In a rare move, Portland police pulled back the curtain to show their crowd control strategies.
The bureau impaneled a group of experts on crowd control within their own department and one member of the Portland Fire Bureau.
A rally against anti-fascists being advertised for Aug. 17 is expected to draw far-right groups such as the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and Three Percenters to Portland.
Although police wouldn't discuss plans for a future rally or previous incidents, the discussion was a way to give background on how they handle large crowds.
How they approach the different groups ahead of a rally and the team they use to communicate:
Commander Wendi Steinbronn: "I designate the demonstration liaison teams to reach out to the groups before the event to see if we can set expectations that we have of how people should behave during the event, and then gather any information from them as to what they would like to see, how they would like to see the event go."
On de-escalation tactics and what has worked in the past:
Captain Craig Dobson: "If we do have to go in and make arrests and we identify that we might be the problem, we might be the agitation, we will remove ourselves physically from that to try and de-escalate and encourage the people through our sound truck to just continue on with the demonstration that they're doing."
On why they don't arrest people that are in the middle of committing a criminal act every time:
Lt. Franz Schoening: "To go in and put hands on that person and arrest him safely without enflaming the rest of the crowd because they don't understand what we're trying to do, who we're trying to go in to arrest. So, we do the best we can, but sometimes it's just not safe to try and grab the one person or five people or 20 people that are engaging in criminal violent activity."
The difference between crowd management and crowd control:
Captain Craig Dobson: "When we start determining the risks outweigh our ability to communicate with the group or the group itself to be able to control itself, then you'll start seeing us moving in and putting officers on streets to block and help direct that crowd. That's our next step. If that works, great. Then, we'll back off from that and if it starts to flow again and work for us and it looks like they are able to get back and are able to control themselves and keep it peaceful. If that doesn't work, then we have to start looking at maybe making arrests."
On seizing weapons from an individual and what they can legally do:
Captain Craig Dobson: "So, there's a myriad of laws that we have to sift through and then when we encounter different weapons, we have to make that decision of can we seize it? Is it safe for us to seize it at that point and time. At times it's OK for people, because of the law, they can carry certain weapons and legally we have no right to be able to take them depending on the circumstances."
In a video posted to YouTube earlier this week, Mayor Ted Wheeler publicly condemned any acts of violence and those that are coming here to commit them, saying flat out, "We don't want you here." His statement came two days after Police Chief Danielle Outlaw shared the same message.
The Associated Press contributed to this story