At least 100 self-proclaimed anarchists tore through Portland, setting dumpsters aflame, smashing windows and causing $500,000 in damage, but police stood idle because of a new state law that restricts how law enforcement can respond to riots.

The city just reached the ‘grim’ milestone of 1,000 shootings through 2021 in what has been a year of destructive protests, violent street clashes and a police staffing crisis.

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Now police say a recently passed law ties their hands even further as it prohibits police from using crowd control techniques like pepper spray or tear gas. Instead, law enforcement agencies are told to rely on follow-up investigations to hold rioters accountable.

Portland’s latest round of violence broke out after a memorial for Sean Kealiher, an Antifa activist who was struck and killed by an SUV in October 2019 after getting in a fight with the driver at a bar earlier that night.

Police have not made any arrests in connection to Kealiher’s death, though his mother Laura believes they have identified the culprits, according to the Oregonian/Oregon Live. She organized last Tuesday’s protest on Twitter, writing that it was ‘not a peaceful event’ and dubbing it ‘a night of rage and anger.’ . . .

‘The reason that we did not intervene goes back to what we talked about last month with House Bill 2928 and the restrictions placed on us in a crowd control environment,’ Portland Police Lt. Jake Jensen said in a Pearl District Neighborhood Association meeting, as reported by KOIN. ‘That’s the way the legislature said we need to operate in a crowd control environment so that’s how we’re going to act in a crowd control environment.’

House Bill 2928, whose chief sponsors are Democratic Representative Janelle Bynum and Republican Representative Ronald Noble, bans police from using force to respond to riots and charges any violations as second degree official misconduct. . . .

Portland Police Sgt. Kevin Allen told the Associated Press that officers have been made aware of the ‘potential implications’ of the legislation and that it´s being analyzed by the city attorney´s office.

‘Until we have some clarity on the bill we have to follow the most restrictive interpretation of it,’ Allen said.

Authorities say although police did not directly intervene, officers did give direction to disperse over a loudspeaker and a Mobile Field Force moved in, at which point the crowd splintered. . . .

Chief Chuck Lovell told KOIN, ‘I’m concerned about the brazen criminal acts that took place downtown last night. I want to assure those who were victimized that investigations are underway, and we will do whatever we can to identify and arrest those who were responsible. We ask that anyone with information please reach out to us. Thank you to all the officers who responded to a challenging situation.’

On Saturday, Lovell posted a series of tweets regarding the city’s gun violence issues. His first read, ‘This week we passed a grim milestone. @PortlandPolice has now documented over 1,000 shootings this year. Too many have prematurely ended lives and caused injury. But all shootings cause trauma to our community.’ . . .

Meanwhile, a Portland gun violence unit has been having trouble recruiting new officers after it was dismantled during last year’s calls to defund the police and brought back when gun violence shot up this year.

The original Gun Violence Reduction Team was shut down after the Portland City Council voted to cut $15 million from the police budget and eliminate 84 sworn positions last June.

In August, Lovell told KPTV that he’s not sure how he’s going to fill the remaining positions on the new anti-gun violence team.

(Excerpt from The Daily Mail. Picture credit: Getty Images.)