Mapping the Portland Oregon Riots

By the Solari Team

The Portland riots began in May and continue to this day. We decided to map what data we had as of October 7, 2020. A correlation between riot damage and the tax-attractive Opportunity Zones that we noted in the riot damage patterns in Kenosha and Minneapolis continues in Portland (see “Subcriber Resources” section at the bottom of the page).

If you have more detailed Portland riot damage information, we ask that subscribers post at subscriberinput[at]solari.com. If you are not a subscriber, please send your riot damage info to customerservice@solari.com. As always, we invite your input.

Sources:

In addition to Live UA Maps, we used three additional sources which are listed in “Subscriber Resources” below:

The main source for this report was Live UA Map Timeline Aug 24 – Oct 07 2020. Stories listed were from Twitter and elsewhere, most of which referred to multiple and sometimes duplicate instances of the same event. There were only a handful of individual property damage reports. Consequently, there can be no assurance that the data we used are accurate or complete.

KGW8 (NBC affiliate) Video and Article

KGW8 YouTube Channel

Portland PD Timeline Graphic

Portland riots started in May and are continuing. They are notable for the politics of confrontations and tactics:

Shootings soar in Portland after mayor disbands Shooting Investigations Unit. Portland PD were severely handicapped by the Mayor’s actions.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Orders Police to Stop Using Tear Gas

More mayoral handicaps..

Law Enforcement Infrastructure and Personnel were the primary targets. Police, Sheriff, ICE, Federal Court, and Local Government assets were under prolonged attacks from August 24th – Oct 7th. A tremendous amount of effort was spent on destroying the downtown area bounded on the West: by the 405, North: by West Burnside, East: Willamette River and South: SW Clay. Where a high concentration of Justice and Police facilities were.
This also appears to be the 1st appearance of the “Proud Boys” in one of our reports. Who they are and who is financing them is unclear at the moment.
For whatever reason, only 500 OR Army National Guard (ORARNG) Troops were activated (where 2000 were activated in Kenosha, WI).
Federal Law Enforcement Agencies used in place of the ORARNG were: ICE, Border Patrol, U.S. Marshalls and Homeland Security forces.??

Damage Statistics:

Portland protests have cost local businesses $23M to date.

What was the same?

Though the majority of the Riot Damage was in Opportunity Zones, there was a significant amount that was not. Most of that damage was to Police / Sheriff’s and Law Enforcement Association (Pension) infrastructure.
The Police on occasion were forced to leave the area due to superior forces.
Police deployed Rubber Bullets, Tear Gas, Flash Bang Grenades, Pepper Spray, Pepper Balls, and hand to hand (baton, shield, etc).
Rioters deployed Molotov Cocktails, assorted projectiles, returned tear PD gas cannisters and an assortment of clubs, projectiles, etc.
Several shootings were reported across the Metro area during this period.
Peaceful Protestors and Rioters were intermixed.
Riots happened repeatedly in the same areas across the Metro area over a long time span.
Small Business property damage was rampant.
Residential areas were targeted by rioters.
There appeared to be Left- and Right-wing out-of-town combatants.
Left and Right forces inflicted casualties on each other.
Riot Damage was very linear / symmetrical.
The below maps were made w/ an Apple app called “Ahoy Map Maker.”
Solari Generated .amap Source File download here.