Christians preaching the Gospel outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday were doused with scouring powder by a man who apparently had police protection since a police officer on duty just stood by and did not stop, much less arrest him.
The Portland Police Department later said it would not press charges against the assailant as the incident was deemed "a private criminal complaint."
The preachers were taking part in activities at the Biblical Church Evangelism Conference hosted by Beaverton Grace Bible Church, according to Christian News Network.
About 20 Christian preachers were on the public sidewalk preaching and holding signs when a man who allegedly brought a woman to the facility started yelling at them and dousing them with scouring powder.
"Somewhere he got hold of a very large canister of Comet and then he came around the building and went to one of our ladies and pronounced her 'scum' and doused her with this can of Comet head to toe," Pastor Chuck O'Neal said.
O'Neal tried to talk to the man but he was likewise doused with the powder.
"I approached the man, and he proceeded to douse me with the Comet as well, getting it in my eyes and on my clothes. I was warning him that this was assault ... and calling upon him to stop and to repent and turn to Christ," he said.
Former Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Tony Miano called a police officer, Gene Gillock, who was nearby, to arrest the man but failed to do so.
"As I'm shouting to him, 'We want this man arrested,' he's telling us to stay back and not to disrupt what he's doing, while he's letting the assailant [be] who just assaulted six Christians with a white powder. He's treating the guy who assaulted six of our friends as if they had been doing something wrong," Miano said.
The former deputy sheriff accused the police officer of not even checking the condition of the victims.
"There were several people doused in this caustic cleanser, people complaining about their eyes burning, and he didn't stop to see if anyone needed aid. He did nothing to check on the condition of the victims, but he did everything to accommodate the man who viciously, angrily assaulted six Christians peacefully exercising their right to free speech and exercising their deeply held religious beliefs," he said.
They called 911 instead to ask for the police to return and take statements.
Miano accused the police officer of improper conduct.
"If he was thinking as a civil servant, if he was thinking as one who is charged with protecting life and property, he would have secured that suspect so that he couldn't hurt anyone else, and then he would have checked on the condition of those who had been assaulted, and then he would have conducted a thorough investigation," he said.
