As protest-related vandalism continues in Portland, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said they're continuing to prosecute criminal cases that involved property destruction and physical violence over the past year.
Between May 28, 2020, and Feb. 26, 2021, the DA's office said they received 294 civil unrest demonstration-related cases that fall into four categories: arson burning, person crimes, property crimes, weapons crimes.
Those four categories account for only 28% of all the arrests, the DA's office said. Data shows the breakdown between charges filed and sent back to police for follow up:
• Arson burning: 54% charged, 7% sent back
• Person crimes: 37% charged, 16% sent back
• Property crimes: 51% charged, 17% sent back
Weapons crimes: 62% charged, 6% sent back
This past weekend, police detained about 100 people briefly and arrested 14 during vandalism in Northwest Portland. Of those 14, 10 were cited, three cases were sent to the DA and two people were charged.
The DA's office said they would review each case, but declined to be more specific.
"The issue of mass detention by police to identify individuals and to investigate a potential crime may result in future litigation. As some of the cases from Friday night involve mass detention, it is prudent that we not comment any further," said District Attorney Mike Schmidt.
Keep in mind these numbers are those arrested by the Portland Police Bureau. Others have been arrested by federal officers and those numbers have not yet been provided by officials.
Businesses in downtown Portland recently made a list of actions for elected officials to improve conditions and safety in Portland. One of those requests included arresting and prosecuting criminal behavior — including the destruction of property.
"The community is really clear on the fact that these are no longer protests. They are just riots. There is no real goal to them and it's just criminal destruction," Rose City Downtown Collective co-founder Vanessa Sturgeon said. "At this point, people are heartened that the police have been able to find an effective tool to deal with criminal behavior — and now it'll just be up to the district attorney's office to hold people accountable through prosecution."
We're told that many businesses within the collective have taken to Schmidt, stressing the need to hold people accountable for the destruction — especially as we see that resurgence of vandals congregating overnight once again.
KOIN 6 News is a news partner of the Portland Tribune.
