Police: Protesters attempt to flood Portland Police Association building using hose, no arrests made

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    PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — Protesters blocked streets for hours and attempted to cause water damage to the police union building in north Portland on Monday.

At 9:45 p.m., about 200 people gathered in Kenton Park then marched south to the Portland Police Association building, located in the 1800 block of North Lombard Street.

The PPA building has been the target of multiple arson fires and vandalism over the past few months.

According to police, the crowd was chanting: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it? Burn it down!”

Once at the PPA building, the crowd blocked traffic and defaced the building with graffiti.

Police said they received a call from an alarm company stating that people were breaking into the back of the building.

Verbal warnings were issued to the crowd to stop attempts to enter of damage the building. Police said anyone participating in criminal behavior was subject to arrest and/or citation.

Officers in the sound truck were targeted with a powerful green laser, according to police.

Police said officers later discovered that people from the crowd had broken through protective plywood covering and broke a window to gain access. They then attempted to flood the building with a hose, police said.

Officers removed the hose. Police said the amount of damage is not known at this time.

In an attempt to deescalate the situation, police said officers disengaged and stayed away from the protest. A smoke canister was deployed to help officers leave safely.

The crowd remained in the street for several hours, but police said they were “otherwise peaceful.”

No arrests were made on Monday evening.

Monday’s protest comes after a group of people associated with a downtown Portland protest chased a man in a pickup truck and attacked him after he crashed on Sunday. The man was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover.

Police ask anyone with additional information about the ongoing investigation to contact Detective Brent Christensen at 503-823-2087 or at Brent.Christensen@portlandoregon.gov.

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