Protesters marched through North Portland on Tuesday night and set a fire at the Portland police union building, prompting officers to declare a riot.
About 100 protesters met at Kenton Park around 9 p.m. and marched to the Portland Police Association Building. According to a flyer advertising the event, demonstrators were protesting the police killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by a police officer, Kim Potter, in Minnesota on Sunday. Potter was the president of the police union for Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb. Police have said Potter “accidentally” shot Wright and was instead trying to deploy a Taser.
Before protesters arrived at the union, Portland police tweeted that marchers were blocking the street, and told drivers to find alternate routes, while telling the marchers they needed to clear the streets to let cars through.
Footage from independent reporters at the scene showed flames coming out from the side of the building. Protesters also lit fireworks.
Shortly after 10 p.m. police declared a riot, warning that they would be clearing people from the area as firefighters came in to extinguish the blaze. They threatened to use tear gas and munitions on those who did not clear the area.