GRESHAM, Ore. - Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis delivered an invoice to Occupy Portland for $1,546.52 on Wednesday morning. That's the estimated amount of damage done to two Gresham police cars parked near the Occupy Portland encampment in downtown Portland on Tuesday.
The patrol cars were reportedly vandalized by a person affiliated with the movement who was building a shelter at the site while the Gresham officers were inside the Multnomah County Courthouse testifying on a case.
Bemis and Gresham Police Chief Craig Junginger hand delivered the invoice to the Occupy Portland information booth at around 9:30 am.
In a cover letter that went with the bill, Bemis wrote: "It seems patently unfair that Gresham residents, the vast majority of whom are 99-percenters, should have to pay to repair the damage caused by a member of your movement."
The alleged assailant was arrested by Porltand Police at the time of the vandalism.
"I have been sympathetic to many of the important issues the ‘Occupy' movement has raised regarding wealth concentration and corporate abuses threatening the middle class," Bemis said in the letter. "While I firmly believe in the Constitutional freedom of expression, it seems to me that the remnants of the movement still present in downtown Portland are doing more harm than good at this point."
A repair estimate from a local body shop was included with the invoice.
