I woke up Monday morning to find that the familiar neighborhood statues of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt had been toppled. I live in downtown Portland a block from the site of the riotous actions that destroyed the park block. Since the murder of George Floyd in May, I have become accustomed to the sound of police sirens echoing and helicopters hovering around the city as protests continue nightly a few blocks further away. But Sunday night — SILENCE. Why was there no police presence? By not responding to the mob, the police are complicit in the violence. This is an egregious dereliction of duty.
I have so many questions. Unfortunately, the media is not supplying much in the form of an explanation. A gunshot was fired across the river in the SE, so there were no officers available in the SW to quell a mob that marched several blocks to the park before striking? That just doesn’t make sense. This action has ominous undertones. Our city has been targeted for violent outbreaks. That is not Portland culture. We are a peaceful city struggling for justice and not giving up until we get some semblance of it. I fear this is a test run for similar violent actions in our city and across the country in the run up to the election.
Mayor Ted Wheeler’s re-election campaign challenging Sarah Iannarone just got a lot more interesting.