Mayor Sam Adams wrapped up a press conference Thursday morning by saying the city would take its monitoring of the Occupy Portland movement and encampment "day by day."
This week concerns grew over drugs and safety issues at the around-the-clock downtown protest camp at Chapman Park and Lownsdale Square, which are between Southwest 3rd and 4th avenues at Main and Salmon streets.
The scheduled press conference came after Tuesday's
arrest of a suspected marijuana dealer and a short police search and recovery of a missing girl, in addition to Wednesday afternoon's scuffle that ended with
police taking an armed man into custody near the encampment.
KOIN Local 6 asked the mayor if other groups would be allowed to camp in the park even if he did not agree with the message, and he said yes.
"If the Westboro Baptist Church wanted to occupy a portion of the park over a free speech issue--if other, you know, groups that whose message I passionately disagree with seek to do that--we would approach this in the same balanced way," said Adams.
Adams, who is leaving for a 10-day trade mission to Asia, put Commissioner Amanda Fritz in charge of decisions regarding the camp during his leave.
The Occupy Portland movement began Oct. 6.
--Toshio Suzuki contributed to this report
