PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Downtown Portland residents and employees, impacted by the dozens of black-clad protesters that vandalized the area while 4th of July fireworks were in progress, told KOIN 6 News this is not the Portland they chose to live and work in.
A crowd of around 100 people marched through the streets breaking business’ windows and wreaking havoc during the holiday festivities.
Employees at Buffalo Wild Wings downtown said some of their co-workers called out sick on Tuesday because they do not feel safe in the area.
“You have to keep working and a lot of us need that money,” Buffalo Wild Wings employee Erinrose Kastrup said.
“And whether or not we agree with them, it doesn’t matter because we’re still going to be harmed in the way because we’re just collateral damage.”
— Buffalo Wild Wings employee Erinrose Kastrup
“What do you do in that position where I can’t walk outside or walk home or do anything without feeling like I have to look behind my back?” Kastrup said. “And whether or not we agree with them, it doesn’t matter because we’re still going to be harmed in the way because we’re just collateral damage.”
Damage is so often caught on camera, such as a man seen throwing a rock and bashing his head to break the window of a small Portland copying company overnight.
Downtown Portland resident Doug Richards lives nearby that small business. He said whether it is vandalism by a mob or a one off by one person, local businesses deserve better from authorities.
“It was just no rhyme or reason to it,” Richards said. “We have to be able to apprehend those individuals. And then once they are apprehended, they need to be prosecuted and not just released back into the streets to be able to do this again.”
“That’s how people get attention on this stuff and it sucks. … And it’s dangerous.”
— Buffalo Wild Wings employee Mariah Watson
Employees at Buffalo Wild Wings are worried crowds dressed in black are going to keep vandalizing and protesting.
“That’s how people get attention on this stuff and it sucks. And this is where what we’ve come to understand that this is how people need to be heard. People need to be seen, how they spread news, how they spread their beliefs — and it’s dangerous,” Buffalo Wild Wings employee Mariah Watson said.
‘Gonna be crazy’: Inside the 2018 SeaTac plane theft
“It’s scary for all involved,” Kastrup added. “Even people who are on the side of these people, it’s terrifying that we constantly have to live this way. I hope that they see that they’re harming not only the people that are against them, but also the people that are with them.”
Residents said the city needs to step up and show that they are willing to get back to a livable city, as Richards explained, “because that’s what Portland was.”