Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Demonstrations escalate in Oregon
Rioting seen in Portland after man fatally shot by officers
PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Portland, Ore., said Saturday that they arrested four people after declaring it a riot Friday night when protesters smashed windows, burglarized businesses and set fires during demonstrations that started after police fatally shot a man while responding to reports of a person with a gun.
Police said they dispersed the crowd so firefighting crews could douse blazes before they spread in extreme fire hazard conditions.
The vandalism downtown came after the police shooting Friday. Vigils and demonstrations already were planned for the night in the name of people killed in police shootings nationwide, including those that killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo of Chicago and Daunte Wright, a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb.
Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis told reporters that a white man in his 30s had been shot and killed by Portland police. The man was pronounced dead at the scene in Lents Park, a residential neighborhood.
Two officers fired a 40mm device that shoots nonlethal projectiles, and one officer — an eight-year veteran — fired a gun, police said. Police identified the officer who fired his gun as Zachary Delong. He is on paid administrative leave, authorities said.
Davis did not know whether the man who died had pointed a weapon at the officers and did not say how many shots were fired. A witness who spoke to reporters at the scene said the man, who had removed his shirt and was blocking an intersection, appeared to be in a mental health crisis, The Oregonian/ OregonLive reported.
The police investigation was hampered by a crowd of “fairly aggressive people” who showed up at the park within two hours, authorities said.
There were no reports of injuries to police.
As investigators worked at the scene of the shooting and huddled over a covered body, nearly 100 yards away a crowd of more than 150 people — many dressed all in black and some carrying helmets, goggles and gas masks — gathered behind crime scene tape, chanting and yelling at officers standing in front of them.
“We’ve had to summon just about every police officer in
Multnomah County to keep this group far enough away … to preserve what we refer to in our business as the integrity of the scene, so that nobody who shouldn’t be in there goes in there,” Davis said.
The crowd later marched through the park, ripped down police tape and stood face to face with officers dressed in riot gear. Police later left the park, and the crowd eventually stood in a nearby intersection, blocking traffic and chanting.
Police said they had used pepper spray on protesters in order to keep them away. Some people hit officers with sticks and chased them as they were leaving, police said. Officers deployed smoke canisters and then used a rubber ball distraction device, they said.
Portland has been the site of frequent protests, many involving violent clashes between officers and demonstrators, since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has decried what he described as a segment of violent agitators who detract from the message of police accountability and should be subject to more severe punishment. He visited Friday’s shooting scene and issued a statement urging residents to “proceed with empathy and peace” while the investigation unfolds.
“These shootings always are traumatic for everyone involved and for our community, regardless of the circumstances,” Wheeler said. “I want to offer my sympathy to the individual involved and to their family. My thoughts also are with the officers who were involved.”
Sara Cline is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.