There was a riot declared by police in Portland last night after a standoff between police and protesters outside the Portland Police Association building. Tuesday was the 46th straight night of protests in the city.
About 120 people marched from Kenton Park to the Portland Police Association building around 7:30 p.m. The one-story building sits in a commercial and residential area of North Lombard Street. The crowd soon grew beyond 200 people, who chanted “George Floyd” and “Quit your job.”
At least two dozen police officers in riot gear surrounded the building near Campbell Avenue. Soon after demonstrators gathered there, officers detained at least one protester. Police ordered the crowd to stay out of the street and not block traffic.
The standoff continued for hours.
The sun has set. Night 46 of nationwide protests. The crowd on Lombard St remain energized. "No good cops in a racist system." #PortlandProtests #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/bOX4RyXLeO
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 14, 2020
This video of a police officer smacking a protester’s phone out of his hands went viral.
So here's the video, from TeebsGaming on https://t.co/DafGnlPdl3 , of an officer smacking the phone from a protester's hand into the window of the PPA building. And the broken window is what they then used as their reason to declare a 'riot' and gas people. #PortlandProtest pic.twitter.com/x8iqQMFvTx
— KBOO Community Radio (@KBOO) July 14, 2020
The phone guy was really angry about it.
A phone was reportedly slapped from one protester's hand by a police officer after a verbal confrontation between the two sides. Eact cause as of now is unknown. #PortlandProtests #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/gyFUxy6Wl2
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 14, 2020
At 12:15, after ordering protesters to disperse, the police declared a riot.
Officers on riot vans arrived and launched munitions into the crowd. A riot has been declared. Police enforcement action in progress. #PortlandProtests #PDXprotest #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/14ttoozzcM
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 14, 2020
An arrest was made:
Several arrests have been made tonight on Lombard St. Portland Police has since pushed the crowd into the residential areas of North Portland. #PortlandProtest #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/oH22yLmp1m
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 14, 2020
Police pushed the protesters back a couple of blocks but many of them made their way back to the PPA building. Protesters held a “die in.”
Protesters hold an impromptu die-in. They are chanting "I can't breathe!". The stand off continues on N Lombard St. #PortlandProtests #PDXprotest #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/od3kGDzA77
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 14, 2020
The standoff continued past 1 am while a construction worker put up plywood to protect the building’s windows. Police finally left but protesters returned and apparently set a mattress up against the building and tried to set it on fire. Police returned and cleared the area again.
Police later posted photos of some of the objects thrown at officers (plus some mugshots).
Sheena Marie McFerran, 34 and Delfine DeFrank, 25, were arrested at the antifa/BLM riot in north Portland. Both women were quickly released.https://t.co/pOM1GcEuv5https://t.co/0GLCr5GzoA #antifa #PortlandMugshots #BlackLivesMatter #AntifaMugshots pic.twitter.com/Y3bYmPHGCk
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 14, 2020
Police released this video showing what the protest looks like from their side of the line:
A snapshot of the crowd on N Lombard St on July 13-14 that remained after numerous lawful orders to disperse. Glass bottles, paint, rocks, ball bearings, and other projectiles hurled at Officers. The arrest is for a subject unlawfully directing a laser pointer in officer's eyes. pic.twitter.com/59TPx84j6B
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 14, 2020
Fox News reports that the protests in Portland have been ongoing for six straight weeks.
In Portland, Oregon’s largest city, those demonstrations have raged for six weeks straight, and local businesses have reported $23 million in losses due to looting and rioting that have gripped its downtown area since the end of May…
Local officials have criticized federal law enforcement and even President Trump for the havoc. Meanwhile, one group of anti-capitalist, anti-fascist teens who call themselves the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front has used social media to organize throughout the city.
The Seattle Times reported the group uses social media to promote rallies, provide rioters with tactical advice and offer commentary on the gatherings that have led to clashes with police. Its goal is to upend the U.S. political system.
While last night’s protest was declared a riot, it wasn’t as violent as what happened over the weekend. On Saturday night, a protester holding a boom box was shot in the head with a less-than-lethal munition and seriously injured. Here’s video of the incident:
This appears to be the moment that #Portland protester was struck in the head and suffered a gruesome injury. pic.twitter.com/Na1h5BUaAO
— CIA-Simulation Warlord 🇺🇸🦈🇺🇸 (@zerosum24) July 12, 2020
And here’s a description of the seriousness of the injury:
One video shows the protester holding a speaker while standing across the street from the courthouse between two parked cars. Police, who appear to be federal officers, throw a canister that lands at his feet, which he lightly tosses away from him and toward the officers. It lands partway across the street.
A few seconds later, a firing sound can be heard, and the man collapses to the ground, dropping the speaker. The video shows no sign of aggressive provocation on the part of the protester, who appeared to be standing alone…
His mother said his face and skull were fractured and that he finished facial reconstructive surgery early Sunday morning.
“He still has a tube in his skull to drain the blood,” Desiree La Bella, Donavan’s mother, told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
That same weekend, a protester struck a federal officer with a large hammer:
Hammer recovered. pic.twitter.com/Y5Z0qFxF9D
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 11, 2020
Here’s the video:
At 108AM, One protester damaged the side entrance door with a hammer, Federal officers respond by charging out and arresting the person. At least 3 officers are outfitted with lethal M4 Carbines. #PortlandProtests #PDXprotests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/vZo1VmGAUc
— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) July 11, 2020
And the suspect:
Jacob Michael Gaines, 23, from Texas, was arrested by federal police for allegedly striking an officer with a hammer multiple times at an antifa riot in Portland on 11 July, 2020. #PortlandRiots #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/FdXyydIE0M pic.twitter.com/wZdnSSGUVI
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 14, 2020
I’ll update this story if things get out of hand again tonight.
