George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin one year ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin has been deemed guilty of the murder, but he has not been sentenced. Despite this, the country has not moved on from Floyd’s death, which was evident with the riots that have transpired in the past few days.
On the eve of Floyd’s death, there were gunshots sprayed throughout George Floyd Square in Minneapolis. Police rushed to the scene to shut down the violence in this area, but most of the violence occurred in Portland, Oregon.
Riot Declared in Portland
Oregon’s largest city had a riot declared on Tuesday night by state police. This trend was common throughout the summer in Portland. Protests would start peaceful during the day and turn violent overnight, with rioters and police battling.
Many of these riots were lethal, and they spread throughout the country.
There was a demonstration planned in Portland to commemorate the life of George Floyd. However, chaos quickly ensued as the crowd in Portland grew.
Details of the Portland Riot
Hundreds of people gathered outside of Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland. Many of the protestors were wearing helmets and gas masks. They also had umbrellas and backpacks.
The police believed that the protesters would use the umbrellas as weapons. The crowd quickly began to chant, “burn the building down.” Members of the group started lighting dumpsters on fire and vandalizing the building with graffiti.
Rioters were clearly breaking laws by not peacefully protesting, and police acted swiftly.
Actions by Police
The police didn’t allow the crowd to get out of hand, and they quickly warned the group to stop. They said that the protest became an unlawful assembly, and those who committed illegal acts would be subject to arrest and use of violent force.
The police were then subject to harassment because the crowd did not listen. Members of the group threw frozen water bottles, eggs, metal and shot fireworks at the police.
The crowd continued to march towards Portland City Hall and began smashing windows. The riot was at 10:00 PM local time. The force wanted the crowd to disperse, but the violence continued in the streets.
People started vandalizing local businesses and damaging city property. The Portland Police Bureau released a statement about the group’s lack of compliance.
“Slowly, as the number of people in the crowd became smaller and smaller, they began to spread out, fight among themselves, and light occasional trash can fires. People within the crowd were overheard saying the night was a success.”
Protests should be peaceful in nature. If they are not, people are breaking federal laws. Five people arrested for their acts on Tuesday night. The ages ranged from 21 to 30 people.
Last night’s protest brought back bad memories for Portland Police, who dealt with demonstrations for 100 straight nights in the summer. But, police expected more protests across the United States on Wednesday.
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