The Portland Police North Precinct was the scene of a protest on Saturday. The police bureau sent out a press release with photos of a dumpster in flames in their parking garage, a coffee shop with windows broken, and a bus shelter with shattered glass. Law enforcement said that a group caused the damage.
It happened around 8:00p.m. when a group gathered in Peninsula Park at 700 North Rosa Parks Way. The group carried their protest to the streets from the park an hour later. Police said the march included vandalizing property in the 6000 block of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. There were breaking of windows and launching of explosive devices.
Businesses we’re not spared. One bank (in the 5700 block of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) was defaced with graffiti. Another bank (also in the 5700 block of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) had its windows broken as well. In addition, 3 bus shelters were damaged.
The main target, however, was not banks or coffee shops. The group’s destination was the Portland Police North Precinct. This is where protestors started a fire in a dumpster. Police reported that officers responded and tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers, but were unsuccessful. Portland Fire and Rescue responded to fully extinguish the flames.
At press time there were no reports of arrests made. The release from the police to the press stated that the investigation is continuing.
Portland police have been a target for years as cops have killed mentally ill residents. Kendra James and Jahar Perez was killed and no cops were jailed. There was also stories about a cop supporting Nazi causes that was fired then brought back on the force. Activist lawmaker JoAnn Hardesty has pushed the city to demilitarize local policing by adding non-police teams to respond to calls in a way that is nonviolent and respectful to residents.
