Friday, 29 Mar 2024

Crash, conflict blocks away from peaceful protest

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man appeared to have been punched and kicked unconscious by demonstrators just blocks away from a peaceful protest in Portland as unrest continued in Oregon’s biggest city.

Multiple videos posted online apparently showed the man sitting in the street next to a truck that he had been driving, which had crashed and come to a stop on a sidewalk Sunday night, news outlets reported. People were crowded around him and he appeared to have been punched at least once and later kicked in the head — knocking him flat.

10 PHOTOSPortland protestsSee GalleryPortland protestsPortland police officers walk through the Laurelhurst neighborhood after dispersing a protest of about 200 people from in front of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office early in the morning on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020 in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)Demonstrators gathered at Floyd Light City Park on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020 in Portland, Ore.Protests turned violent again even after the mayor pleaded with demonstrators to stay off the streets. Police say an officer suffered what was described as a severe injury after being hit with a rock late Thursday. (Mark Graves /The Oregonian via AP)Black Lives Matter protesters march through Portland, Ore. after rallying at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. Following an agreement between Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and the Trump administration to reduce federal officers in the city, nightly protests remained largely peaceful without major confrontations between demonstrators and officers. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)A Department of Homeland Security officer emerges from the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse after demonstrators lit a fire on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Following an agreement between Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and the Trump administration to reduce federal officers in the city, nightly protests remained largely peaceful without major confrontations between protesters and officers. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)PORTLAND, OR – AUGUST 2: A protester who identified himself only as Soah flashes the peace sign while dancing in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse during a Black Lives Matter protest on August. 2, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Portlands nightly protests have remained peaceful following Thursdays announcement that federal officers would begin a phased withdrawal from the city. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks with Black Lives Matter protesters on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Late Wednesday Wheeler joined protesters at the front of the crowd and was hit with chemical irritants several times by federal officers dispersing demonstrators. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)Joseph Oakman and fellow Proud Boys plant a flag in Tom McCall Waterfront Park during an “End Domestic Terrorism” rally in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019.Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the situation was “potentially dangerous and volatile” but as of early afternoon most of the right-wing groups had left the area via a downtown bridge and police used officers on bikes and in riot gear to keep black clad, helmet and mask-wearing anti-fascist protesters — known as antifa — from following them.(AP Photo/Noah Berger)Members of dozens of civic leaders hold up signs spelling out Our City Our Home on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, in Portland, Ore., during a rally to support the city in advance of protests planned for Saturday. The Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, said anyone planning violence or espousing hatred at an upcoming weekend protest by right-wing groups in the liberal city “are not welcome here.” Wheeler spoke with other city leaders ahead of the event Saturday, which is also expected to bring out anti-fascist protesters. Anticipating trouble, none of the city’s nearly 1,000 police officers will have the day off Saturday. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to people gathered in downtown Portland, Ore., Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Wheeler faced a hostile crowd of protesters, who screamed at and sharply questioned him as he tried to rally demonstrators who have clashed repeatedly with federal agents sent in by President Donald Trump to quell ongoing unrest in the city. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)In this image made from video released by Karina Brown, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler puts his hands to his mouth as he stands at a fence guarding a federal courthouse as tear gas drifts by early July 23, 2020, in Portland Oregon, during another night of protest against the presence of federal agents sent by President Donald Trump to quell unrest in the city. (Karina Brown via AP)Up Next

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The man was later loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital with serious injuries, Portland police Sgt. Kevin Allen told The Oregonian/Oregon Live. The truck was towed. It was unclear what exactly led up to the crash and the confrontation.

Separately, a protest that began Sunday evening was led by Letha Winston, whose son Patrick Kimmons, 27, was fatally shot by Portland police in 2018. The group marched through downtown and ended up outside the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse where people left flowers and candles beside a photo of Kimmons.

Demonstrations, often violent, have happened nightly in Portland for more than two months following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Participants have repeatedly broken into the offices of the Portland Police Association, vandalized them and set fires.

Overnight Saturday a riot was declared and police used crowd control munitions, including smoke, to disperse a gathering outside a law enforcement building.

Authorities said people had thrown “softball size” rocks, glass bottles and other objects at officers. Two police officers were treated at the hospital after being hit by rocks. Eleven people were arrested.

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