Protests for August 23

Posted on by sal

Summary

During the day, an event called Latinos for Black Lives was held at Peninsula Park in North Portland. According to a journalist on the ground there were bout 150 people in attendance. The demonstration aimed to use art as a form of protest, which is a change in tactics from the usual marching or building confrontations that are seen every night in Portland. Instead, musicians and poets performed their pieces, and Latinx community members stood in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, conveying that solidarity in their art.

The nightly demonstration began at Woodlawn Park in North Portland. Estimates from reporters on the ground put the crowd at about 200 people when they departed from the park heading for the North Precinct of The Portland Police Bureau (PPB). Among other things, protesters chanted the name “Jacob Blake“, a black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin who had been shot 7 times in the back by a police officer, prompting a mass protest in Kenosha on August 23rd.

After arriving at the North Precinct, protesters formed a shield line facing three police cars that had their headlights on and pointed at protesters, which did not appear to be occupied. Protesters used multiple dumpsters, some on fire, and what appeared to be the bed of a Uhaul truck as a wall between themselves and the precinct. At 10:30 pm police had declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and by 11:10 pm, without a documented marked change in behavior from the crowd, a riot had been declared. Items such as ceramic tiles and plastic water bottles had been thrown in the vicinity of the empty police vehicles with their headlights shone on protesters and at least one awning on the building was set on fire, which did not appear to cause damage to the building itself.

Multiple times throughout the night, PPB officers suddenly rushed out of the precinct and made multiple arrests, only to reenter the building shortly after. Tear gas was used, sometimes fired down by officers who were on the roof of the precinct, but the dynamic rushes that are so often a tactic of the PPB in dispersing protesters was not seen being used as much on the night of August 23rd. By about 2 am the crowd had dwindled in front of the precinct and the night ended.

Scheduled Events

Timeline

An event called Latinos for Black Lives was held at Peninsula Park in North Portland during the day. Please consider seeing Cata’s thread on the event in its entirety, where they chronicle the events of the day in much greater detail than there is room for in this timeline. (Click on the first tweet below to get directed to Twitter to see the thread)

In the evening, protesters gathered at Woodlawn Park.

Just after 9:40 pm, protesters departed from Woodlawn Park.

Just before 10:10 pm, protesters arrived at the North Precinct of The Portland Police Bureau (PPB)

At about 10:30 pm, PPB declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.

Just before 11:10 pm, PPB declared the gathering a riot.

At about 11:50 pm, officers withdrew and went back into the North Precinct building.

Just after 12:45 am, PPB officers reemerged from the precinct and made several arrests.

Media

Present

Articles

It’s Going Down

Hundreds Of Portlanders Push Out Violent Far-Right, Qanon & Proud Boy Rally

KATU

23 arrested Sunday as police declare protest near Portland’s North Precinct a riot

KGW

Reaction comes after Portland police have little presence at dueling protests

KOIN

1 arrested after assault at ‘Recall Kate Brown’ rally

OPB

Portland’s protests: 3 months in, no end in sight

The Oregonian

Awning set on fire during Portland protest; police declare riot, use tear gas: key takeaways

Editorial: Leaders must speak against protest violence

Letter from the Editor: I look forward to many more civil conversations

Portland’s first Black woman cop now ‘ the inspiration’ for a new PCC criminal justice scholarship

Shots fired: Deadly Portland police encounters reveal troubling patterns

Portland Mercury

Good Morning, News: Proud Boys and Antifacists Brawl, Portland Police Look Other Way, and Cop Shooting Spurs Wisconsin Protests

Portland Police Stand By As Armed Alt-Right Protesters and Antifascists Brawl

The New York Times

Black Artists Find Ways to Make Their Voices Heard in Portland

In Portland, a Prosecutor Must Decide: Which Protesters Should Go to Jail?

Police

Agencies Present

  • Portland Police Bureau

Munitions

  • flash bangs
  • mace
  • tear gas

Arrests

23

Charges

Resisting Arrest, Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, Assaulting a Public Safety Officer, Attempted Assault in the Second Degree, Escape in the Third Degree, Riot, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree