Report: Federal police were told to go easy on Occupy Portland - KPTV - FOX 12

Documents obtained by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch say Obama administration officials asked police last fall not to enforce curfew on Occupy Portland protesters at Terry Schrunk Plaza.

The protesters used handcuffs and bike locks to lock themselves to a cement drum at the federal park, which neighbors two city parks that were the home of Occupy encampments.

FoxNews.com referenced an e-mail from Robert Peck, who was the commissioner of Public Buildings Service for the General Services Administration (GSA) at the time.

In the email, he wrote arrests carried out a week earlier were made "despite our request that the protesters be allowed to remain and to camp overnight, so long as they did not pose a threat to life and public safety and so long as they were not engaged in criminal activity."

"We have improved our communications with (federal police) in the region," he wrote at the time.

Peck noted the strategy had been vetted with the department's chief of staff and that his office had been in communication with the White House, "which has afforded us the discretion to fashion our approach to the Occupy issues," he wrote.

The email obtained by Judicial Watch came in response to Department of Homeland Security official Caitlin Durkovich, who wrote the federal police commander in Portland was "standing down and following GSA's request to only intervene if there is a threat to public safety."

"I want to confirm since you hold the permitting authority that FPS is not to enforce the curfew at the park and the prohibition on overnight encampments, unless of course public safety concerns arise," Durkovich wrote.

The president of Judicial Watch told FoxNews.com the e-mails were proof that the White House was protecting Occupy protesters.

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the GSA issued a statement to FOX 12, defending the agency's strategy and saying the decision was based on what local police and FPS considered necessary.

"The General Services Administration worked closely with the Portland Police Bureau and the Federal Protective Service (FPS) in maintaining the health and safety of the general public, protesters and federal employees during last year's Portland Occupy protests- however FPS and local law enforcement had the best understanding of the situation on the ground  in Terry Schrunk Park, and determined the necessary action," the statement said.

A few days after the emails, eviction notices were handed out at the main Occupy camps and police soon cleared the parks of protesters, making more than 50 arrests.

A statement from Mayor Sam Adams' office emphasized the mayor does not regulate Terry Schrunk Plaza, as it is federal property, but the statement said Portland police are "always ready to assist federal authorities in keeping the peace on its property."

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