[link:https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/08/multnomah-county-da-to-announce-protest-policy-watch-live.html|
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced on Tuesday that his office will not prosecute many protesters who have been arrested during recent Portland demonstrations.
Schmidt said his office will presumptively decline to prosecute those whose most serious accusation doesn’t involve deliberate property damage, theft or the use or threat of force against someone else.
Charges that fall under that category include interfering with a peace officer, second-degree disorderly conduct and rioting, among others.
“As prosecutors, we acknowledge the depth of emotion that motivates these demonstrations and support those who are civically engaged through peaceful protesting,” Schmidt, who recently took office, said in a statement. “We will undermine public safety, not promote it, if we do not take action to bring about immediate change.”
Prosecutors will scrutinize the cases of protesters accused of resisting arrest or assaulting a public safety officer and consider “the chaos of a protesting environment, especially after tear gas or other less-lethal munitions have been deployed against community members en masse,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release.
The new protest policy was unveiled as protests against police violence and anti-Black racism are set to continue for their 76th day Tuesday. Hundreds of people have been arrested during the demonstrations.
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