The Mayor’s Office has relied on a Portland police lieutenant to keep tabs on right-wing protest leader Joey Gibson, sometimes texting him at all hours to ask about Gibson’s whereabouts or plans.

It's the same lieutenant, Jeff Niiya, who has come under fire in the last week from Mayor Ted Wheeler and other city officials.

After Niiya’s text messages with the Patriot Prayer leader were made public last week, Wheeler called the lieutenant’s messages “disturbing,’’ said they appeared to “cross several boundaries’’ and “unnecessarily encourage’’ Gibson. Wheeler, who also serves as the city’s police commissioner, has requested an independent investigation to review if police acted with bias in their actions leading up to and during demonstrations involving alt-right and anti-fascist protesters.

The Police Bureau on Wednesday released another batch of Niiya's communications as the bureau’s crowd control supervisor, this time with Berk Nelson, Wheeler’s senior policy adviser on public health and safety, in response to a public records request from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The communications start in April 2018 and continue through this month, with Nelson often questioning Niiya before a planned protest about Gibson’s plans. They include questions about Gibson and Patriot Prayer in relation to a demonstration outside the federal immigration enforcement building in Southwest Portland, downtown protests and a hearing at City Hall.

READ: TEXT MESSAGES BETWEEN LT. JEFF NIIYA AND MAYOR’S SENIOR POLICY ADVISER BERK NELSON

Nelson told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he often reached out to Niiya to find out about when and where Gibson and Patriot Prayer protesters would be so the city would be prepared for any violence that might occur. Nelson said he needed to alert the mayor of any potential public safety threats and Patriot Prayer has been “one of those threats over the last two years.’’

“I knew Jeff was in contact with Joey. I wasn’t surprised. I just didn’t know to what extent the conversations took place,’’ Nelson said. “Jeff is trying to develop a relationship with Joey…his job is to get as much intelligence as possible, but I didn’t know how deep it went.’’

Nelson added, “I’m not an expert in how police gather information. I leave that up to them,’’ but he said he could understand how jarring Niiya’s text messages with Gibson could be to “people who don’t understand police tactics.’’

“To the lay person just seeing those texts at face value are concerning,’’ he said.

The mayor and two other city commissioners have complained that Niiya alerted the Patriot Prayer leader to counter-protester movements and said his texts raised questions about consistency in enforcing arrest warrants. In one text, Niiya informed Gibson that one of his follower’s should take care of his outstanding arrest warrant before he came into Portland.

The police commanding officers union has defended Niiya, saying his job is to maintain an open line of communication with all protest organizers and that police regularly informed the Mayor’s Office about their tactics.

“Certainly the mayor’s initial comments gave the impression that he was unaware of the communications between Niiya and Gibson,’’ said Lt. Craig Morgan, president of the Portland Police Commanding Officers Association. “These texts show that not only was his top aide aware of the conversations, but he was requesting specific information about Patriot Prayer and Gibson as situations developed.’’

Nelson said the outside investigation that Wheeler is calling for isn’t focused on Niiya’s text messages with Gibson, but a broader look at how police investigations are handled and how rapport is developed between officers and protest leaders.

The communications between Nelson and Niiya show:

--The day before Patriot Prayer members and counter-protesters squared off in downtown Portland last Aug. 4, Niiya sent Nelson a message.

“Heard you are looking for timeline info on Gibson’s movements tomorrow,’’ Niiya wrote on Aug. 3. “I heard on one of his videos they hope to leave the Fred Meyers in Vancouver with the first bus around 10 am.’’

-- Four days before another Patriot Prayer protest planned in downtown Portland, Nelson texted Niiya on Nov. 13, “Any word on the location of the protest yet? Where PP (Patriot Prayer) is going to locate?’’

Niiya responded, “They have a permit for Terry Schrunk on Sat. They say no march, so this should stay on the area of the parks.’’

Nelson asked Niiya via another text, “But was also checking if you knew what time Gibson was going to show up’’

Niiya responded a short time later, “he has not communicated with me about Sat.’’

That Saturday, Nov .17, a protest billed as a rally for free speech and campaign event for Gibson, then a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Washington state, saw hundreds of his supporters bused in from across the border. Many wore helmets, crash pads and shields decorated with the Confederate battle flag. They were met by counter-protesters from a coalition of organizations on the left including a group called Popular Mobilization, another group dressed up as clowns and self-described antifascist activists.

Police formed barriers along Southwest Naito Parkway early in the day and kept the groups separated. The biggest skirmish came when police in riot gear ordered a group of counter-protesters to disperse around 2 p.m. The group, clustered near the intersection of Southwest Naito Parkway and Southwest Columbia Street, didn’t immediately leave and officers began firing dozens of flash-bang grenades and rushing toward the crowd, shoving some protesters out of the street.

-- Three days before the mayor and City Council were to vote on an ordinance rejecting white nationalism, white supremacy and alt-right hate groups this month, the mayor’s adviser once again reached out to Niiya about Gibson.

“Are you hearing anything on Twittersphere re: Joey Gibson and coming on Thursday?’’ Nelson wrote in a text message on Feb. 4.

A short time later, Niiya responded, “Quick search and nothing from Joey specifically but Haley Adams and her group look like they will be there.’’ Adams is a Patriot Prayer supporter.

-- On July 21, as people camped outside the ICE building in Southwest Portland, Nelson texted Niiya, “Lt. any dust up or appearance yet?’’

A minute later, Niiya responded, “Joey just showed up with 5 others. Calm right now. Talking with protesters.’’

-- Last summer, the night before a planned protest at City Hall, Nelson texted Niiya on Aug. 7, “How many people are coming to City Hall?’’

Niiya responded three minutes later, “CIU (Criminal Intelligence Division) is believing 30-10. However, Facebook shows 287 going. I could personally see 150ish coming between the 2 protest groups.’’

The next day, a protest against police use of force turned violent when activists tried to storm Portland City Hall, clobbered one security guard and scuffled with several others. It was the biggest disruption to a Portland City Council meeting in more than a year. Protesters were demonstrating against police crowd control techniques from a demonstration the Saturday before.

3 Lt. Jeff Niiya's messages to Gregory McKelvey

The Oregonian/OregonLive also has requested Niiya’s communications with counter-protesters or organizers of other rallies, but the police bureau hasn’t released them yet.

In an interview Wednesday, Gregory McKelvey, the leader of a series of protests against the election of Donald Trump and police use of force, said Niiya had contacted him in mid-August 2017, but he didn’t want to communicate with police about his demonstrations.

McKelvey shared messages Niiya sent him in August 2017 in which Niiya described to McKelvey his role as "reaching out to event organizers to learn more about their events and then providing information to my bosses so they can make decisions if there is a need for police due to public safety concerns.'' Later, Niiya gave McKelvey information about what actions would draw a police response, such as large groups marching across bridges, entering freeways or impacting mass transit.

"There was no reason for me to establish any communication and many reasons not to,'' McKelvey said Wednesday. "It doesn’t make sense to work with the police in protesting the police, which was a bulk of my protest work. They are one of the targets of our protests so why would I need to communicate?''

Police Chief Danielle Outlaw has scheduled what she called a "listening session'' to hear public concerns about the lieutenant’s text messages with Gibson from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Maranatha Church, 4222 N.E. 12th Ave.

An hour before the gathering, the Portland Democratic Socialists of America and several other groups are hosting a rally outside the church, urging police reform and that Wheeler turn control of the police bureau over to City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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