Individuals Try to Cause Water Damage to Offices, Protest Blocks North Lombard for Hours

August 18, 2020 02:19

  Follow @PortlandPolice

On August 17, 2020, a group of about 200 people gathered in Kenton Park at 8417 North Brandon Avenue for a march that began about 9:45p.m. The march proceeded south to the 1800 block of North Lombard Street which is the offices of the Portland Police Association. During past events, that location has been the target of multiple arson fires and severe vandalism.

Among the chants from the crowd was, "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don't get it? Burn it down!"

When the crowd reached the PPA, it blocked traffic for about an hour. The building was defaced with a large amount of graffiti. Portland Police then received a call from an alarm company that there were people breaking into the building from the rear. Officers issued a warning to the crowd that Police Bureau has learned people near the PPA building on North Lombard Street may be attempting to force entry into the building. Anyone participating in criminal behavior, including burglary and/or vandalism, are subject to arrest and/or citation. They were told to cease attempts to enter or damage the PPA building and move away from the building so officers may check the building. Failure to follow this order may result in use of crowd control agents, including, but not limited to, tear gas and/or impact weapons.

The officers in the sound truck were targeted with a powerful green laser. The light from those types of lasers is capable of causing permanent eye damage.

Officers moved in and discovered someone had broken through protective plywood covering and broke a window to gain access. They attempted to flood the building with a hose. Officers removed the hose. The amount of damage is not known at this time.

In an attempt to deescalate the situation, officers disengaged and stayed away from the event. A smoke canister was deployed to help the officers leave safely. The crowd remained for several hours in the street, but they were otherwise peaceful and officers had no further contact with them.

No arrests were made, no force used, no injuries.

### PPB ###

*************

---

Email News Releases

Get News Releases from the PPB directly to your inbox.

Open Data Portal

Datasources from the Portland Police Bureau.

Social Media

Social Media and Podcasts from PPB.

---

Media Relations

Police Media Resources

Strategic Communications Unit
PPBPIO@police.portlandoregon.gov
Phone: 503-823-0830
1111 SW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97204

---

Recent Headlines:

PPB News Archives


           

© OpenStreetMap contributors