Another riot broke out in Portland late Tuesday as a mob broke into and set fire to a police union building.
Unrest in Oregons largest city has unfolded nightly since late May.
The crowd of several hundred arrived outside the Portland Police Associations office and used vehicles and fencing to block off the road outside the building. Rioters started vandalizing the office with graffiti while others pulled plywood off of doors and windows.
Just after 11 p.m., several people began trying to break into the office. Portland police officers in the area told them to stop over loudspeaker, but the group ignored the police. The mob attacked a woman wearing an American flag as a cape when she tried putting out a fire they started next to the building.
Because of the efforts to break into the building and multiple fires, the Portland Police Bureau declared an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to leave the area.
As officers moved in to secure the building, rioters hurled projectiles like rocks and bricks, striking several officers. One officer was struck by an unknown alkaline substance, the bureau said in an incident summary.
A few blocks away, someone unleashed gunfire following a fight in the parking lot of a convenience store. Officers arrived at the location to investigate but left after finding no one was shot. Everyone present refused to speak to officers and the crowd chanted, “We dont need you.” People threw items at officers as they drove away.
Rioters returned to the police union office and broke in around 1 a.m., inflicting damage and setting fire to the building, prompting officers to declare a riot.
Officers forcefully dispersed the crowd and most people left the area by 3:30 a.m. They used crowd control munitions but not tear gas.
Several arrests were made. Details werent immediately made public.
Portland officials have struggled to quell near-nightly violence since May. Rioters have regularly changed their targets, initially focusing on the Justice Center, a county building that houses a jail and a sheriffs office. They later turned to the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, a federal building. The Trump administration on July 4 sent federal assets to Portland because police failed to protect the building.
After the state agreed to help quell the violence around the courthouse, rioters began targeting the Penumbra Kelly Building east of downtown. The building includes county and local law enforcement offices.
Rioters previously targeted the police associations building, setting it on fire on July 18.
The union didnt respond to a request for comment. Daryl Turner, a police officer who heads the union, said last month that localRead More From Source
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