The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) touted a professor’s remarks commending leftist activists as “deeply wedded to” nonviolence on its website Tuesday amid anti-deportation protests that have led to 60 arrests.
The PPB hosted United Kingdom-based social psychologist Clifford Stott to praise the results of “dialogue-based policing” at demonstrations in a Tuesday episode of its “Talking Beat” podcast. More than 60 people have been charged in relation to recurring protests near Portland’s immigration facility that kicked off in June, including violent crimes such as assault and depredation of property, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.
“What I see here is the emergence of a political movement in resistance to what is happening, and that is a movement that appears to me to be wedded to and embedded in norms of nonviolent protest,” Stott said in the recording.
Stott visited Portland in April to run training workshops for the PPB and observe protesters’ interactions with police, the bureau said in a statement advertising the podcast.
“Professor Stott believes Portland is showing promising results,” the PPB said, highlighting the scholars’ comments on how protesters’ use of a frog costume shown in viral footage is a Portland policing “achievement”.
“An inflatable frog has gone literally global as the brand identity of what this protest movement is about. And it’s very, very symbolic,” Stott said on the podcast. “It’s not just a funny thing, it’s a deeply meaningful, symbolic gesture. In the face of overly aggressive policing tactics, what we see is a protest community embracing a symbol of peaceful resistance. Instead of anarchists throwing Molotov cocktails, you’ve got frogs dancing in the street, and that, in my mind, is an outcome.”
“I would argue that had there been a different policing model in place in Portland, we might not be in the same situation,” Stott said. “We might not have that emergent norm of a protest community deeply wedded to the avoidance of confrontation.”
President Donald Trump has promised to deploy National Guard troops to Portland to protect the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building, citing ongoing violence.
The PPB also touted its use of uniformed “Dialogue Liaison Officers (DLOs)” to manage crowds, a method it began using in 2016 and expanded in 2020. The DLOs can make arrests, although “their mission isn’t enforcement, but connection,” according to the bureau.
“In Europe, dialogue policing models have transformed how officers manage large events—from soccer matches to political demonstrations — by focusing on communication and facilitation rather than control.
“The model doesn’t mean ignoring criminal behavior — it means being precise and proportional … Professor Stott added that this kind of differentiation — knowing who in the crowd is peaceful and who may be acting unlawfully — is essential to maintaining legitimacy and trust.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported a 1,000% increase in assaults on ICE officers since Trump returned to office and ramped up mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
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