Portland police declare riot after windows smashed
PORTLAND, Ore. (NewsNation Now) — Police in Portland, Oregon, declared a riot Saturday night after authorities said protesters smashed windows in businesses and threw projectiles at police.
Police later rescinded that declaration less than an hour later after the crowd was dispersed.
Demonstrators caused damage in the city’s Lloyd District, a commercial neighborhood where Portland’s convention center is located. The unrest began about 8 p.m. Police say the area was cleared about 45 minutes later.
About 150 people gathered at Irving Park before marching south into the Lloyd District area around 7:15 p.m. Businesses vandalized included two phone stores, a coffee shop, a computer store, a bank, a hotel, a restaurant, a financial office and two realty offices, police said.
No arrests were made but police said they were investigating the vandalism.
In Vancouver, police closed a park Saturday, one night after demonstrators gathered there to protest the death of Kevin Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man shot and killed by Clark County deputies.
Oregon’s largest city has seen frequent, often violent protests since George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis in late May.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate KOIN contributed to this report.