Portland police arrested a man on Sunday after he allegedly shattered the window of a police cruiser and pepper-sprayed the vehicle’s interior before getting into a vehicle and driving away.
An officer who was inside the vehicle doing paperwork during the incident is recovering from his injuries, according to a press release.
The suspect, John Russell, 41, has been charged with assaulting a public safety officer, aggravated harassment, and criminal mischief in the first degree. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center, Fox News reported.
Russell was stopped about six blocks from the incident and was arrested.
“Inside the vehicle,” the report said, “officers found a window punch tools, pepper spray, throwing knives, a laser pointer, a slingshot, rocks, and more. … The items were seized as evidence.”
Press Release: Subject Smashes Patrol Vehicle Window, Deploys Pepper Spray-Captured Nearby, Weapons Seized (Photo)
Link: https://t.co/go5OZBwhk1 pic.twitter.com/VCuRsQDZqx— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) October 4, 2020
“As police officers, we know that the vast majority of community members who approach and contact us do so with no intention to do us harm,” said Chief Chuck Lovell. “However, attacks like this one remind us all that there is the potential for people to try to take direct violent action against police officers. I applaud the officer for remaining calm and locating the involved subject and thank our investigators for furthering this investigation.”
Portland continues to see protests consistently since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Police made six arrests Sunday night, according to KGW8.
