Portland, Oregon, police announced this week that the city endured millions of dollars in damage following protests and riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Downtown businesses in Portland have sustained about $23 million in damages so far, police officials said Wednesday. Protests and riots have been occurring in the city for 41 consecutive nights, Fox Business reported, and the damage sustained has been caused by an “agitator corps,” Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said.
“We’re six weeks into this,” Davis said during a virtual news briefing. “A walk through downtown today will expose you to a scene of boarded-up windows, extensive damage to public property, and really an unfortunate scene in our city center.”
“Quite frankly, this is not sustainable,” he said. “There’s a very big difference between protests and the kind of mayhem that we’ve seen every night. … The Black Lives Matter movement is not violent. The story that we’re going to talk about today is about a small group of agitators that is attempting to hijack that message and use it as a cover for criminal activity.”
Journalist Andy Ngo tweeted on the matter, “It was stated today by Portland Police that downtown businesses have suffered an estimated $23m in damages as a result of the six weeks of violent protests by antifa and BLM.”
It was stated today by Portland Police that downtown businesses have suffered an estimated $23m in damages as a result of the six weeks of violent protests by antifa and BLM.
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 8, 2020
The president of the city’s police union added Wednesday that he doesn’t hold much confidence that city leaders will put an end to the violent protests.
“Our officers have endured weeks of rocks, bricks, bottles, mortars, and other objects hurled at them with hate,” union president Daryl Turner said. “Enough. The people who put on a badge and uniform every day are human beings.”
This week, hundreds gathered near Portland’s justice center and federal courthouse on Tuesday in remembrance of Summer Taylor, who was killed after being hit by a car during a protest in Seattle. The vigil was peaceful until about midnight when an altercation broke out, and law enforcement reportedly deployed flash bangs to quell further violence.
The protesters were heard chanting, “Stay together, stay tight! We do this every night.”
