PORTLAND, ORE. — An arsonist cut through the fence of the gated back lot of a Portland Police Bureau training facility and began setting fire to cop cars. The destruction — occurring in the early morning of May 2 — was brazen: The assailant set fires that engulfed 17 vehicles, including one that grew into a fireball near a large propane tank, before fire crews arrived to douse the flames. Even days later — as PPB cops on motorcycles zipped through turns of training course created by orange cones in the lot — the stench of charred plastic hung in the air.
The hole in the fence had been patched, but damaged vehicles remained lined up beside the warehouse-size training building, located in an industrial zone near the airport. A few police SUVs showed melted driver-side tires. Other cruisers had gaping holes burned through their fenders. And several cop cars were just charred husks of naked metal. Conflict between Portland Police and far-left activists is commonplace in this city, which former President George H.W. Bush once dubbed “Little Beirut” because of the tenacity of its protests. However, the burning of more than a dozen police cars — on police property no less — marks a jarring escalation in tactics.
