Portland Coffee Shop Targeted by Vandals for Hosting ‘Coffee With a Cop’ Event 

A coffee shop in northeast Portland, Oregon, was damaged late Tuesday night, just one day before it was set to hold a “Coffee with a Cop” event. Six people were seen on security camera footage damaging the front door and windows of Bison Coffeehouse, a coffee business owned by Native Americans. The suspects also spray-painted the shop’s interior white.

The shop owner, Loretta Guzman, said she was shocked and believes her shop was targeted because of the scheduled “Coffee with a Cop” event. Guzman told KATU she received immediate backlash after advertising the event online and with signs outside the shop. She stated, “I was hoping that people could come voice their opinions and their concerns and maybe make things more positive for everybody, because if we don’t speak up, there’s no change.” She also noted, “I’ve done these events in the past, and they asked me if I was willing to host. Somewhere we have to make a change within our community. I’ve got kids and grandkids, and we have to make it better for our future. That’s my belief, but it’s not everybody’s belief.”

Police officers and neighbors helped Guzman board the windows and repair the damage. She said she was encouraged by the outpouring of community support. Commander Tina Jones stated, “It saddens me that once again, Portland will be the focus of something so negative, and I’d like to highlight the positive coming out of this. I’ve seen the community coming together and saying, ‘Enough, this isn’t acceptable or what we’re about.’”

State Representative Tawna Sanchez, who also helped with the cleanup, said, “People are resilient, and they’ll come back, and there are people in the world who need help to figure out why they’re doing things they’re doing.” Portland mayor Ted Wheeler stated on Twitter, “This destruction happened on the eve of Bison Coffeehouse hosting an event to bring the community and police together. He followed with another tweet claiming, “Upon arrest, I will advocate for the prosecution to the fullest extent of the law—including potential federal hate crimes.”

Guzman said she didn’t know how much it would cost to fix the damage but decided to host the event despite the vandalism. Police are reportedly investigating the incident. However, no arrests have been made.

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