTINUE
TO DO AS MAYOR.
TREVOR: BEFORE HE STARTED DOING
THIS SOUND, AND WE WILL MAKE
SURE WE GET AN UPDATED VERSION
LATER TODAY, HE ISSUED A
STATEMENT SAYING PARTLY
, QUOTE,
PROTEST BEGAN PEACEFULLY BUT
THEN DEVOLVE QUICKLY DUE TO THE
ACTIONS OF THOSE WHOSE ONLY
DESIRE IS TO DAMAGE PEOPLE AND
PROPERTY.""
THE MAYOR GOES ON TO SAY ""TODAY,
I'M GOING TO REACH OUT TO
DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES THAT WERE
DAMAGED YESTERDAY.
THEY PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN THE
ECONOMIC LIFE OF OUR COMMUNITY
AND THEY HAVE MY SUPPORT.
WE JUST HEARD MAYOR WHEELER
TALKING ABOUT THE WAY HE
SUPPORTED THE WAY THE POLICE
HANDLED THE RIOTS.
THIS MORNING HE WILL BE REACHING
OUT TO THE BUSINESSES.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HE WILL BE
SAYING.
THOSE ARE SOME
OF THE QUESTIONS
THAT ARE BEING ASKED OF HIM
RIGHT NOW IN AN INTERVIEW.
ULTIMATELY, THE BIG TAKE AWAY IS
THAT MAYOR WHEELER SUPPORTS THE
WAY PORTLAND POLICE REACTED TO
YESTERDAY'S RIOTS.
REPORTING LIVE IN DOWNTOWN
PORTLAND, TREVOR AULT, KOIN 6
NEWS.
JENNY: AND THEY REACTED QUICKLY.
THIS HEARTENING TO SEE THOSE
BUSINESSES BOARDED UP DOWNTOWN.
KEN: AND, AS THE MAYOR PRAISES
THE PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU FOR
THEIR RESPONSE, WE ARE HEARING
FROM THE POLICE CHIEF ABOUT THE
DECISION TO MOVE IN ONCE THE
PEACEFUL MARCH TURNED INTO A
VIOLENT PROTEST.
HE SAYS HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A
CHOICE, HIS OFFICERS NEEDED TO
START MAKING ARRESTS.
JENNY: BRENT WEISBERG WAS THE
FIRST REPORTER TO TALK TO CHIEF
MARSHMAN THIS MORNING.
HERE'S WHAT HE TOLD US.
BRENT: AFTER
THE RIOTS IN
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND, THIS IS LEFT
FROM ALL OF THE DAMAGE AT THE
DOWNTOWN TARGET.
PORTLAND POLICE CHIEF MIKE
MARSHMAN DESCRIBES THE BEHAVIOR
OF THE RIDERS AS PURE
CRIMINALITY.
CHAOS ON THE STREETS OF
PORTLAND.
THE ANNUAL MAYDAY MARCH HIJACKED
BY ANARCHISTS.
HELL-BENT ON DESTROYING THE
CITY.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEIR
MESSAGE IS OTHER THAN COMPLETELY
DEVALUE THE SYSTEM WE HAVE IN
THE UNITED STATES.
BRENT:
POLICE CHIEF MIKE
MARSHMAN, SURPRISED BY THE
SMALLER THAN EXPECTED TURNOUT
FOR THE PERMIT IN MARCH.
ON THE FLIPSIDE, THE
ANARCHISTS, THE GROUP ALL
DRESSED IN BLACK, THEIR NUMBERS
WERE LARGER THAN I EXPECTED.
BRENT: THE GROUP LIGHTING FIRES
AND SMASHING OUT WINDOWS,
BROUGHT DOWNTOWN PORTLAND TO A
HALT.
AT NIGHT AND MORRISON,
ANARCHISTS TRY TO LIGHT TARGET
ON FIRE BY THROWING IN A FLARE,
THE CHEAP CALLING THAT AN
AMAZING CRIMINAL ACT.

THAT SET A DIFFERENT TONE, SO
WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE
SAFETY OF EVERYONE DOWNTOWN.
BRENT: TODAY, MARSHMAN HAS
STRONG WORDS FOR THE ANARCHISTS
WHO INTERRUPTED AND HISTORICALLY
IMPORTANT DAY FOR THE CITY AND
ITS IMMIGRANT FAMILIES.
THEY ARE
DAMAGING LOCAL
COMMUNITY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
.
TO ME, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT.
THEY ARE HURTING THE FOLKS WHO
LIVE IN PORTLAND WITH THEM.
BRENT: DETECTIVES WITH THE
PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU CONTINUE
TO INVESTIGATE, AND SAY IF YOU
HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY VIDEO OR
PICTURES OF ANY OF THE
ANARCHISTS AND WRITERS, THEY
WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.
WE HAVE A PHONE NUMBER AND A

Mayor Wheeler reacts to Portland May Day riot

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