#Portland businesses say cops did nothing as looters wrecked havoc

Downtown Portland businesses destroyed by looters a month ago say cops did nothing to stop the thieves — and that they still feel abandoned by police and city officials, according to a new report.

Rioters invaded the once-vibrant retail district during a five-hour looting spree on May 30 that cleaned out stores like the family-owned Kassab Jewelers, The Oregonian reported.

The business’ owners were horrified as they watched surveillance video showing 70 to 100 people ransacking the shop during that first night of demonstrations over George Floyd’s police killing.

Cops had told them they were coming to respond — but never did, the family claims.

“We felt as if we had to fend for our ourselves, that we were all alone and we had to do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves,” said Rana Kassab, the president of the business. “This is more than a store. My dad and mom built this up from scratch. What they built was violated and destroyed. It’s been a huge emotional struggle.”

Kassab Jewelers had only been open nine days after closing for coronavirus when the looters caused an estimated $2 million in damage and losses.

Other shop owners in the area had similar experiences — they say their businesses were hit even as cops stood nearby.

Phil Tobin said he watched looters clean out his H&B Jewelry and Loan on live security video.

“You can see the police headed down 3rd Avenue southbound,” Tobin told the Oregonian. “You can see the flashing lights. And there’s a crowd of people around my shop which has its windows broken out by that time. And no one stops.”

“I think it’s fair to say I’m angry and hurt,” Tobin said.

Ninety-three business owners in downtown suffered more than $23 million in losses so far this year — mostly due to the pandemic. But $4.8 million of that was in property damage sustained in the riot.

None of the businesses interviewed by the Oregonian said they’d been contacted by the mayor’s office or police department over their claims.

A police spokesman said 16 alleged looters were arrested that night — though surveillance video showed dozens more looting the stores.

“Our resources have been focused on life safety issues and priority calls for service for a good portion of the past several weeks,” said police spokeswoman Lt. Tina Jones. “Our community members, including our business owners are valuable and it pains us to see the devastation wrought on our community. We are doing everything we can with the resources we have available to respond to emergency calls for service and investigate crimes that have been reported.”

The mayor’s office didn’t respond to the Oregonian.

Portland has been rocked by anti-cop protests and looting since last month, with demonstrators setting fire to the police precinct.