Update: Portland mayor expresses "complete trust" in city police as volatile protests loom

The president of the Portland police union says Mayor Ted Wheeler has "failed miserably" as police commissioner by appearing to allow "personal, political bias" to influence his decisions on public safety services. The message comes a week after Portland police disbanded an encampment outside a federal immigration building.

In a statement Thursday on the Portland Police Association's Facebook page, Officer Daryl Turner said Wheeler can have personal political beliefs as mayor but not as police commissioner. Turner suggested a "trained, experienced, police executive" should be deciding daily policing decisions.

"Our officers protect our communities and enforce the law irrespective of personal, political beliefs," the statement said. "Perhaps that is a lesson for the Police Commissioner."

Wheeler's office didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The police union president's statement is the latest development since the clearing of a 38-day encampment protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Building in Portland on July 25.

Demonstrators camped out to protest the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal officials closed the ICE building for eight days because of security concerns.

Three days after protesters began camping outside the federal building, Wheeler tweeted that the family separation policy was ill-conceived, that the Portland protest seemed peaceful and he didn't want Portland police "to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track."

Weeks later, Wheeler called for the protest to disband, saying he supported the cause but the encampment wasn't sustainable. Local police cleared people from the camp two days later.

On Monday, the union representing ICE employees sent a letter to Wheeler claiming he banned Portland police from responding to 911 calls from federal officers during the demonstrations. The union said it left employees vulnerable to threats of violence and harassment. Wheeler said the next day that he ordered no such policy.

On Wednesday, Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw said the police bureau told the Federal Protective Service during the protest that it would respond to their officers' emergency calls if their safety was at risk. Portland officers responded to 41 calls for service during the protest outside the ICE building, she said. Outlaw has previously said the bureau received a total of 76 calls during the encampment.

It's not clear why police didn't respond to the other 35 calls for service or what all the calls were for. Portland police made no arrests during the demonstration outside the federal building.

The police chief also said Wednesday that the bureau would review police reports and calls for service related to the encampment.

Turner, in the police union statement, said it would be "certainly problematic and cause for grave concern," if the review uncovers "flawed policy direction" from Wheeler.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey