A dumpster is set ablaze in the lower level parking garage at the North Police Precinct just off Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. during a protest Saturday night that also triggered vandalism against nearby Wells Fargo and Bank of America branches, a Starbucks coffee shop and bus shelters along the route.
A now familiar trail of graffiti, fire and broken windows was the result of a grassroots march calling for justice Saturday in northeast Portland.
The destruction followed a peaceful rally at Peninsula Park that was promoted on social media as an event to demand justice for Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man killed on April 4 when he shot in the head by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Mich.
But after participants ventured out into the community, a trail of destruction followed. A dumpster was set ablaze in the lower level parking garage at the North Police Precinct by one or more people in the crowd, police said.
Firefighters had to be called to put the fire and prevent flames from spreading and endangering people inside the precinct.
Graffiti also was sprawled on nearby buildings and windows at locations that have been targeted with violence during several other protests over the past two years, including the Wells Fargo and Bank of America branches, a Starbucks coffee shop and bus shelters along Northeast Martin Luther King Jr.
No arrests were made, but police are investigating and asking for the public’s help.