VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — The Vancouver chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People released a statement Sunday condemning the actions of protesters that resulted in “damage and destruction” during a Friday night protest downtown.
Hundreds of people first gathered near Hazel Dell Friday evening to hold a memorial for Kevin Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old man who was shot and killed by Clark County deputies earlier that week.
After the vigil, roughly 300 people gathered at Esther Short Park and then marched downtown, according to Vancouver police. Across the street from the park was a group of counter-protesters who waved Trump flags. Some said they were there to show support for law enforcement.
A KOIN 6 News crew at the scene observed people on both sides carrying weapons, throwing projectiles and someone used pepper spray at one point. There were also reports that fires had been lit in two dumpsters.
Police said after midnight the “group became more aggressive” when people started throwing rocks. A crowd dispersal order was given. By the early hours of Saturday morning, six people had been arrested for Failure to Disperse.
On Sunday, the NAACP Vancouver said in a statement that they were “not involved in nor consulted in organizing the protest. We also want to make it abundantly clear to the participants that your non-peaceful behavior is totally antithetical to our values as an organization and as black citizens of Vancouver.”
The chapter expressed support for the peaceful vigil that preceded the protest and called for a transparent investigation into Peterson’s death.
“To the people involved in organizing the protest, we appreciate those of you who peacefully demonstrated. To those who committed damage, please do not assume that anarchy in any way, historically or now, defines or serves the needs or desires of the NAACP or black citizens in Vancouver. Furthermore, we offer our support and invite community organizers and activists who share our values to contact us for input about holding events in Vancouver. We have information about our community and resources that can help demonstrations be successful. The location where the demonstration and much of the damage and destruction took place houses and serves the needs of many elderly, low-income, and disabled BI-POC citizens. Your protest in no way respected or served them.
We will continue the fight in the tradition of non-violence.”