Portland moves to prepare for upcoming riots with vote on crowd control police unit

On Wednesday, Portland City Council is expected to vote on a proposal from law enforcement to establish a crowd control unit in anticipation of protests and riots related to the 2024 election.

The new unit, which was championed by Mayor Ted Wheeler, would replace the Portland Police Bureau's now essentially defunct Rapid Response Team.

According to Oregon Live, Wheeler went to the Portland Police Association union with the idea late last year in an attempt to get a head start on dealing with demonstrations that are sure to pop up over the course of election season.

Union president Sgt. Aaron Schmautz explained that the team would include around 40 officers and multiple sergeants, all of whom would be put through at least 90 hours of training to deal with "public order events."

Members of the unit, which if formed would cost an additional $38,000 per year, would be given a 6 percent pay raise as an incentive to join.

"You look at what happened in 2020," Schmautz said. "Police officers have no desire to be standing on the other side of a fence from the community. I don't think anyone in the city ever wants that to happen again, so it's important that we're having real and robust conversations about the role of law enforcement in navigating those spaces and how we ensure that we provide for safe spaces for public discourse, but also call out violence where it occurs."

The Rapid Response Team fell apart in 2021 when nearly all 50 members all resigned after one of their colleagues, Officer Corey Budworth, was indicted on charges of fourth-degree assault for allegedly hitting a protestor over the head with a baton during a demonstration in 2020. He was cleared of all charges three years later after issuing a public apology to the victim, who walked away with tens of thousands of dollars from the city as part of a legal settlement.