The Portland Police Bureau cast its use of confidential informants as part of a “measured response” that allows officers to focus on arresting lawbreakers rather than using force indiscriminately against crowds.
The Oregonian/OregonLive first revealed the use of what authorities call “Confidential Reliable Sources” in arrests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building after reviewing probable cause affidavits in the 50 protest cases filed since demonstrations began this summer at the complex.
The newspaper’s reporting was in focus at a Friday press conference that police had planned ahead of the “No Kings” rallies that could bring tens of thousands to downtown Portland.
Police Commander Craig Dobson told reporters that the bureau was “not necessarily” using informants at rallies, but then acknowledged that “we will use resources to identify those committing crimes.”
Dobson declined to comment when asked if the sources were paid.
Police spokesperson Sgt. Kevin Allen was more expansive in a written statement, confirming The Oregonian/OregonLive’s reporting that informants are sometimes plainclothes officers.
Allen said the Police Bureau does not deploy confidential sources during lawful demonstrations protected by the First Amendment, but restricts them to events where “there is reason to believe crimes will be committed.”
“Using CRSs ensures that we can make targeted arrests when crimes are committed, then disengage,” he said in a statement, using an acronym for confidential reliable sources.
“We have found that most crowds understand that we are there to make arrests based on probable cause,” he said. “We believe that has built trust in our community.”
References to informants previously surfaced in criminal affidavits in 2021, when Portland was still shaken from regular demonstrations. By then, the protesters were fewer in number and often clad entirely in black.
Allen acknowledged those prior reports, saying: “This is nothing new.”
Mike German, a California police reform advocate and former FBI agent, told the newspaper Thursday that the use of informants can give rise to fears of agent provocateurs, like the fictional molotov cocktail-hurling officer portrayed in the recent film “One Battle After Another.”
It’s unclear if Portland’s police informants attempt to blend in by wearing the typical black clothing of sometimes violent protesters.
Defense attorneys say Multnomah County prosecutors withhold the identities of informants until the eve of trial, citing the risk that sources will be doxxed or worse. Most criminal cases settle well before trial.
German, the reformer, said the high-level of secrecy makes it difficult for those outside of law enforcement to be sure confidential sources are acting appropriately.
“The problem is the lack of public accountability over the use of informants, which causes greater public suspicion of the intent of these individuals — that they’re not acting as mere observers,” German said.
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