Night 89: Fire leads to riot at City Hall, 25 arrests made

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A riot was declared outside City Hall in downtown Portland after windows were broken and fires were set on Tuesday during the 89th consecutive night of protests against police, systemic racism and other causes. Twenty-three adults were arrested while two juveniles were detained.

At about 9:30 p.m., a group of at least 100 people set out from Shemanski Park and marched east on SW Madison. They stopped outside Portland City Hall at SW 4th Avenue and SW Madison Street and let themselves inside after apparently finding an unlocked door. Police said people from the crowd began spray painting and breaking windows, while others reportedly smashed security features on the building including a surveillance camera.

Police quickly declared an unlawful assembly. Officers issued warnings over loudspeakers, telling the crowd if they do not leave, they could be subject to arrest and crowd control munitions — including tear gas. When most of the crowd refused to budge, police dispersed the crowd and made multiple arrests.

As the crowd cleared from the area, officers then retreated in an effort to further diffuse the situation while still issuing warnings. However, the crowd almost immediately returned.

A riot was declared by 11:10 p.m. when one man was seen trying to light City Hall on fire by igniting an aerosol can and spraying it toward the building. Security guards were reportedly still inside as this was happening.

After issuing additional warnings, officers attempted to disperse the crowd one again and made several more arrests. As they did, rebar ties were placed in the road as an attempt to pop police car tires and a bus shelter was shattered. Various lasers were shone in officers’ eyes as well.

Police said they tried to disengage for a second time but the crowd quickly returned and more arrests were made. By 1:30 a.m., most of the crowd had left the area for the night.

Ultimately, no tear gas was used overnight. Police say they arrested 23 adults and detained two juveniles. Those arrests were listed as follows:

Arrests made overnight:

• Vetter, Logan A., 21, of Troutdale, Oregon, Disorderly Conduct II, Interfering with a Peace Officer
• Ryel, Daniel, 41, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Arteaga, Simona, 39, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Anderson, Kelsey, 30, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Resisting Arrest, Harassment
• Garcia, Adrienne, 43, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Resist Arrest, Escape 3
• Morgan, Olivia, 29, of Portland, Oregon, Resist, Attempt Escape, Riot, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Haralson, Riley, 18, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Fuller, Megan, 37, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Oien, Cory H., 34, of Tualatin, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Resisting Arrest
• Kelly, Bryan M., 36, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Unlawful Directing of Light from a Laser Pointer
• Raven-Guido, Alma, 18, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Resisting Arrest
• Welch, John, 22, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer
• Pearce, Phillip, 40, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Assaulting a Public Safety Officer
• Grant, Jackalyn, 22, of Portland, Oregon, Disorderly Conduct II, Interfering with a Peace Officer
• Roach, Elijah A., 21, Interfering with a Peace Officer
• Selivanow, Brittney, 22, of Portland, Oregon, Disorderly Conduct II, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Criminal Mischief II
• Holdsclaw, Thurman, 25, of Portland, Oregon, Disorderly Conduct II, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Trespass II
• Corbin, Joshua, 21, of Portland, Oregon, Resisting Arrest, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Iha, Uto, 40, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Trespass II
• Steensma, Brian, 40, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Trespass II
• Giles, Tanner L., 20, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II, Attempt Assault of a Public Safety Officer
• Hadley, Charles, 19, of Portland, Oregon, Interfering with a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct II
• Perry, Zachary, 24, of Portland, Oregon, Burglary II

Earlier in the night

The group’s original target was expected to be a juvenile detention center in Northeast Portland but demonstrators made a last-minute location change. Posts online originally called on people to gather at 8 p.m. at Montavilla Park and included the words, “Keep children out of jail.” Another post suggested the march destination would be the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center, more than a mile away on NE 68th Place.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office announced via Twitter that “the property, including parking lots, is closed to the public. Anyone who enters the property may be subject to arrest.”

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office is aware of an event tonight calling for a gathering outside Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center in Northeast Portland. We ask that this event remains peaceful.

— Multnomah Co Sheriff (@MultCoSO) August 26, 2020

Around the same time, another flier appeared online suggesting the meeting place had been changed to Shemanski Park in Downtown Portland.

County authorities reacted quickly to the planned march to the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center, which houses youth from Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. Some are in detention for Measure 11 crimes like rape, kidnapping, attempted murder, assault and murder. It has the capacity to hold 191 juveniles, but according to Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury is well under capacity currently.

“This detention center no longer houses the hundreds of young people it once did. Multnomah County has led the state in efforts to reduce the number of incarcerated youth for decades,” Kafoury said in a statement released Tuesday evening.

She also implored demonstrators to think of the children inside the detention center.

“There are 38 young people inside the building who have experienced trauma and difficulty in their lives that they are working through,” Kafoury wrote. “There are also youth who are not in custody at all, but living in a residential shelter within the building. Please consider the kids and their parents.”

It appears demonstrators were already considering the kids. A map shared online highlighted the section of the building housing imprisoned youth in red and asked people to “be familiar” with the layout. Another section of the building was highlighted in green on the map. The Juvenile Justice Complex and offices for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a program that helps abused and neglected children as they go through the removal process or juvenile dependency cases, are part of the same property.

Police declared a riot within minutes of protesters arriving at the Portland Police Association Monday night, a decision prompted by fires being lit at the union building, according to the bureau. Police deployed tear gas and arrested 25 people — however, the Multnomah County district attorney is expected to drop most of the charges.

Some of the people arrested carried weapons including an electronic control weapon (an umbrella term that refers to tasers and similar less-lethal devices), baton, dagger and multiple knives, police said, adding that people wearing “press” labels on their clothing threw rocks at officers.

Police have frequently drawn a connection between the nightly demonstrations and slower response times to other calls for service. By the end of Monday night’s events, more than 100 calls for service were on hold in Portland, including an assault, burglary in an occupied apartment, threats, welfare checks and more, according to PPB.