Small protest targets Portland commissioner’s house, hours after failed vote to cut police funding

Portland protest on Nov. 5, 2020

A small group of protesters for police reform amassed in the pouring rain late Thursday in North Portland, marched to Commissioner Dan Ryan’s house and damaged the property in the minutes before police chased the group away.Mark Graves/The Oregonian

A small group of protesters for police reform amassed in the pouring rain late Thursday in North Portland, marched to Commissioner Dan Ryan’s house and damaged the property in the minutes before police chased the group away.

The demonstration followed a City Council vote against a proposal that would have cut millions of dollars from the Portland police budget. For months, demonstrators have demanded steep cuts to end the disproportionate policing of Black Portlanders.

Ryan, who joined the council in September, was viewed as a crucial third vote for the $18 million in proposed cuts. He voted no.

The commissioner’s house was dark when protesters arrived around 9 p.m. Some people lit flares near his house and shattered some glass on the property. Other people threw objects at the house and smashed a large flower pot.

Dozens of state troopers and sheriff’s deputies soon arrived, declared the gathering unlawful and ordered people to leave. Officers pressed people north of Ryan’s house, and the crowd scattered into smaller groups. Police and a small group protesters faced off in a residential intersection for several minutes.

Ryan could not be reached late Thursday. But Mayor Ted Wheeler denounced the damage.

“Last night’s criminal destruction and attack on Commissioner Ryan’s home are reprehensible," Wheeler said in a statement Friday morning. "Violence, criminal destruction and intimidation are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Those responsible must be found, investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I condemn anyone who uses violence to attempt to silence the voices of others.”

Portland protest on Nov. 5, 2020

A small group of protesters threw paint and damaged a window at Commissioner Dan Ryan’s house hours after a City Council vote against a proposal that would have cut millions of dollars from the Portland police budget.Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty also said the vandalism crossed a line.

“I want to be clear: we can disagree and be upset over these issues, but I do not condone what took place at the Commissioner’s home last night and those who engaged in the acts need to be held responsible,” she said in a statement Friday morning. "Fighting for systemic change is messy and complicated, but what shouldn’t be complicated is recognizing when lines have been crossed, and that’s what happened last night.”

After the crowd left Ryan’s neighborhood, a few dozen protesters then went to the nearby police union building. That group mostly left by 11 p.m.

Two people were arrested in connection with the demonstration: One on accusations of reckless driving and attempting to elude in a vehicle, and another on accusations of interfering with a peace officer, resisting arrest and failure to display a license. A third person was criminally cited on accusations of disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer.

Firefighters also responded to Portland City Hall about 10 p.m. on a report of doors on fire, according to law enforcement officials. Authorities think a burning item “was placed or thrown at the door,” causing the fire.

On-site security extinguished the blaze, which is under investigation, according to authorities. Whoever started it has not been arrested, authorities said early Friday.

Law enforcement was already on edge ahead of Thursday’s protest, after declaring a riot Wednesday after some protesters shattered the windows of several downtown businesses and a church. Gov. Kate Brown deployed the Oregon National Guard, whose members stood on the front lines.

Brown’s joint command had published a statement on Twitter warning demonstrators not to commit crimes, and also advised business and homeowners in the area “to secure items that could be taken and used as barricades or material for burning."

The march started at 8:45 p.m. from Arbor Lodge Park. Most people carried umbrellas and chanted “Black Lives Matter!”

State police cars patrolled the area surrounding the park and stopped at least one dozen drivers as part of a “high visibility patrol."

When the march arrived to Rosa Parks Way and Campbell Avenue, police used a loudspeaker to order people to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk. The crowd arrived at Ryan’s house minutes later.

Protesters also gathered last week outside Ryan’s house. He talked with some demonstrators for more than an hour, but ultimately would not say how he would vote on the police budget cuts.

State Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat who represents east Portland and Happy Valley and who is also chair of the House Committee on Judiciary, on Friday afternoon also criticized the vandals, saying “the collateral damage to residents and small businesses is threatening to dismantle the substantial progress that Oregon’s BIPOC communities have achieved over the last several months.”

“I am disturbed to see small businesses repeatedly targeted for destruction when many of those same storefronts proudly support the social justice movement,” Bynum said. She said she supports District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s efforts to "hold to account people who commit acts of violence, endanger the health of peaceful protestors and damage the livelihoods of our downtown businesses.”

Authorities said the demonstration marked the fourth night in the past week that people have vandalized and disrupted Ryan’s home and neighborhood.

Ryan, along with Wheeler and Commissioner Amanda Fritz, all voted no to the proposed police cuts earlier Thursday. They agreed significant changes need to be made to the Portland Police Bureau and the county’s criminal justice system. But they said taking more money away from the bureau without a more thoroughly developed plan is not in the city’s best interest.

“We must remember that cuts happen quickly, but building new resources that achieve proven results takes time and intention,” Ryan said, urging the government body to move forward “methodically.”

Hardesty and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who proposed the cuts to the police budget and voted yes, noted the money would have been reallocated to community needs such as food assistance and legal defense for Portlanders facing evictions.

Noelle Crombie, Mark Graves, Everton Bailey Jr. and Jim Ryan of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive

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