Durkan Joins 5 Mayors In Decrying Federal Officers At Protests

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan joined leaders from five cities in a letter sent to the federal government on Monday, denouncing the recent deployment of federal forces amid ongoing protests over police brutality. Other signees include the mayors of Portland, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City and Washington, D.C.

The letter, addressed to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, follows the arrival of federal agents in Portland, Oregon, including members of Customs and Border Protection. The New York Times reports the Department of Homeland Security has placed 2,000 officials on standby and already sent "rapid deployment teams" to other cities, including Seattle.

From the letter:

"Deployment of federal forces in the streets of our community has not been requested nor is it acceptable. While U.S. Marshals have had jurisdiction inside federal courthouses for decades, it is unacceptable and chilling that this administration has formed and deployed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Rapid Deployment Unit and is sending federal authorities to conduct crowd control on city streets and detain individuals."

In Portland, the federal actions have been decried by city and state leaders, including state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who filed a federal lawsuit in the matter last week. Over the past several days, protesters near a federal courthouse have been met by unidentified, camouflaged federal officers who have deployed tear gas and used force on demonstrators.

Last Thursday, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported on an incident where agents in an unmarked van grabbed two men off the street. A few days before, a protester was critically injured after U.S. Marshals struck him with a crowd control round.

A video posted on Twitter Saturday night showed a protester standing in front of several camoflauged officers as they repeatedly hit him with batons and used pepper spray. Other videos showed a large showed a large group, including a "wall of moms" formed to protect protesters, subject to tear gas and flashbangs.

In Monday's letter, the mayors raised concerns over a lack of clear oversight and a failure to comply with rules in place for other law enforcement members.

"Federal officers have not been trained for urban community policing, including critical crowd management and de-escalation techniques. There is no oversight of the actions of federal forces. Importantly, in Portland, they do not even appear to be complying with a federal court order regarding the use of tear gas and other crowd control tools."

The federal order mentioned in the letter bars the Portland Police Bureau from using tear gas without first declaring a riot.

In Seattle, where police use of crowd control devices in June prompted similar measures, a ban passed unanimously by the City Council is set to go into effect on Sunday, July 26. Durkan and Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best filed a legal challenge Friday, asking a federal judge to block the ordinance until it can be further reviewed.

The Associated Press reports constitutional law experts have called the federal deployment a "red flag" and a threat to states' rights.

"The idea that there's a threat to a federal courthouse and the federal authorities are going to swoop in and do whatever they want to do without any cooperation and coordination with state and local authorities is extraordinary outside the context of a civil war," said Michael Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University.

President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his administration's actions, as more leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives denounced them. On Monday, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also spoke out against the use of federal officers at protests.

The mayors' letter concludes with a direct request for the federal government to take "immediate action to withdraw your forces and agree to no further unilateral deployments in our cities."

Read the full letter below: