Rioters threw paint on an elderly woman and harrassed another trying to put out a fire at Portland’s East Precinct on Thursday.
“Once again, the Portland Police Department was forced to declare a supposed protest an ‘unlawful assembly’ after assessing that the intent of the rioters was ‘to vandalize or attempt to burn down the precinct,'” according to the Daily Wire.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) on Friday shared a photo of an elderly woman wearing an orange jacket outside the precinct, whom protesters had doused in white paint:
However, the PPB wrote in a later tweet that it was not the woman in the photo who had a walker, but the other woman at the scene who tried to put out the fire rioters lit in a garbage can.
Journalist Andy Ngô shared video footage of the moments after the woman had paint sprayed on her head and face:
“Put your mask on, bitch. Put your mask on,” someone in the crowd yelled at her as she conversed with another man.
Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling shared video footage of the elderly woman with the walker outside the East Precinct as a rioter bashed what appeared to be a can of paint into a wooden barrier:
Ngô later tweeted a video of the woman as she tried to put out the garbage can fire:
“Just let her do it. Let her do it,” someone in the crowd told the protester standing between the woman and the can, adding, “It’s the highlight of her life.”
In a press release Friday, the PPB said rioters used the thank you notes on blue hearts that community members had placed on the front of the precinct to accelerate the flames.
The release continued:
An elderly community member came forward in an attempt to extinguish the fire. As she did this, group members stood in her way. As the group attempted to keep the fire ignited, several others in the group shined lasers at the security cameras affixed to East Precinct and continued tagging the building with graffiti. Shortly after, PPB with the help of OSP [Oregon State Police] began dispersing the crowd.
As officers dispersed the crowd, they were hit with projectiles ranging from glass bottles to heavy rocks. Large rebar ties were thrown into the street with the intention of popping police vehicle tires. Several police vehicles ran over these ties which caused damage to tires. While officers dispersed the crowd, several custodies were taken.
“Several arrests were made during the event outside of East Precinct, including an individual who had a loaded handgun on their person,” the PPB noted.
On Friday morning, Ngô shared photos of the rebar ties used to damage police vehicles’ tires:
At a press conference Wednesday, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell called for an end to the nightly violence, adding that it was “an attempt to either lash out against government or the establishment in general or to provoke a response from the police.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.