PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A driver was arrested after multiple protesters were hit by a car in the late hours of the 19th day of protests in Portland.
According to a report, 27-year-old Anthony Eaglehorse-Lassandro is suspected of striking protesters near Southwest 3rd Avenue and Alder Street in the early hours of Wednesday morning. He then reportedly took off, driving the wrong way down streets. Once the Portland Police Bureau’s Air Support Team located the car a short time later, Eaglehorse-Lassandro was arrested.
Officers say two people were taken by ambulance to the hospital while one other was taken by a private car. All injuries were non-life threatening.
WARNING: Explicit language in video below. Courtesy: Kevin Parks
Eaglehorse-Lassandro now faces various charges, including felony hit and run, reckless driving and possession of a controlled substance.
This was the only arrest made overnight, according to PPB.
Tuesday marked day 19 of protests over police brutality and systemic racism as Rose City Justice again hosted a march and rally. Organizers said the night was important because “it is our last chance to show City Council that we want our demands met. So far, they aren’t listening. We need to change that.”
The Portland City Council is expected to vote on the fiscal year 2020-21 budget on Wednesday, which includes how and how much to fund the Portland Police Bureau.
More than 1,000 people met at Jefferson High School before marching south toward I-405. They took over the southbound lanes of the freeway and occupied the Fremont Bridge for about an hour while people gave speeches. The daughter and brother of Jason Washington spoke to the crowd, calling for justice.
Washington was fatally shot by Portland State University officers on June 29, 2018. Police body camera footage showed the officers shot Washington in a chaotic scene as Washington tried to break up a fight near a bar.
Washington was holding a friend’s gun that he had confiscated earlier in the evening. A Multnomah County grand jury later found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers.
After the demonstration ended on the Fremont Bridge, the crowd turned around and marched back the way they came.
Later, a smaller, separate group of protesters gathered in downtown Portland where police had dismantled the outer fence surrounding the Justice Center the previous day. Some people locked the doors of the Justice Center and the PPB’s Central Precinct from the outside. Portland police said the move created a significant safety risk to those still inside, including for the adults in custody inside the Justice Center. Dozens of people continued to march around downtown Portland into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Photos: Portland protests, June 16, 2020
Below is a timeline of events from Tuesday, June 16, 2020:
1 a.m.
Portland Police arrested Eaglehorse-Lassandro for allegedly striking protesters around 1:00 A.M. This was the only arrest at the protests overnight, according to PPB.
12 a.m.
Portland police said the front door of their Central Precinct was locked from the outside with a u-lock and had to be cut off so those inside could get out. A rope from a flagpole was used to tie up the roll-up doors on one corner of the building.
Officers said the doors to the Justice Center have been reopened and demonstrators have moved away from the building.
11:20 p.m.
Part of the Justice Center crowd has splintered and some people have started marching to Pioneer Courthouse Square.
11 p.m.
A crowd — smaller than the group on Monday — is gathered near the Justice Center. Portland police say some people shifted to the 2nd Avenue side of the building and have locked the doors from the outside of the building and are lighting fires on SW 2nd Avenue. Officers say they’re also tampering with the roll-up doors of the Justice Center.
A KOIN 6 News crew watched some people tie cables to a fire hydrant and the roll-up door outside the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct.
9:30 p.m.
After about an hour on the Fremont Bridge, the crowd is marching back the way they came.
9 p.m.
Hundreds of protesters are stopped on the Fremont Bridge to listen to organizers speak and chant “black lives matter.” Jason Washingtons brother and daughter spoke to those gathered.
Washington was fatally shot by Portland State University officers on June 29, 2018. Police body camera footage showed the officers shot Washington in a chaotic scene as Washington tried to break up a fight near a bar.
Washington was holding a friend’s gun that he had confiscated earlier in the evening.
A Multnomah County grand jury later found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers.
8 p.m.
More than 1,000 people are marching in the southbound lanes of I-405 over the Fremont Bridge.
7:30 p.m.
Those who joined a rally at Jefferson High School in Portland are now marching south. Their route has not been announced.
6:30 p.m.
Hundreds of people gather at Jefferson High School. Some people are handing out voter registration sheets near the entrance to the football field.
A separate rally for kids is taking place at Sunnyside School Park in Southeast Portland. A drum performance is kicking off the event, after which the group will march down SE Salmon to 37th, fanning out along the sidewalk on Hawthorne, and marching back to the park. Organizers asked everyone to wear a mask and physical distance.
Protests amid a pandemic
Tuesday’s march comes the same day KOIN 6 learned a man who spent days protesting in the city tested positive for COVID-19. Ethan Snyder said he plans to return to protesting as soon as his quarantine period is over.
“I didn’t think I was going to catch it, it was really surprising,” Snyder said, explaining he had been among thousands of other protesters. “I was wearing a mask the whole time — some people weren’t wearing masks but for the most park most people were wearing masks.”
Snyder said he doesn’t think people should be worried about getting the virus while protesting.
“It’s a really important movement and just because I got coronavirus doesn’t mean that it really stops. We’ve seen change in the country starting to get made. Getting back out there and pushing for more is the important thing to do right now,” he said.