A man runs as several protestors manage to breach the fence and enter the portico of the Multnomah County Justice Center in Portland, Oregon, on July 23, 2020. (ANKUR DHOLAKIA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Portland Police Association is relocating its headquarters once again following a year of continuous vandalism.
Taking to Facebook this week, Executive Director Daryl Turner said neighbors were glad to have the police union in the area when they first relocated more than six years ago. However, tensions flared with near-nightly unrest as the PPA building became the target of arson and vandalism last summer.
Rioters took to the streets over the death of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in Minnesota. As anger grew, Portland fell victim to over 100 consecutive nights of rioting in the summer of 2020 alone. This eventually led Turner to believe their presence in the area was doing more harm than good.
Portland police disperse a crowd after protesters set fire to the Portland Police Association (PPA) building early in the morning on August 29, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
“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,” said Turner.
Turner said as the rioting escalated, the association felt the community grew more and more at risk. While the new location has not yet been disclosed, the PPA thanked the community and business owners for their support over the last year.
Source: One America News Network
