Police arrested four people in Portland, Oregon after declaring a riot on Friday night after the fatal shooting of a man in Portland on Friday, amid ongoing protests over police violence across the United States.
Demonstrations had erupted in several US cities earlier in the week in the wake of the killings of Daunte Wright, a black 20-year-old shot by police after being pulled over in Minnesota, and an unarmed 13-year-old boy, Adam Toledo, in Chicago.
On Friday Portland deputy police chief Chris Davis confirmed that during the protests, police had also shot and killed a white man in his 30s in a residential neighbourhood of the city, while responding to reports of a man with a gun.
An officer who fired a gun in the incident has been placed on paid administrative leave. Davis did not know if the man who died had pointed a weapon at the officers and did not say how many shots were fired.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting on Friday a crowd of more than 150 people gathered behind the crime scene tape, chanting and shouting at the officers. According to AP, many were dressed all in black and some carried helmets, goggles and gas masks.
The crowd later marched through the area, ripping down police tape and standing face to face with officers in riot gear. A riot was declared after some protesters also smashed windows, burglarized businesses and set multiple fires.
Police said they had used pepper spray on protesters in order to keep them away. Officers also deployed smoke canisters in an attempt to disperse the crowds. There were no reports of injuries to police.
Portland has been the site of frequent protests, many involving violent clashes between police officers and demonstrators, since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Last summer, demonstrations took place for more than 100 days in a row.
Earlier this week, a crowd also lit a fire outside the city’s police union headquarters following the recent fatal police shootings in Chicago and Minneapolis.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has decried what he described as a segment of “violent agitators” who detract from the message of police accountability.
He visited the Friday shooting scene and issued a statement urging Portland residents to “proceed with empathy and peace” while the investigation unfolds.
