Portland Police Association Building Burned During Another Night of Rioting

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
July 19, 2020US News
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The Portland Police Association’s building was burned late Saturday as rioting continued in Oregon’s largest city with no signs of stopping.

Rioters broke into the association’s office around 10:45 p.m., according to the Portland Police Bureau, while others blocked nearby North Lombard Street with dumpsters, which were soon lit on fire.

Within a few moments of the break-in, the rioters, many of whom wore helmets and carried clubs and shields, ignited a fire inside. As the fire was set, some chanted “black lives matter!” Video footage showed a desk in the building on fire, which police officers were able to put out later.

As police officers arrived to respond to the break-in and arson, most of the rioters fled.

Officers declared a riot “due to the violent conduct of the large group creating a grave risk of public alarm,” the bureau said in a statement.

fencing-removed
In this still image from video, rioters remove fencing with a construction hammer and other tools in Portland, Ore., on July 18, 2020. (CNN)

Officers and rioters clashed. People in the crowd hurled projectiles including rocks, smoke bombs, and paint-filled balloons, injuring some officers.

Order was restored by 11:30 p.m., police officials said.

At the same time, a different crowd of hundreds of people was downtown, barricading doors around the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, a federal building. They used fencing that had been erected around two city parks where people tried establishing a so-called autonomous zone.

While most of the group’s energy was focused on the federal courthouse, others blocked a gate to the Justice Center, which typically houses several hundred inmates and police officers.

Federal officers deployed tear gas and other crowd control measures in response, according to video footage from the area.

People remained downtown for several more hours, police said.

The Portland Police Association didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Meeting

Portland officials are trying to get federal officers to stop making arrests and ultimately leave the city.

Federal officials have pushed back. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who traveled to the city on Thursday, said he would not order officers to withdraw.

“A federal courthouse is a symbol of justice—to attack it is to attack America. Instead of addressing violent criminals in their communities, local and state leaders are instead focusing on placing blame on law enforcement and requesting fewer officers in their community,” he said in a statement.

“This failed response has only emboldened the violent mob as it escalates violence day after day.”

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, told reporters in a virtual briefing Friday that he wasn’t invited to meet with Wolf and wouldn’t have met with him even if he was invited.

NTD Photo
Rioters use fencing to barricade an exit from the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, Ore., on July 17, 2020. (Mason Trinca/Getty Images)

Things appeared to be winding down before federal officers stepped up their enforcement, Wheeler asserted.

Police Chief Chuck Lovell said he did not meet with Wolf. The bureau later said that the Portland Police Association’s president, Daryl Turner, attended an event with the secretary.

Turner has spoken out against Wheeler and other officials. In a statement released July 8, he said the police union has “no confidence that City Council will stop the rioting and looting and protect the safety and livelihoods of all Portlanders.”

Officers have been called “murderers,” “pigs,” and “white supremacists” by activists and others, including members of the council, Turner said, urging Councilmembers to remind people that officers are humans and to stand up to condemn the violence unfolding in the streets.

The council is comprised of Wheeler, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, and City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero.

Wheeler is also the police commissioner.

federal officers
Federal officers prepare to disperse a crowd outside the Multnomah County Justice Center in Portland, Ore., on July 17, 2020. (Mason Trinca/Getty Images)

Hardesty, who has supported defunding the Portland police department, called on Wheeler to transfer control of the police to her.

“We know that Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner met with DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. We know Portland Police are collaborating with this federal occupying force,” she said in a statement.

Wheeler should stop denying that violence is perpetrated by his own officers and urge the police not to collaborate with federal officers, Hardestry said, adding: “I demand action right now. Mayor Wheeler, if you can’t control the police, give me the Portland Police Bureau.”

Wheeler said later Saturday that he directed staff who work for federal law enforcement to remove themselves from the police bureau’s incident command.

“While sharing a space helped facilitate clear communication, based on recent actions by federal law enforcement officers I am not comfortable having them in our space,” he said.

Wolf responded Sunday, issuing a statement calling the decision “dangerous” and arguing that it “puts lives at risk.”

“Local police & federal law enforcement benefit by regular communication—not less. This decision defies logic & plays politics with officer safety,” Wolf said on Twitter.

From The Epoch Times

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