Jim Ryan
The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. —Demonstrations planned for Wednesday would mark three consecutive weeks of Portland protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
The city’s nightly demonstrations are part of a massive uprising sweeping the nation after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in late May after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Portland’s latest round of demonstrations on Tuesday was marked by thousands of protesters marching onto the Fremont Bridge and a man driving his car into a downtown crowd, injuring three, early Wednesday.
Protesters marched onto southbound Interstate 405 and remained on the Fremont Bridge for about two hours Tuesday as part of a demonstration organized by Rose City Justice.
Organizers called on the Portland City Council on Wednesday to reject a proposal for the police bureau’s budget that falls far short of the $50 million in cuts sought by hundreds of activists. Some attached “Defund police” and “No justice, no peace” banners to the bridge’s midspan.
A separate group of demonstrators gathered near the downtown Justice Center — a previous flashpoint for protests.
Demonstrators removed a flag from outside the doors to the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct, which is located inside the building, shortly after 11 p.m., police said. They used the flag cord to prevent a roll-up door from opening, according to police.
Demonstrators also locked the precinct’s main doors from the outside with a U-lock and lit the flag on fire, police said.
The burning flag hurt one person, according to police. Police gave warnings to the crowd, which marched to the Pearl District.
Early Wednesday, a man identified by police as 27-year-old Anthony Eaglehorse-Lassandro drove into protesters then fled “at a high rate of speed” but was tracked and eventually arrested, police said. He remains in the Multnomah County Detention Center.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday she will call the Legislature into a special session on June 24 to pass police accountability legislation and adopt some of her coronavirus executive orders into law.
Law enforcement oversight will be the focus of the session, Brown said in a statement.