This is the thanks they get for helping him.
The Portland mayor, Ted Wheeler, decided to chastise a police officer apprehending a rioter after the police had defended his home from getting engulfed by fire.
Wheeler tweeted:
A police officer was filmed repeatedly striking an individual at a protest. Even the building where I live, along with dozens of other families, was violently attacked. These acts range from stupid, to dangerous, to criminal. The violence must stop.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) September 2, 2020
Little did Wheeler know, the officer was not attacking a peaceful protestor, but a protestor who was resisting arrest.
The officer was striking a violent rioter who pulled off his helmet and resisted arrest. It’s on video. https://t.co/VBmMstVa0t
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) September 2, 2020
A statement released by the Portland Police Bureau later stated:
A mass gathering devolved into a riot after individuals broke windows, burglarized a business, and lit a fire in an occupied apartment building.
…
[O]fficers observed someone throw burning material through a broken window into a ground-level business in a large, occupied apartment building. Out of concern that the fire could spread, causing an extreme life safety concern, the incident was declared a riot.
…Over loudspeaker, participants in the gathering were told that the area was closed to all persons, including media and legal observers, to allow firefighters to respond and extinguish the fires. Few, if any, of the persons complied.
Officers began to move the crowd. Immediately officers reported rocks and paint balloons being thrown at them. Arrests were made. As the crowd moved away, some attempted to stack debris in the road to create barricades. Officers cleared them. At least one more dumpster was lit on fire.
Over the next couple of hours, officers continued to move rioters in an attempt to prevent them from reconvening at the site of the riot. More selective arrests were made when appropriate. By 2:00a.m., most of the participants in the gathering had left the area.
Read the rest of the story here.