Jamison Sq; Photo: Victoria Taft

The damage from Occupy Portland’s planned riot for today, March 4th (March Forth!) and possible May Day melee can be minimized.
 
Here’s how (after the jump):

Yesterday on the program I talked with former Multnomah County Sheriff and Gresham Police, Chief Bernie Giusto, who also blogs here at www.VictoriaTaft.com. He had some suggestions on what should be done to plan for Occupy riots. I added a couple of my own. Together we have Five Ways to Minimize Damage from Occupy Riots:

 
1) Give Occupy Portland a map.

Occupy Portland rarely, if ever, gets a permit for any of their planned riots. It’s easy to get one. It allows protesters to march in the street as long as they work out a route with the cops. Without one they can’t march in the street. But because Occupy Portland doesn’t appear to care much about getting along with the rest of the citizens, they don’t bother to get one.

Occupy’s Slogan is Found on Twitter

A map and permit allow the police to know where the planned route is so they can stage officers along the route to keep the peace. Occupy Portland’s planned defiance and disregard for the law means that the taxpayers have to pay for even more overtime as cops place more officers on standby in case the need for them arises.

Giusto says when Occupy Portland gets to Waterfront Park this morning Portland Police should hand them a map and tell them: If you don’t comply we will arrest your participants.

2) And Then Arrest Them

Jamison Sq, Photo: Victoria Taft

Work out deal with the Sheriff–as Vera Katz and Bernie Giusto did after the melee of the May Day riots–to get plenty of jail beds ready for protesters.

And then take them to jail. None of this catch and release stuff. If someone is not obeying the law or is doing the usual black-bloc-bottle-throwing-violence-and-vandalism in this environment, they should go to jail. This ensures less violence in the future.

As Giusto points out: If you arrest ten then 20 leave. If you arrest 100 then 200 leave. And so on.

And then prosecute them.

3) Protect Businesses

The violent children of Occupy are bankrolled by the unions. Who bought all those purty umbrellas you’ll be seeing in the news today anyhoo?

This is an anti corporate” (read: anti business) planned riot. Police should be watching these sites which unions and their Occupy useful idiots have been targeting: Dosha Salon, Pioneer Place, Chase Bank, B of A. They should have officers there PROTECTING THESE SITES.

If they don’t, they should:

4) Encourage businesses to hire real security.

Portland Police have advised people not to come to downtown Portland between 1pm and 5pm today because they just don’t know what chaos will ensue.  While I understand that advice, it’s basically capitulating to these blackmailers which only creates problems for us in the future. And where does that leave the businesses? I’ll tell you where: without customers.

After Hurricane Katrina high value businesses hired private, heavily armed security to, ah, dissuade looters from entering. These were former IDF and no nonsense Blackwater types. The Portland Business Alliance should hire them and protect their members.

5) Send the unions a bill for the taxpayers’ real costs and businesses’ loss of income from these planned riots. AFL-CIO, ILWU, SEIU, AFSCME all have had a hand in supplying help and bankrolling the Occupiers in Portland. They’ve given birth to them, nurtured them and have kept them on life support.

As lawyers fish for deep pockets in a lawsuit, so should the City of Portland in recovering the costs for its citizens from the lawlessness of Occupy Portland.

And, as an added bonus:
6) Snow on them.