Portland, MultCo 'diligently working' on public safety ahead of election night

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Local officials came together Wednesday afternoon for a press conference to discuss potential unrest around Election Day.

Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day was joined by the mayor, the Multnomah County District Attorney, The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and more, to talk about how they have been preparing for the election.

Chief Day said the city and county have been "diligently working towards a level of preparation that I have not seen in my over 30 years of service."

"We want people to express their First Amendment rights but expect them to do those within the law, and we will do everything we can to facilitate that," Chief Day said.

Back in 2020, the U.S. issued a deployment of federal forces as George Floyd protests unfolded in cities across the country -- including Portland. This history of federal law enforcement within the city has led to speculation whether the same forces will be deployed if unrest returns to the streets of downtown Portland.

However, Chief Day said there are no plans for federal agents to assist in arrests within the city at this time, though PPB is currently partnering with local federal officials to plan ahead of the election.

"We are not anticipating or asking for that, but we are working with our federal partners regularly -- not from a request to have additional law enforcement officers on the ground, but from a holistic standpoint," he said. "We are not asking for and we are not seeking a repeat of that behavior from 2020."

Officials also clarified that the press conference has been in the books for a while and is not in response to the ballot box fires on Monday and is focused on safety closer to the actual election.

Watch the full press conference in the video player above.