Holly MatkinPortland, OR – Rioters attempted to burn down the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) East Precinct on Wednesday night before attacking police with rocks and nearly running over several officers.
Portland police were dealing with two separate mass gatherings on Aug. 5 – a practice which has become commonplace during the past two months of nightly rioting in the downtown area.
One of the groups blocked traffic at the intersection of Southwest Main Street and Southwest 3rd Avenue “for several hours,” but the PPB did not intervene or interact with any of the demonstrators, according to a department press release.
Meanwhile, several hundred people gathered in the area of Floyd Light Park in the 700-block of Southeast 106th Avenue and proceeded to block the roadway in both directions, police said.
Members of the mob soon moved into the entryway of the PPB East Precinct garage and blocked it as rioters blocking the roadway shined “green lasers and other lights at officer who were positioned on the East Precinct roof,” according to the press release.
At one point, a member of the group approached the front doors of the precinct and attempted to tear down a security camera, police said.
“Other people in the group began spray painting the camera as well as the front doors of the precinct,” according to PPB. “Lots of members of the group were seen wearing helmets and carrying shields.”
PPB started issuing warnings at 9:33 p.m. that “criminal activity was occurring” and said that the peaceful protesters in the crowd “needed to vacate the area immediately,” the release stated.
Rioters responded by amping up their attacks on the precinct.
Small fire started next to the glass door. The part of the building around the is fire brick. #blacklivesmatter #protest #pdx #Portland #Oregon #BLM #acab #PortlandProtests #PDXprotests #PortlandStrong #portlandpolice pic.twitter.com/r3IGMQ3zXz
— Garrison Davis (Teargas Proof) (@hungrybowtie) August 6, 2020
“People began tearing off the boards that were protecting the glass windows of East Precinct. Several people in the group began to ram a large 2 by 4 piece of wood in to the front glass doors in an effort to shatter them,” the PPB said. “Other members of the group slammed different heavy large objects into the glass doors as well. The objects included large rocks.”
Police declared an unlawful assembly at 9:45 p.m. and repeatedly ordered the mob to disperse and leave to the south.
Most of the group ignored them.
The rioters managed to crack the glass doors of the precinct just before police declared the gathering to be a riot at 9:56 p.m.
Four minutes later, the mob barricaded the front doors of the East Precinct and attempted to burn down the building by igniting a fire using plywood and an accelerant, the PPB said.
Rioters attacked officers with commercial grade fireworks and various projectiles when they moved in to disperse the gathering, according to police.
The officers ultimately deployed crowd control munitions and CS gas to help break the riot up.
#Antifa have started a fire on the front door of the Portland Police east precinct. They tore off the barricade and placed tinder around the fire. They’re trying to burn down the building. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/2UN7o21dZy
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 6, 2020
That’s when several officers were nearly run down by a rioter behind the wheel of a truck, according to the PPB.
Police were attacked with “heavy rocks the size of shot puts,” in addition to other projectiles, according to the department.
“Some of these rocks successfully hit officers,” the PPB said.
The crowd was pushed away, but police ended up having to disperse them twice more because they kept coming back.
For the first time since the riots began in Portland, antifa attacked the east precinct, located far on the east side of the city. Rioters immediately began disabling security cameras around the building. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/s6hoPPwAs1
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 6, 2020
Meanwhile, someone left a “suspicious device” outside the precinct, leading to concerns that it could have been a bomb, police said.
Investigators later determined it was not an explosive device.
A memorial honoring slain PPB Officer Thomas Jeffries was spray painted with the letters “BLM” during the overnight chaos, KGW reported.
Officer Jeffries, 35, was fatally shot in the line of duty on July 20, 1997, as he was attempting to arrest a gunman accused of shooting a seven-year-old child, according to the Portland Police Museum and Historical Society website.
He left behind his pregnant wife.
The memorial to fallen officer Thomas Jeffries was tagged last night during a riot at Portland's East Precinct. He died in 1997 pursuing a man wanted for shooting a child. #portlandpolice @KGWNews https://t.co/eVVFna0BBA pic.twitter.com/6LbzYrJ2PB
— Eric Patterson (@KGWphotog) August 6, 2020
Eight people were arrested during the overnight mayhem, according to the PPB.
Hillsboro, Oregon resident Kiley Delgado, 28, was charged with interfering with a police officer and rioting.
Paul Lister, a 21-year-old resident of Lexington, Kentucky, was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, interfering with a police officer, and rioting.
Krystopher Donnelly, 26, was charged with interfering with a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, attempted assault on a public safety officer, and rioting.
Portland resident Mohamed Ali, 22, was arrested on charges of interfering with a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and rioting.
Davis Beeman, a 38-year-old resident of Vancouver, Washington, was charged with interfering with a police officer and reckless driving.
Portland resident Michael Elias, 39, was arrested on charges of interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct.
Adrian De Los Rios, a 39-year-old Minneapolis resident, was charged with interfering with a police officer, resisting arrest, escape, attempted assault on a public safety officer, rioting, and criminal mischief.
Derek Burros, 28, was arrested on charges of interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct.
