Tear gas and less-lethal munition suppliers for the Portland Police Bureau received federal payroll protection loans https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/18/portland-police-bureau-weapons-federal-ppp-loans-small-businesses/

This is in a year when Portland police bought a lot of riot control munitions

From Curtis Blue line police purchased $67,000 in munitions including:

-$22,00 in tear gas
-$11,000 in rubber pellet Grenades
-$4,800 in smoke grenades

The parent company received $2.5million in PPP loans

Police purchased $96,000 in 40mm sponge impact rounds from Aardvark Tactical

-That same company also sold over $1.1 million to the Feds, including tasers to the secret service & ICE, as well as tactical robots for ICE

-Aardvark received $46,000 in paycheck protection loans

The third generation owners of one Oregon’s longest running black owned businesses(since 1954), Dean’ beauty Salon and Barber Shop, applied for PPP loans. They were denied twice.

“The deck has always been stacked against us”

A small cosmetics company wasn’t considered essential and had to close during the lockdown.

The company was denied a PPP loan and had to let 10 Of the 12 employees go.

“The system is so broken. All my friends that own restaurants too, we’re only as strong as our community.”

-Portland police purchased $7,000 worth of tear gas and pepper balls form Hurricane Butterfly

-The small WA state company describes itself as an “international arms dealer”

-they received $38,000 in federal paycheck protection loans