Portland police to tagger: tag, you’re it

A graffiti vandal was captured and arrested on Thursday, Sept. 5, after fleeing from Portland police.

The suspect, Aiden A. Rivero, 18, of Beaverton was in possession of graffiti supplies, including spray cans and paint markers, which were seized as evidence. One of his tags was documented on a TriMet bus shelter, according to police. Rivero was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of first-degree criminal mischief and third-degree escape.

Rivero, who uses the tagger name “GEM,” is a prolific tagger and is known to officers in the Central Precinct Neighborhood Response Team, according to police. The team is investigating at least 20 additional tags and additional charges are possible.

At around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, police responded to a call that a vandal was doing a “bombing run” along Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and was last seen near the intersection with 11th Avenue. According to police, a “bombing run” is tagger slang for quickly painting simple tags on many surfaces as the vandal moves through an area.

Officers located Rivero near Southeast Madison Street and Sixth Avenue. When they tried to stop him, he ran but was quickly overtaken by police and arrested near Southeast Salmon Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The Neighborhood Response Team “has been focusing on prolific and impactful taggers in a focused effort to address an increase in vandalism within the city of Portland,” according to the police.

Several prolific taggers have been investigated.