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Describing the federal agents as “acting like an occupying army,” Wyden demanded answers from both Trump and Homeland Security.
During protests over the weekend, a federal agent shot a 26-year-old peaceful demonstrator in the head with a munition, fracturing his skull.
Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis has said his department did not request federal assistance and is not coordinating with the federal officers. “I don’t have authority to order federal officers to do things,” Davis told the AP.
Oregon’s US senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley along with US Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici now want the US Department of Justice and the Inspector General’s office to investigate the federal agents presence in Portland.
Speaking to Fox News Thursday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan made a distinction, explaining that those wreaking havoc on Portland’s streets for six weeks straight “are criminals, those are not protesters.”
Family Forward and others also pushed for more than a decade for the recently enacted paid family and medical leave law and a statewide paid sick time law. Those protections, though, don’t kick in until 2023, said Family Forward’s Paluso.
Merkley co-signed a letter with Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici after Donavan La Bella, 26, was shot in the head by federal officers with a less-lethal rubber bullet during a protest on Saturday, July 11. LaBella underwent facial reconstructive surgery after he suffered a skull fracture.
He said he refused to answer basic questions about the role of federal officers in Portland.
"What the rules of engagement are, what roles they've been playing on the streets of Portland, who decided what equipment they have or when to use it, they will not answer questions about the level of coordination they've had with Portland Police," Merkley tells KATU News.
Earlier this week, four of Oregon’s federal lawmakers demanded answers from U.S.
On Tuesday, Portland police said groups of people set up barricades on the street, threw glass bottles and pointed laser. Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, federal police used tear gas against protesters. The tear gas was witnessed by some KOIN 6 News staff.