Portland police declare riot Sunday after small crowd marches on police union - OregonLive

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A crowd of around 200 that marched on a police union building in North Portland on Sunday evening was quickly pushed back and scattered by police in the city’s 74th night of protests.

Police declared the gathering a riot as officers advanced on retreating protesters, some of whom threw objects at police, video from the scene showed. At one point, a large firework exploded between the groups. Police responded by firing crowd control munitions.

Police said a mortar injured two officers and cited “direct attacks on officers” in declaring the demonstration a riot.

Sixteen people were arrested, including Black activist Demetria Hester, who leads Mothers United for Black Lives Matter and is a regular presence at Portland protests. Hester was the victim of a hate crime committed by MAX train murderer Jeremy Christian in 2017 and testified against him in his trial.

She, like others arrested in the demonstration, faces misdemeanor accusations of disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer.

The event came a day after protests Saturday night in the same area that were mostly peaceful until a small group of people lit a fire inside the police union building. Saturday’s standoff, which lasted into early morning hours Sunday, prompted police to declare a riot and advance on the crowd using impact munitions and physical force, a pattern that’s unfolded on several recent nights in which a small group provoke police by damaging property and throwing objects at officers.

Sunday set up a potential repeat of the prior night’s hostilities, though with a smaller crowd. About 200 people marched from Kenton Park to the Portland Police Association office on North Lombard Street shortly before 10 p.m.

Minutes after protesters arrived outside the union office, police warned demonstrators via loudspeaker not to participate in criminal activities. The warning also was posted on Twitter.

Demonstrators blocked off blocked access at North Lombard Street and Fenwick Avenue using dumpsters and fences dragged into the street from nearby. At least one dumpster was set on fire.

Shortly before 10 p.m., police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.

Minutes later, police in riot gear advanced on the crowd, which began to retreat down North Denver Avenue. Video showed officers hit by small thrown objects. At one point, a large firework exploded between the police line and the retreating protesters. Police also fired crowd-control munitions.

Around 10:10 p.m., police declared the gathering a riot and officers appeared to arrest several people on the street.

Marchers returned to Kenton Park, where they had gathered. A little before 10:30 p.m., police followed the group into the park and appeared to make more arrests. The crowd had largely scattered, and police left the park.

The event unfolded in less than an hour.

A small crowd of about two dozen returned to the police union building by 11 p.m. Police arrived minutes later, ordered those gathered to leave and appeared to make an arrest.

Portland Police and Oregon State Police officers formed a line around the building as protesters stood by, then departed around 11:45 p.m. Protesters remained, milling about in the street.

Late the night before, a small group of demonstrators lit a fire inside the Portland police union building, sparking the riot declaration from police, who ordered everyone to leave the area. The fire was quickly extinguished.

Police advanced on the group and hundreds of others gathered, pushing them into the heart of the Kenton neighborhood.

Protesters piled together wooden items from downtown Kenton, such as picnic tables and road barrier signs, to build a large barricade across Denver near Schofield Street. In the early morning, someone lit part of the barricade on fire, and police advanced again. The back-and-forth continued until well after 1 a.m.

Some neighbors came out to help clean up the debris on Denver Avenue and put out fires on the barricade in the road.

Terrance Moses, the chair of the Kenton Neighborhood Association, who is Black and owns a business nearby, expressed dismay in a statement posted by the association’s Facebook page. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the cause, so I want to implore all of you to stop this nonsense,” he said.

Police said they had made nine arrests late Saturday and early Sunday. Among those detained was Kathleen Mahoney, a protest observer from the ACLU who was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that resulted in arrest protections for journalists and legal observers.

Police also said that three officers were injured, including two who were transported to a hospital and released soon after. Police did not describe the nature of any of the officers’ injuries. However, an Oregonian/OregonLive journalist saw one officer limping away from the crowd while getting assistance from other officers.

Widespread protests against systemic racism and police violence began 74 days ago, shortly after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

The focus of the largest nightly protests has turned from the downtown Portland Police headquarters, then the nearby federal courthouse, to roving marches that usually end outside police precincts and facilities throughout the city. The headquarters of the Portland Police Association, the union for frontline police officers, has also become a target for demonstrators. On two occasions, including Saturday, someone has broken into the union building and lit a small fire inside.

The crowds, which ballooned as federal officers arrived in Portland to protect the federal courthouse and quell the protests, have grown smaller but more confrontational after the federal officers disappeared from public view.

Portland police have responded with crowd-control munitions and other force, usually in response to protesters they say are trespassing, lighting fires or vandalizing the facilities.

Mayor Ted Wheeler, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell and others in the community have said that they support Black Lives Matter but condemn the violence of some protestors at the nightly demonstrations.

“If you are a nonviolent demonstrator and you don’t want to be part of intentional violence, please stay away from these areas,” Wheeler said. “Our community must say that this violence is not Portland, that these actions do not reflect our values and these crimes are distracting from reform, not advancing.”

But during a virtual town hall held Sunday evening, several people involved in the nightly protests, including Hester and the writer Mac Smiff, disagreed, saying the protests were still necessary.

Smiff called the changes that local officials have committed to insubstantial or performative.

“We’ll be in these streets until we can feel the change in our bodies,” he said.

Sunday afternoon’s planned protests included a Black Lives Matter protest outside Nike headquarters in Beaverton, a sign-waving protest in Northeast Portland, and a family march in downtown Portland. A Black Lives Matter rally is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in St. Johns, and the nightly rally outside the Multnomah County Justice Center downtown is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive

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