PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and three Portland metro area district attorneys say they are putting federal leaders “on notice” amid concerns over alleged unlawful force used by federal agents in the state.
In a letter sent Tuesday, Attorney General Rayfield along with Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton and Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth asked the leaders of federal agencies to “immediately halt unlawful and reckless actions” by federal officers in the state.
The letter, sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, claims DHS agents have a six-month pattern of using excessive force – including incidents in which federal officers used munitions that struck Portland police and Oregon State Police officers, along with incidents in which tear-gas deployments “endangered” residents and law enforcement.
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The letter goes on to claim that Oregon officials have documented similar actions outside of the Portland metro area – claiming federal agents have escalated basic encounters and turned them into “volatile” situations…