Riots Leads To Dozens Of Arrests In North Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. — A riot broke out during a protest in North Portland on Tuesday night leading to a few dozen arrests and several officers injured on the 33rd straight night of demonstrations in the city.
A potluck was held at Peninsula Park before a couple hundred people marched around 8:30pm to the Portland Police Association office. Shortly thereafter, they blocked the road on North Lombard at Campbell Avenue and began throwing items including rocks, soda cans and water bottles at officers. The crowd also shined lasers in the their eyes.
An unlawful assembly was declared and protesters were ordered to leave the area as officers used CS gas, a form of tear gas and crowd control munitions.
After the area was cleared, demonstrators moved to North Fenwick and Lombard where they moved dumpsters and plastic trash bins into the street and attempted to set them on fire as they deployed orange smoke towards officers.
There were additional warnings given to the crowd as they continued to pelt officers with items. Several officers were injured and needed medical attention. After 10:00pm, demonstrators threw lit commercial-grade fireworks towards police. A riot was declared as additional verbal warnings were given and more CS gas was used due to the threat to officers. A court order through July 24th bars police from using tear gas except when life or safety is at risk.
The event on the 1800 block of N. Lombard has been declared a riot. Disperse immediately. If you do not disperse to the east you are subject to arrest or use of force, to include crowd control munitions.
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 1, 2020
Several arrests were made as police dispersed the crowd even while protesters continued to assault police, vandalize property and set dumpsters on fire on North Lombard. Police pulled over a vehicle that was giving demonstrators supplies.
The remaining protesters marched on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Lombard Street towards North Precinct around midnight. Several dozen people and cars gathered in the street blocking traffic on MLK. Police reminded the crowd that they were engaging in an unlawful assembly and to leave immediately.
Demonstrators then set a large fire in a dumpster that they pushed into the street on Northeast Killingsworth on the side of North Precinct. Officers moved in to break apart the crowd as more items were thrown at them. The crowd dispersed shortly after 1:00am.
In total, 29 people were arrested. Five officers and one criminalist suffered injuries.
My statement regarding last night's demonstrations in Portland. pic.twitter.com/lbRHs3n5wY
— Chief Chuck Lovell (@ChiefCLovell) July 1, 2020
