The Portland police have moved their police union headquarters after a year of near constant vandalism. PPA headquarters were in the Kenton neighborhood of the Rose City, but the building was a "target of vandalism" for Antifa militants and others during the past year of civil unrest.
It was in April that rioters attempted to set the headquarters ablaze. They were expressing their anger over the death of a man in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The arson attempt took place on the second night of rioting in Portland over the death of Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop.
Local Fox affiliate Fox 12 reported that the new location for the headquarters has not yet been disclosed.
Executive Director Daryl Turner of the Portland Police Association released a statement on Facebook about the move, saying that when they moved into the area, neighborhood residents were pleased to have them around and felt their safety was improved with police presence. But after the building became a target for vandalism and arson, Turner said their presence in the are was doing more harm than good.
"Over six years ago, the Portland Police Association (PPA) relocated from our long-time office location in Northwest Portland to a building on Lombard just west of I-5 in North Portland," Turner wrote.
"And we wanted to be part of the community there. The Lombard building had previously housed a card room with a reputation of parties, illegal drug use; and the remnants of late-night partying were often left on neighborhood streets and sidewalks.
"The neighbors welcomed us and were glad to have the police union and police cars there. The community supported us and dropped by to say hello. We opened a Rest Stop for officers, so they had a place to come have lunch, use the restroom, and write reports. Time and again we heard from folks that they felt safer in the neighborhood and were thankful to have things cleaned up," Turner wrote.
"As our building became the target of vandalism and arson last summer, there were several times that our neighbors helped paint over vile and vulgar graffiti scrawled across the outside walls and picked up trash and garbage. And as the rioting escalated at our location, we felt that the community was more and more at risk," Turner said.
"At the most recent arson incident, a neighbor stood on the sidewalk with a water hose trying to put the fire out just before first responders arrived. It went too far and it was time to find another location. We have since moved out and relocated.
"The Lombard building will be repaired and, at a later date, put on the market to sell.We want to take this opportunity to thank the North Portland and Kenton community and particularly the business owners located adjacent to the building. We appreciate their support and patience over the last year. We thank them for their tolerance. And we hope that with our relocation, they can have some peace."
Portland faced over 100 consecutive nights of rioting in the summer of 2020. Many of those who were arrested for riot activity, including violent acts, were released with charges dropped.
It was only recently, however, that legacy media took notice of the unrest in Portland, after nearly a year of proclaiming Antifa to be not a problem and riots to be mostly peaceful.
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