Protesters gather in NW Portland outside mayor’s home, police declare unlawful assembly
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PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Pearl District Wednesday evening and a group spent the night outside Mayor Ted Wheeler’s home.
On Wednesday, the crowd came together in the area of Northwest 10th Avenue and Glisan Street. They said they were there because Wheeler lives there and were shining laser pointers and flashlights at an apartment complex.
On one side of the block, “Glisan Autonomous Zone” was written in chalk on the street. Tents were set up and some protester were planning to stay the night.
The protesters called the gathering an occupy protest after their demands were not met at Wednesday’s city budget vote.
A man who said he was part of the organization of the protest told FOX 12, “They obviously are not listening to us, they only cut the budget by 5 percent. That’s not acceptable. I mean, I don’t understand how Ted Wheeler can say that he loves Portland so much but that he’s not out here with us… We are occupying this space because Ted Wheeler lives here and he’s not listening to his constituents.”
Some who gathered decided to camp out overnight.
At 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning, Portland police declared a civil disturbance and unlawful assembly from Northwest 11th east to Northwest Park Avenue and Northwest Irving south to Northwest Everett Street.
Police announced that anyone who wasn’t a resident of the area should leave immediately or be subject to arrest or use of force.
About 10 minutes after declaring the the unlawful assembly, police began clearing the area. Residents were told to shelter in place while police dispersed protesters.
Portland told FOX 12 that right around midnight, there was a “shift in activity” with barricades being created in the streets with dumpsters, pallets, construction materials and newspaper boxes.
Officers are weary from the ongoing protests in the city and the risks to life safety, so there was concern over the activity early Thursday morning, such as potential arson, according to police.
Police said during the overnight protest, it appeared at least one person was armed with a rifle and handgun.
Over the course of night and early morning, the group, which dwindled to about 50 people when the unlawful assembly was declared, attempted to create an autonomous zone and police said that attempt failed.
Police said that one person, identified as 27-year-old Hailley Nolan, was arrested Thursday morning. Nolan was charged with interfering with a police officer and was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center.
Cleanup efforts after the unlawful assembly declaration included removing the barricade items and clearing graffiti. Police said demonstrators “caused extensive damage to buildings and businesses in the area.”
“I am proud of our PPB officers and command staff who carefully and safely dispersed this unlawful assembly,” said PPB Chief Chuck Lovell in a statement. “The actions taken by some to barricade City streets and begin the creation of an autonomous zone caused great concern for public safety. Emergency responders need to be able to respond to critical life safety calls. There are acceptable ways to express first amendment rights and this was beyond the threshold for what is acceptable for Portland.”
Just before 7 a.m., Wheeler was seen in the area and confirmed that he does live in the neighborhood. He told FOX 12 he was not home last night, since he made the decision to leave because of the protesters, but came back early in the morning to help clean up.
He stated he thought police acted very well with dispersing the protesters. When asked more about police reform, Wheeler said he was against abolishing the Portland Police Bureau because “because there’s still thousands of calls every year for public safety response, and while I agree the police are not necessarily the right responders for all calls to 911, there is still a need for law enforcement in the community.”
Wheeler also said he was strongly against the formation of an autonomous zone in the city, stating “I do not want an autonomous zone set up in Portland, and I’m watching what’s going on in Seattle, and I’m not impressed. I think it’s a distraction from the larger movement, and the movement is justice for black people. I’m not in Seattle, obviously, but what I’m hearing coming out of Seattle concerns me: armed people walking around in the autonomous zone, people being asked to show their papers and demonstrate where they’re from at the entrance to the autonomous zone, businesses potentially being shaken down to be allowed to operate in the autonomous zone. So if you’re asking if that’s something I support, let me be unequivocally clear, I absolutely do not support that.”
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