Portland truck driver apparently kicked unconscious as unrest continues
A man appeared to have been punched and kicked unconscious by demonstrators just blocks away from a peaceful protest in Portland, as unrest continued in Oregon’s biggest city.
Multiple videos posted online apparently showed the man sitting in the street next to a truck he had been driving, which had crashed and come to a stop on a sidewalk on Sunday night, news outlets reported.
People were crowded around the man and he appeared to have been punched at least once and later kicked in the head – knocking him flat.
The man was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, Portland police Sgt Kevin Allen told the Oregonian/Oregon Live. The truck was towed. It was unclear what exactly led up to the crash and the confrontation.
Separately, a protest that began on Sunday evening was led by Letha Winston, whose son Patrick Kimmons, 27, was fatally shot by Portland police in 2018.
The group marched through downtown and ended up outside the US courthouse, where people left flowers and candles beside a photo of Kimmons.
Demonstrations, often violent, have happened nightly in Portland for more than two months following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Participants have repeatedly broken into the offices of the Portland Police Association, vandalized them and set fires.
Overnight on Saturday a riot was declared and police used crowd control munitions, including smoke, to disperse a gathering outside a law enforcement building.
Authorities said people threw “softball size” rocks, glass bottles and other objects at officers. Two police officers were treated at the hospital after being hit by rocks. Eleven people were arrested.