PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Police Bureau held a press conference Wednesday to address several acts of vandalism in the city that happened last week as the agency prepared to clear pro-Palestinian protesters occupying the Portland State University library.
Joined by Mayor Ted Wheeler and federal law enforcement officials, Police Chief Bob Day said that he didn't want to address any individual cases or groups, but "behavior." The chief underlined that the city would protect free speech under the First Amendment, but would not accept violence or vandalism.
Day pointed to a flyer shared on social media that listed 10 downtown businesses and urged activists to "take whatever autonomous action feels good." Several of those businesses were vandalized during a pro-Palestinian march from the South Park Blocks into downtown last Wednesday.
While the bulk of protesters marched peacefully through the streets, chanting slogans and holding signs, video showed black-clad figures breaking off from the main group to smash windows and spray graffiti.
Upon further questioning, Day indicated that police were not aware of the flyers circulating until after the event.
Early the next morning, more than a dozen police vehicles were torched at a training yard. According to initial details released by PPB, officers responded shortly before 2 a.m. to a training center on Northeast Airport Way. Within a fenced lot adjoining the building, over a dozen police training vehicles were on fire when they arrived.
The agency said that there were no injuries and flames did not damage the building. In a later update from PPB, a spokesperson said that 17 vehicles suffered some degree of damage. Some were a complete loss, ranging from older Crown Victoria cruisers to newer police SUVs.
Police immediately said that the fires were an act of arson, later adding that a masked person could be seen on surveillance video cutting through the fence and using an "ignition pouch" to set the fires. Video hasn't been made publicly available.
Law enforcement officials didn't provide any updates on the arson case during Wednesday's press conference, but did acknowledge that a blog post online by a group calling itself "Rachel Corrie's Ghost Brigade" took credit for the arson. The same post urged demonstrators at PSU to violently resist attempts to dislodge their encampment.
Rachel Corrie was a nonviolent activist for pro-Palestinian movements. In 2003, she was protesting the Israeli military's demolition of Palestinian homes in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. She was crushed to death when the driver of an armored Israeli bulldozer did not stop, despite the fact that she was wearing an orange visibility vest and speaking through a bullhorn.
KGW was able to independently verify the existence of the blog post and the flyer referenced by PPB, if not their validity.
Doug Olson, Special Agent in Charge of Oregon for the FBI, and U.S. Attorney Natalie Wright both made brief remarks, stressing their cooperation with local authorities and expressing concern about the "uptick in violence."
Of the 31 people arrested during the PSU protests, Day said, 27 were being prosecuted by the Multnomah County District Attorney's office. The majority of arrests were for second-degree criminal trespass and included no other charges, while five included either assault or attempted assault on a public safety officer. Just two included second-degree burglary charges.
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Day mentioned that training begins this month for Portland's new Rapid Response Team — essentially a reboot of the riot squad that stepped down en masse in June 2021 — and a widespread rollout of officer bodycams is set to happen over the summer.
