AP file photo
Police are asking the public for help locating a woman accused of assault near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, Oregon, after one of the agency’s “dialogue liaison officers”, sworn personnel responsible for maintaining a safe space for protesters, lost sight of her.Portland police said that just before 8.45 pm on Tuesday, a dialogue liaison officer monitoring a gathering outside the ICE building in South Portland was alerted to a reported assault.Portland police reported that the DLO followed the woman, a White female with a large septum piercing who was wearing a black mask and carrying a backpack, while attempting to engage her and “hear her side of the story.”The woman ignored the DLO’s order and ran, leading police to respond and start an investigation.Officials said a detective from the Major Crimes Unit has been assigned to the case, but no details about the alleged assault have been released.”PPB members continue to conduct follow-up investigations into criminal activity and will forward cases to the Multnomah County District Attorney for prosecution when feasible,” the news release read, as reported by Fox News.”Sometimes arrests are not made at the scene when tensions are high, and arrests are made at a later date.” DLOs are sworn police officers who serve as liaisons and “cannot get involved in enforcement action.” They were established to “build relationships with protesters” in the aftermath of Portland’s violent 2020 protests, as per the city’s website. This comes after US President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of military forces to Portland to combat domestic terrorism, following a recent surge in federal agents in the city.“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary troops to protect war-ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” Trump said through a post on Truth Social.
