page_title: Ted Wheeler
section_title: George Floyd protests
hierarchical_section_title: Ted Wheeler / Political career / Mayoral tenure / George Floyd protests
caption_attribution_description: English: Protest sign against w:Portland, Oregon mayor w:Ted Wheeler's allowal of the w:Portland Police Bureau to fire tear gas during the 2020 w:George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon.
context_page_description: Edward Tevis Wheeler is an American Democratic Party politician who has been the Mayor of Portland, Oregon, since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016.
  Wheeler was elected in the 2016 Portland mayoral election and is running for reelection in 2020. He has been described as a moderate Democrat.
context_section_description: On May 30, 2020, Wheeler imposed a curfew on Portland during the Black Lives Matter protests (sparked by the death of George Floyd, the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, and the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, earlier in the year). Critics of the curfew argued that police officers would have an incentive to restrict free speech and incite violence on peaceful protesting using crowd-control methods such as tear gas and stun grenades, both of which were deployed on crowds of demonstrators in Portland and nationwide. This earned him the nickname Tear Gas Teddy. On June 2, Wheeler lifted the curfew due to his perception of a "significant [peaceful] shift in the tenor." Wheeler also requested the deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland in response to protests following the May 2020 killing of George Floyd but Oregon governor Kate Brown refused. 
  
  In response to the Portland Police Bureau's use of tear gas on protestors, Portland organization Don't Shoot PDX filed a class-action lawsuit against the city on June 5, 2020. Wheeler expressed concern over use of tear gas, but has not banned its use, stating:
  I stand in solidarity with our nonviolent demonstrators, who are sending a strong message that we are long overdue for meaningful reform and restorative justice. Our community has serious concerns about the use of CS gas for crowd management, particularly during a time when we’re battling a pandemic. I share those concerns. Today, I directed Portland Police Chief Jami Resch that gas should not be used unless there is a serious and immediate threat to life safety, and there is no other viable alternative for dispersal. I strongly believe that gas should not be used to disperse crowds of nonviolent protestors or for general crowd management purposes. It should only be used in response to violence that threatens life safety. My priority and focus are to protect the lives of demonstrators, our first responders, and the people in custody at the Justice Center.
  On June 15, Wheeler called for an overhaul of Portland's police oversight system, which he said doesn't have "any real teeth."
  On July 17, federal DHS agents were deployed to protect US government buildings and personnel amid violence in Portland. In a news conference, Wheeler called the deployment "counterproductive" and demanded that the troops be removed from the city. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley also condemned the federal deployment as an authoritarian abuse of power; the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, Billy J. Williams, called for an investigation, and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a federal lawsuit against DHS.
  On July 22, Wheeler joined protesters, but was booed by them for his actions as Portland Police Commissioner and the Portland Police's own response to the protests. The crowd chanted "Fuck Ted Wheeler" and "Quit Your Job" as he spoke. After speaking, Wheeler and at least five security guards went to the front of the protest area. Wheeler was caught in tear gas released by federal agents. Wheeler left after the first round of tear gas, after which Portland Police declared a riot.
  On August 7 there were violent clashes between protesters and police. Wheeler directly addressed the protesters, saying, "You are not demonstrating, you are attempting to commit murder." This was made alongside PPD reports that the protesters were attempting to "vandalise and set fire to the precinct" and at least two confirmed reports of unprovoked attacks on elderly citizens. Wheeler predicted that "there would be further attacks on public buildings" and that the protesters were "a prop in the election campaign for Donald Trump and "reinforcing the stereotype that anarchists have gone wild in Portland".
caption: Protest sign complaining about Wheeler's use of violence during the protests
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