A rioter in the recently designated “anarchist jurisdiction” of Portland allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at police officers on Wednesday night, striking one officer as riots broke out across the United States.
The Portland Police Bureau reported that approximately 75 people gathered on the Central Precinct side of the Justice Center and “began throwing softball sized rocks towards Central Precinct which shattered the glass windows above the entry doors,” the department said in a statement. “The group continued to throw rocks through the windows which continued to shatter glass in the entryway of Central Precinct making it difficult for officers to safely exit the precinct due to the glass falling and the glass that covered the entryway floor. Once the window was broken, group members used slingshots to launch projectiles at a high velocity through the broken glass windows of Central Precinct. Some members of the group attempted to break into the front doors of the Central Precinct lobby.”
The department said that the group’s “criminal behavior” continued after a riot had been declared and they had been ordered to vacate the area.
“Officers began to disperse the crowd outside of Central Precinct again and a Molotov cocktail was thrown towards officers striking one in the foot,” the statement continued. “A Portland Fire Medic was nearby and able to extinguish the flames. Had this incendiary not been stopped immediately, it could have caused serious physical injury to the officer. A second Molotov cocktail was thrown towards officers near Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Main Street, and a third Molotov cocktail was thrown at officers near Southwest Broadway and Southwest Main Street. As the crowd was dispersed they aggressively threw rocks at officers and other projectiles.”
WATCH:
Clear shot of the Molotov thrower in Portland. pic.twitter.com/jpBvY3Lrac
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 24, 2020
#molotov thrown as police charge at the #PortlandProtest. Then they drive us half a mile west, assisted by #feds, popping off pepper balls and flashbangs along the way. Unconfirmed reports of multiple #arrests pic.twitter.com/gHEdyPhZnY
— Kerry Harwin (@flashhardcor) September 24, 2020
Watch: A rioter at the BLM-antifa Portland riot throws a large Molotov cocktail at @PortlandPolice. #PortlandRiots #antifa pic.twitter.com/mRGCAbFOQe
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) September 24, 2020
Another view of the molotov earlier, from Streamworks pic.twitter.com/d240WsZtsj
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 24, 2020
Baloo angle of the molotov earlier – it was massive. Portland Police carry fire extinguishers with them nowadays… #Portland pic.twitter.com/j9E2WEwDEd
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 24, 2020
Apparently they had lit two buildings on fire before this. #Portlandprotests (stolen from commie) pic.twitter.com/qCxbNLeBFx
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 24, 2020
#Portland – fire 2 stolen from commie pic.twitter.com/xHgC15S9yA
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 24, 2020
Portland police said that the rioters threw large rocks, full soup cans, and shined eye-damaging green lasers at the law enforcement officers.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Portland had been designated as one of three “anarchist jurisdictions” in the U.S. over how it has handled recent civil unrest. The designation comes as the Trump administration is reportedly reviewing plans to strip the designated cities of federal taxpayer money.
The DOJ released the following criteria that was used to make the determination of which cities would be designated “anarchist jurisdictions”:
- Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.
- Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.
- Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.
- Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.
- Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.
The DOJ released the following details on Portland:
- This month, Portland marked 100 consecutive nights of protests marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing.
- Those bent on violence regularly started fires, threw projectiles at law enforcement officers, and destroyed property. Numerous law enforcement officers, among others, suffered injury.
- Shootings increased by more than 140% in June and July 2020 compared to the same period last year.
- In the midst of this violence, the Portland City Council cut $15 million from the police bureau, eliminating 84 positions. Crucially, the cuts included the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which investigates shootings, and several positions from the police team that responds to emergency incidents.
- In August, Portland Mayor Wheeler sent a letter to President Trump expressly rejecting the Administration’s offer of federal law enforcement to stop the violent protests.