HEAVY-HANDED

Portland Cops Declare Riot as Daunte Wright Protests Spread Across the Nation

Some 200 protesters gathered in Oregon on Monday night near the headquarters of the city’s crime-prevention program.

Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot Monday night after hundreds of people gathered to protest the shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by an officer during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. According to Oregon Live, some 200 protesters gathered in Portland near the Penumbra Kelly Building, the headquarters of the city’s crime-prevention program. On Twitter, police complained that the crowd had broken windows and tried to enter the building, and law enforcement declared a riot shortly after 10 p.m. Cops were then caught on camera using heavy-handed tactics to disperse the crowd, including the use of tear gas and flashbang grenades. One video showed police bull-rushing protesters, pushing them to the ground, and macing them. At 11 p.m., officers said they had dispersed the crowd, but were still monitoring the situation.