Oregon State Police who are now charged with keeping the peace in Portland and its surrounding suburbs have been “cross-deputized” by the federal government, a local news organization revealed Wednesday, meaning that those arrested by Oregon state police officers can be prosecuted by the United States attorney for crimes stemming from the ongoing unrest even if the local prosecutor refuses to.
KGW Portland reports that Oregon State Police were actually deputized earlier this summer, perhaps as part of a deal to draw down a federal police presence in Portland. As part of that agreement, the Department of Homeland Security removed a number of federal agents from “elite” Customs and Border Protection units that had been protecting a federal courthouse from rioters if the Oregon state government agreed to provide ongoing protection for federal properties.
Now, it seems, the agreement also involved allowing the United States attorney the opportunity to supercede decisions made by the Multnomah County district attorney who noted, early on in the unrest, that he would pursue only “limited prosecution” for certain crimes, including interfering with a peace officer, disorderly conduct in the second degree, harassment, criminal trespass, and even “riot.”
The Multnomah County prosecutors office also said, back in early August, that if a person is arrested for “a misdemeanor or felony crime that causes only financial harm during a protest,” they will be offered “conditional dismissal.” – READ MORE
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