Police: Multiple Arrests Made During Riot Outside Portland’s North Precinct

Nine people were arrested Saturday in Portland, Oregon, during a riot outside the North Precinct Community Policing Center.

The event that began Friday night resulted in heavy damage to police cars and injuries to officers, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said in a news release:

A crowd of 150-200 people gathered at Irving Park at 707 Northeast Fremont Street and began marching around 9:30p.m., blocking traffic. In the march, many individuals wore protective gear including helmets, eye protection, gas masks, and body armor. Some carried homemade wooden shields.
Officers placed unoccupied police vehicles parked on Northeast Emerson Street on the southwest side of the precinct and yellow police line tape across the road. That was done with the intention of keeping the crowd away from the building. In past protests there have been attempts to commit arson and burn the occupied building.

Journalist Andy Ngô tweeted video footage Saturday of the crowd outside the north precinct:

Hundreds of #antifa have now arrived at the Portland Police north precinct, the building they’ve attacked multiple times and set on fire on other nights. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/YHOuGvFIrg

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 22, 2020

Police continuously warned the crowd not to enter city property. In response, rioters targeted the officers by throwing bottles, eggs, and green lasers in their eyes.

The crowd continued throwing objects and officers retreated out of sight in an effort to deescalate the situation:

Over the next three hours, individuals in the crowd pelted the police vehicles with softball-sized rocks, glass bottles, golf balls, ball bearings, metal railroad spikes (photo), and plastic eggs filled with paint (photo). There were also balloons filled with feces thrown on the cars and even a torn up street sign was used to vandalize the marked police cars (photo). Windows were broken and tires were deflated (photo).

The PPB eventually issued a warning that the event was being declared an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to move to the south:

To those near NE Emerson St and NE MLK Blvd:
This gathering has been declared an unlawful assembly.
All persons near NE Emerson St and NE MLK Blvd must disperse by traveling to the SOUTH. You are ordered to disperse immediately.

— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) August 22, 2020

Ngô shared footage of the moment officers began to disperse the crowd:

This is the moment Portland Police finally moved in to clear black bloc rioters from the north precinct. #PortlandRiots #antifa pic.twitter.com/8BDc3Lnc1K

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 22, 2020

“Almost immediately the officers were pelted with objects including rocks. At 1:10 a.m., a riot was declared,” the PPB release said, adding that a vehicle tried to run over officers but was unsuccessful in injuring them.

However, one officer suffered a laceration to her leg when a rock was thrown, another officer sprained his ankle, and several others suffered bumps and bruises, the bureau stated.