PORTLAND, Ore. — Last month Portland police came under fire after tweeting that some milkshakes thrown during last month's dueling protests contained quick-drying cement.
The protests on June 29, between members of the Proud Boys, a far right-wing organization, and an anti-fascist group called Rose City Antifa, broke out into shouting matches and fistfights, and three people were arrested.
On July 1, the Portland Police Bureau defended the milkshakes tweet, saying that a lieutenant in the field observed "a material with a texture and smell that was consistent with concrete."
"As we get information, we want to alert the public," Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw said after the protests. "There were no ill intentions whatsoever."
The bureau presented no further evidence that the shakes contained concrete material, and was criticized for publicizing the information without confirmation. The maker of the milkshakes has received death threats, according to the Oregonian.
On Monday, the Oregonian published a July 1 report that sheds more light on how the tweet originated. The report was acquired from the Portland Police Bureau via a public records request.
The report states that a lieutenant at the protests "firmly believed" milkshakes being thrown contained a quick-drying cement substance called Quikrete.
Lt. Richard Stainbrook wrote that he was at the intersection of Southwest Morrison Street and Southwest Sixth Avenue when someone threw a milkshake at two men standing on the corner.
Stainbrook said he told two officers to take a report from the two victims, and was then approached by an woman who told him, "Those things are filled with QUIKRETE," the report said.
The woman's head and shoulders were covered in a gray-colored substance that was starting to dry, Stainbrook wrote in the report. He said he'd worked with Quikrete many times before, and that the substance on the woman reminded him of the concrete and cement mix.
"The substance on the female smelled like 'QUIKRETE'. I also noticed as the substance was drying it was turning into a chalky consistency which from my experience is consistent with drying concrete," Stainbrook wrote.
Stainbrook wrote that he saw some of the substance on the ground and that is "was also drying quickly and turning to a chalky consistency." He said he "firmly believe[d]" that the milkshakes being thrown around contained Quikrete.
"For situational awareness purposes, I broadcast over my radio that the 'Milk Shakes' being thrown around contained Quikrete," Stainbrook wrote.
Stainbrook wrote that the woman walked away before a report could be taken.
Based off the information broadcast by Stainbrook, Portland police tweeted that they'd received information that some of the milkshakes being thrown at the protests contained quick-drying cement.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.