Police quickly found their suspect in the swastika vandalism of a Northeast Portland business and he was already in jail on a bias crime accusation in a separate case, they said Wednesday.
Police said Joseph Tyler Thompson, 38, now faces a second-degree bias crime allegation in the June 14 vandalism at Pulse Wellness Cooperative, a therapy practice in the 2700 block of Northeast Broadway Street. A security camera caught a man drawing a swastika on the door frame there, police said.
Investigators got a tip that led to Thompson after asking for the public’s help last week in identifying the man on camera.
Police tracked Thompson to the Multnomah County Detention Center, where he was booked July 1 after he allegedly threatened people with a knife by Northeast Seventh Avenue and Holladay Street, according to court documents.
A probable cause affidavit said Thompson also lunged at a security guard with a knife and directed racist slurs at the guard, who is Black. Thompson later walked away from the area before officers found him and took him into custody. He is also accused of a bias crime in that case along with charges of unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, disorderly conduct and escape.
A recent case in Washington County lists him as homeless. Court records show he had a Southeast Portland address last year.
Thompson was previously convicted in Multnomah County of felony unlawful use of a weapon in 2011 and was sentenced to probation. In 2020, he was convicted of felony coercion in Multnomah County and later sentenced to 27 months in prison after violating his probation.
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
