Oregon State Police Leave Downtown Portland, Criticize DA for Failure to Prosecute Rioters

The Oregon State Police troopers who have been guarding the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in downtown Portland have left the city as of Thursday, an OSP spokesperson confirmed.

“At this time we are inclined to move those resources back to counties where prosecution of criminal conduct is still a priority,” said OSP Capt. Timothy Fox, in an apparent jab at District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s recent announcement that he would be dropping a significant portion of the more than 500 criminal cases brought over the course of the demonstrations, OPB reports.

The state police were brought in July 30 to protect the federal property for two weeks as part of a deal negotiated between Gov. Kate Brown and Vice President Mike Pence to get a surge of federal officers off Portland streets. The federal officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Protective Service and U.S. Marshals were sent as part of President Trump’s executive order protecting statues and monuments in response to what the order called “criminal violence.”

Portland Police are expected to take over the role from OSP, which includes preventing an autonomous zone in the park blocks outside the federal courthouse.