Saturday’s police protests started peacefully, police said, with people gathered in two public squares to watch and listen to the artists, but some in the group began launching fireworks on Southwest Main Street, according to the statement.
“During this time, a man with a rifle was seen in the area,” police said. “Several protesters surrounded him but left him alone, and he finally left.”
Around 10 p.m. Saturday (1 a.m. ET Sunday), a vehicle with a speaker system began broadcasting fake announcements apparently intended to replicate those of the Portland Police Office sound truck, according to the statement.
Protesters burned an American flag hanging from the Multnomah County Justice Center, a government building used primarily by police, according to the statement. Many protesters carried shields, he said.
The crowd also blocked traffic and launched “commercial-grade fireworks” toward the justice center and the nearby federal court, police said. Protesters ignored warnings from the actual police sound truck urging them to stop firing fireworks at buildings, they said.
After protesters’ shells smashed windows in the court building, police declared the protest a riot around 11 pm and deployed tear gas and “crowd control munitions.”
As officers worked to disperse the crowd, police said, protesters threw bricks, fireworks mortars, smaller firecrackers and “other flammable” toward them, police said.
They also targeted lasers in officers’ eyes and smashed commercial windows, police said.
Protesters returned to the area around 1 am Sunday and started a bonfire in the middle of Southwest Third Avenue and Southwest Main Street, police said.
The fireworks injured several officers when they exploded on or near them, according to the statement.
“This is the second time in a day that a riot has been declared in downtown Portland due to the activities of many that put the lives of others at risk; this is unacceptable,” said Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell. “Our officers are tired, but they are resilient. They will continue to be available every night to protect members of our community as they take an oath.”
The crowd began to dwindle at 4:30 am. Police arrested more than 12 people, they said. Authorities will release the names and details later, they said.
“The officers made several arrests, including one … where a man quarreled with officers. The officers were able to arrest him and retrieve an illegally owned loaded firearm and knife,” the police statement said.
The police department was only able to handle emergency calls in the city for several hours because much of the force was deployed to help with the riots, according to the statement.
“The violence we have witnessed is contrary to the values of our city and the thousands who hope to advance with systemic change,” Lovell said. “Our community deserves better than nocturnal criminal activity that destroys the value and structure of our community.”
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