Antifa protesters attack Portland police forcing temporary retreat, smash windows during anti-Biden demonstrations

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Antifa protesters attack Portland police forcing temporary retreat, smash windows during anti-Biden demonstrations

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PORTLAND, OR – Protesters linked to Antifa began attacking police and smashing windows in Portland during planned “J20” protests just hours after President Joe Biden took the oath of office on Wednesday. Windows at the Democratic Party of Oregon building were smashed and the building was vandalized.

Portland Police Sgt. Kevin Allen reported that several protests had been scheduled in the city, and a crowd of about 150 people gathered at Revolution Hall around 2 p.m. and marched to the Democratic Party building.


Several of the protesters were dressed in all black, the signature uniform of the Antifa movement. Several marchers carried banners with messages including “We are ungovernable” and “a new world from the ashes.”

The protesters smashed windows and vandalized the building with graffiti. Police arrived on bicycles and tried to arrest a protester armed with a knife. They also attempted to remove metal poles from a banner being carried so they could not be used as weapons, according to a Portland Police Bureau spokesman.

Video posted on Twitter showed some of the protesters trying to take bicycles from the officers.  Sgt. Allen said the crowd started to attack the outnumbered officers:

“As officers disengaged, the crowd showed aggression by swarming officers and throwing objects.”

Officers deployed a smoke canister so that they could make a tactical retreat to regroup. Police reported that one knife was seized from the crowd. The Mayor’s office confirmed around 4 p.m. that police had made three arrests of people for using crowbars to smash windows in the building.

The crowd moved from the area, and some began blocking a freeway on-ramp, police reported. Dumpster fires were ignited in the area.

Police reported that multiple arrests had been made by 4:30 p.m. before police said the crowd began to disperse from the area.

“J20” stands for January 20, the date the president of the United States is inaugurated. “Disrupt J20” was organized in July 2016 with the stated goal of disrupting then-President Donald Trump. This year, “J20” aimed to oppose President Biden’s inauguration and law enforcement. “J20” did not have a clear goal other than supporting anarchy. Some called for justice for the homeless, a growing problem in Portland.

Some of the marches chanted slogans such as “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge.”

Some demonstrators were there to celebrate. A small group gathered on Northeast Broadway holding signs supporting Black Lives Matter. Demonstrator Betty Scholten said she felt joyful because she expects President Biden’s administration to focus on equal rights for black people.

“I’m hoping. He (Biden) said it would be,” Scholten said admitting she did not expect change overnight. “(Change) is a long way down the road.” She said she would keep protesting “until we don’t need to anymore.”

Scholten said she and others will keep demonstrating along Broadway “until we don’t need to anymore.”

Other groups, including the Defend Democracy Coalition, gathered around 5 p.m. at Irving Park, where about 150 people attended a demonstration. People chanted support for Black Lives Matter and “Inauguration Justice” car caravan drove from Portland College’s Cascade Campus to the rally at Irving Park.

A speaker told the crowd:

“This is such a monumental day. Because today is the day, we dump Trump. But we need to embrace resistance too. The fight is just beginning.”

Suzie Kassouf, Founder of the climate justice organization Sunrise PDX, asked the crowd if President Biden wanted rapid climate justice. The crowd chanted back, “no.” She said:

“All movements for justice are one. It’s no accident that the people that are hurt first and worst by the climate crisis and environmental injustice are Black and brown.”

 In a scary and surreal moment during the protest, a car flipped over in the area. Several demonstrators ran to the car and pulled a little girl and her mother from the vehicle. They were uninjured.

Police said the Irving Park demonstration remained peaceful.

Another protest was scheduled for 8 p.m. a South Portland’s Caruthers Park.

Law Enforcement Today is following developments and will report on developments.

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Protesters surround Portland police, attempt to block them from helping armed suicidal man

January 17. 2021

 

PORTLAND, OR – While specially trained officers attempted to calm a man experiencing a mental health crisis, two crowds of protesters aggressively disrupted efforts by police to bring the situation to a close.

On Friday, January 15, according to the Portland Police Bureau, officers were summoned to a welfare check.  The call indicated that a 30-year-old man had leaped out of a two story window and, armed with a knife, had begun threatening nearby persons and vehicles.

When officers arrived, the man held his knife to his neck and threatened to end his own life.

Officers from the ECIT (Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team) began speaking with the man.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, ECIT officers:

“receive additional training in order to identify risks during a behavioral crisis, utilize crisis communication techniques to help deescalate a person in crisis, and have knowledge of available community resources.”

These officers are dispatched first to calls in Portland that are related to mental illness.

While the specially trained officers were engaged in dialogue with the man, other officers tried to clear the area in order to reduce the stress of the situation.

Police learned that the man was suffering from schizophrenia and extreme paranoia.

Negotiations with the man proceeded for 90 minutes, at which time two crowds of protesters approached from two sides.

The Portland Police Bureau reports that the crowd was chanting and even utilized a bullhorn, preventing ECIT officers from communicating with the man.

The PPB notes that officers next “implored” the crowd to cease, “but their energy only increased.”

Worse yet, the PPB states that:

“[e]ven when the suicidal man’s mother arrived and begged the crowd to stop, most in the crowd continued.”

Furthermore, some members of the crowd made threats against the police officers.

This “hostile” activity from the protesters necessitated pulling law enforcement resources from other parts of the city, which “caused a major resource drain citywide and all but the highest priority calls had to wait.”

In addition, the threats and hostility from the crowds forced the officers to wear helmets and shields for protection.

With assistance from the Crisis Negotiation Team, officers then communicated with a mental health professional who was familiar with the man.  They learned that the man “could be a threat to himself and violent towards others.”

Video, shown below, depicts a group screaming obscenities at police officers who are attempting to keep the crowd back.

Protesters can be heard to demand,

“What don’t you want us to see?” 

and 

“Keep your hands off me!”

as officers calmly instruct them not to cross the street.

Screaming follows as the all-knowing darlings proclaim:

“They sicced dogs on him!… They sicced dogs on a man in a mental health crisis!  Dogs!”

The protesters are then heard to continue to screech a flurry of obscenities at police officers.

In reality, according to the PPB, a K-9 unit “was used to divert [the man’s] attention by barking so officers could safely approach him,” and “[t]he only force used against the protesters was some pushing to keep them back and out of the street.”

Despite the interference by the two groups of protesters, officers were successfully able to implement a plan organized by the incident commander.  When the man was distracted by the K-9, officers utilized a Taser to prevent the man from using his weapon.

The man, entirely uninjured except for marks from the Taser, was transported by ambulance to the hospital and placed on a Police Officer Hold so mental health professionals could examine him.

 

 

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About The Author

Scott A. Davis is a 28-year veteran of law enforcement. He served as a Police Sergeant and as a Detective in Pennsylvania. Scott retired from law enforcement in 2020. Prior to his law enforcement career, Scott was an award-winning journalist and recipient of two Keystone Press Awards.

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