Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler and U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams pleaded Monday for Gov. Kate Brown to call up the National Guard, saying she has been asked repeatedly but has so far refused to send troops to help “desperate” officers besieged by rioting.
“I spoke to the governor three or four times yesterday,” Mr. Wheeler said at a press conference. “I did make the request on all three of those occasions for support from the National Guard. The governor had alternative strategies that she suggested, including deploying more state police resources.”
He also said he agreed with Mr. Williams, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, who said law enforcement is in “desperate harm’s way” in the face of the increasingly violent and destructive protests.