No. of Recommendations: 13
We can't possibly stage a Portland cop there to tell them that lane is closed and they need to move on.
But why would you station a Portland cop full time just to keep people from standing on the sidewalk? That's a phenomenally bad use of resources. Instead of doing any other law enforcement duties, you have a uniformed officer devoted to just that, 24/7? We're now well outside the realm of, "Portland's not doing a simple obvious thing" into the realm of, "Yeah, that's a more serious commitment of resources that Portland isn't obligated to and probably shouldn't make."
If a simple barrier could work to change the dynamic, then it's easy to criticize Portland for not putting in a simple barrier (and ICE as well). But if you have to actually have a full-time cop there, that's a far different proposition.
They're providing next to zero resources and allowing the mob to block the street and do its thing pretty much all the time. That's evident and I have in fact shown you all the video evidence one needs to reach that conclusion.
Yet still not a "riot." Not war ravaged. Not something that involves a continuous barrage of violence against federal officers, or any apparent criminal activity at all. Just a bunch of people walking in the streets holding signs. Which is certainly annoying and disruptive, but equally certainly not the sort of thing where it is useful to use police power to just walk in and start arresting folks. And absolutely not the sort of situation that warrants the intervention of federal troops.
