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On Wednesday morning, Portland police began clearing out the Washington Center, a former mall downtown that had been taken over by vagrants and transformed into an open-air drug market.
The mission was undertaken following a spate of overdoses reported in and around the building over the past few weeks. Most of the instances involved fentanyl.
The Post Millennial's Andy Ngo likened what police discovered during their tour of the building to "scenes out of The Last of Us," a TV show set in a post-apocalyptic America.
The Portland Police Bureau's Central Bike Squad, who spearheaded the mission, posted updates throughout the day on its Instagram page.
"Today is the day," the squad announced around 8 am, showing officers entering the graffiti-laden structure and surveying the filth and decay that had accumulated during the months it existed as a haven for drug use.
Donning N95 masks, officers canvassed every nook and cranny of the dilapidated structure, discovering trash and building materials scattered about the floor, mold and other harmful substances growing on the walls, and, of course, drug paraphernalia.
As the morning progressed, Portland Fire and Rescue showed up to assist, and by lunchtime, work had already begun to board up the doors and windows around the building, many of which were cracked, to ensure nobody else could get in.
In the evening, Oregon Live reports, Mayor Ted Wheeler's office confirmed that "the city is confident that the building site is empty of trespassers," noting that, "there were no immediate threats during this process."
Officer David Baer noted during the procedure, however, that "there's definitely been people in here."
According to a PPB spokesperson, in response to a number of overdoses, the force had been "providing extra patrols around the building in response to an overwhelming amount of illegal drug dealing, overdoses and in an effort to avoid future tragedies."
The mission was undertaken following a spate of overdoses reported in and around the building over the past few weeks. Most of the instances involved fentanyl.
The Post Millennial's Andy Ngo likened what police discovered during their tour of the building to "scenes out of The Last of Us," a TV show set in a post-apocalyptic America.
The Portland Police Bureau's Central Bike Squad, who spearheaded the mission, posted updates throughout the day on its Instagram page.
"Today is the day," the squad announced around 8 am, showing officers entering the graffiti-laden structure and surveying the filth and decay that had accumulated during the months it existed as a haven for drug use.
Donning N95 masks, officers canvassed every nook and cranny of the dilapidated structure, discovering trash and building materials scattered about the floor, mold and other harmful substances growing on the walls, and, of course, drug paraphernalia.
As the morning progressed, Portland Fire and Rescue showed up to assist, and by lunchtime, work had already begun to board up the doors and windows around the building, many of which were cracked, to ensure nobody else could get in.
In the evening, Oregon Live reports, Mayor Ted Wheeler's office confirmed that "the city is confident that the building site is empty of trespassers," noting that, "there were no immediate threats during this process."
Officer David Baer noted during the procedure, however, that "there's definitely been people in here."
According to a PPB spokesperson, in response to a number of overdoses, the force had been "providing extra patrols around the building in response to an overwhelming amount of illegal drug dealing, overdoses and in an effort to avoid future tragedies."
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