Portland May Pull Forces From Terror Unit

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland, Ore., may be the first U.S. city to pull its forces out of a post-Sept. 11 joint terrorism task force.

Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard (search) says the FBI has used local officers to trample on the rights of Muslim citizens.

"There are plenty of people who get whooped up by the hysteria of the moment and are willing to subjugate our civil rights that people have died for in order to meet some political end. I'm not willing to do that," he said.

The FBI mistakenly detained Muslim convert Brandon Mayfield (search) for two weeks in connection with the Madrid train bombings after a bad fingerprint match.

The Portland Police Department (search) has provided as many as eight full-time officers to the task force — one-fifth of its entire staff. The FBI says losing them would be a blow to its operation.

"If you've got a guy sitting on the bench, is that a good thing for the other team? Yeah. That's good for the other team," said Dan Nielson, FBI assistant special agent in charge.

And not everyone in Portland agrees with Leonard.

"My colleagues are not looking at the big picture. Terrorism is not a federal responsibility. It's our responsibility," said Dan Saltzman, Portland city commissioner.

A vote will be held by the Portland City Council in several weeks to decide the matter.

Click in the video box near the top of the story to watch a report by FOX News' Dan Springer.