Facing mounting criticism for their use of tear gas and other crowd control tactics, Portland police Wednesday night described what gear, munitions and weapons they carry and how they decide to use them.
Lt. Franz Schoening, commander of the bureau’s Rapid Response Team, said police try to isolate people who are throwing things at police, damaging property or acting aggressively.
But when officers can’t see disrupters in a dense crowd because they’re four to five rows back from officers and they won’t comply with orders to leave the area, they use distraction devices or send smoke or gas into a crowd to disperse people without using physical force that would heighten the risk of injuries, he said.
“Unfortunately, we have other community members get caught up in the mix,’’ Schoening said. “We’re struggling to deal with that.’’
He spoke as thousands of peaceful demonstrators filled the city’s streets for a seventh consecutive night, protesting last week’s killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis officer pinned him to the ground with a knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Police also faced demands from city commissioners to leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon to ban the use of tear gas after video clips the night before captured gas-clouded streets with dozens of protesters running away or washing out their burning eyes.
Schoening said police consider whether they can retreat from a disruptive crowd. If not and they declare a civil disturbance and protesters don’t heed repeated orders to leave an area, officers are likely to first toss a distraction device to get a crowd’s attention, he said.
Portland police use a SafariLand Stinger stun grenade that officers throw “to pop and bang’’ with the intent to startle a crowd, get people to “stop what they’re doing that’s dangerous’’ and move way, he said. The grenade can deliver light, sound, rubber pellets, and an optional pepper spray.
Former Police Chief Danielle Outlaw halted the use of an aerial distraction device that’s fired in the air from a 40mm launcher to create a flash-bang effect after a demonstrator suffered a serious head injury during a 2018 protest.
If the "pop and bang'' distraction device doesn’t convince people to move, then police will turn to riot-control agents, either firing or throwing canisters of tear gas, pepper spray or smoke into a crowd.
Police on the specialized crowd control team will use so-called impact munitions when someone in front of them is actively aggressive “to change their behavior,’’ Schoening said.
Those are either foam-tipped projectiles fired from a 40mm launcher or a plastic projectile containing an inert powder and non-toxic chemical called bismuth that’s fired from an FN 303 air-powered launcher.
The riot-control agents – tear gas, OC (the irritant Oleoresin Capsicum or pepper spray) pyrotechnic gas or smoke – are either fired from a 40 mm launcher or thrown in canisters, Schoening said. Police are supposed to aim the launchers high. The canisters either smoke in place or separate into three pieces.
“We try to use the tools that get the job done with the least amount of injury and the shortest lasting effect,’’ Schoening said.
Patrol officers who aren’t part of the specialized Rapid Response Team but are on mobile field forces are armed with batons or pepper spray. The Rapid Response Team members have the impact munitions and riot-control agents.
The tactics have evolved each night.
Police said they’ve spotted cars carrying objects that people are delivering to demonstrators – including bottles, sticks or bats that have been thrown or used against officers. Other cars have tried to block police vehicles downtown.
Police decided to tag the cars with spray paint to identify them and potentially stop them at a future time, Schoening said.
He acknowledged the tactic is “kind of out there, it’s different,’’ but he said he considered it a “creative and safe solution’’ to avoid having to chase cars through a crowded area filled with people.
While he’s aware city officials and others are questioning the tactics, Schoening said police are tired and frustrated, too.
“We are physically and emotionally exhausted. We are physically and emotionally in pain,’’ he said. “Every night we come into the precinct, we’re in emotional pain because we’re seeing a community divided like we’ve never seen before in our careers.’’
"People have this sense that we enjoy what we have to do...there’s nothing further from the truth.''
Fire Lt. Damon Simmons, one of the fire medics embedded with police Rapid Response Team squads, said the injuries they’ve treated during the last week of protests have been demonstrators suffering from panic attacks, shortness of breath, heat exhaustion, bruises and the worst, a head injury. Simmons said he’s unsure how the protester suffered the head injury but the person was conscious and alert.
The medics’ ballistic vests say “Medic’’ on the back and they’re wearing gray sweaters and pants, with medic red patches on the shirt shoulders. Protesters should wave or shout, “Hey, we need medical attention’’ to get help, he said. If they’re not near a responder, they should call 911, he said.
The medics are constantly scanning the crowd to see if anyone’s hurt, almost like a lifeguard keeps watch over swimmers, he said.
“We’re there to deal with anything that comes up,’’ he said. “If people ask for help, we’ll come and help them.’’
-- Maxine Bernstein
Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212
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