26 Wednesday, November 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Police vote sparks vandalism in Portland By Gillian Flaccus Associated Press PORTLAND (AP) 4 People in Portland threw flares and paint-filled bal- loons at the house of a city commissioner for Oregon9s largest city after he cast the deciding vote against cutting $18 million from the city9s police budget, authorities said. The vandalism hap- pened late Thursday night after 60 people protesting Commissioner Dan Ryan9s vote marched to his home. Some in the crowd smashed a window and broke planters, prompting police to declare a riot that allows offi- cers to use more aggressive than normal police tactics. Two people were arrested. It was the fourth time that this week that Ryan9s home was targeted, the Multnomah County Sheriff9s Department said in a statement. The three other times happened in the run-up to the divisive vote. The crowd also attacked the police union headquar- ters, a frequent target of protest activity, and set the doors of City Hall on fire. The blaze was quickly extin- guished by a private security firm and is under investiga- tion as an arson, authorities said. Mayor Ted Wheeler, who voted against the police budget cuts, strongly con- demned the events and said violence should never be used to