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TJP
Nov-13-2011 03:05
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Police Square off with Demonstrators at Occupy Portland
Tim King Salem-News.comOne police officer injured and one demonstrator arrested by 3:00 a.m. Police are outnumbered, the crowd with Occupy Portland is still several thousand strong.
 Demonstrators and police face to face shortly before 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning. |
(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Police say they are authorized to use "chemical weapons" against a crowd of Occupy Portland protestors numbering somewhere between four and six thousand people.
A Portland police officer was shown being loaded into an ambulance by TV crews, apparently a lighted projectile had been tossed and injured an officer's leg; news clips show what appears to be sparks coming from the device, which was apparently a firework.
Reports initially indicated that the officer was injured when he was bucked from a horse, however video clips played repeatedly by KATU do not show the officer falling from or being thrown from the horse.
Apparently it was other protestors who initially identified the person who threw the firework and police were able to arrest the individual. This had been the only arrest at the event by 3:00 a.m.
As the midnight deadline to clear the demonstration area and clear all tents passed, the crowd moved into the street where they faced off with police shortly after 2:00 a.m. Portland Police do not have a history of using tear gas on demonstrators, but they said they were open to all options.
Many people had gathered downtown to watch the midnight closure take place, however police did not attempt to make arrests at that point as previously stated, and by 2:00 a.m. or so, the crowd of onlookers, most of whom were just there to see what would happen, had departed.
At 2:30 a.m. the crowd estimated to be as high as 6,000 people at midnight, was determined to still be at least 3,000 strong; that according to sources on Twitter, however most of the number at this point are strictly Occupy Portland protestors.
Police and demonstrators were squared off at 2:30 at Third and Madison, and at the same time large numbers of people were moving back into the park that had been ordered closed at 12:01 a.m. deadline.
News anchors and reporters discussed the different groups present at the event, some of which were anarchists; but that is part of what everyone expects in Portland, along with many other various groups that band together and are sometimes considered threatening toward police.
Portland's Mayor Sam Adams was on Twitter Saturday night but was not making himself available for media, in fact he specifically relayed through his public information officer that he would not grant media interviews at this critical point, but that, "he was monitoring it".
Standing face to face with riot clad police, word was circulated through the group to shout to any demonstrators that overstepped the line with violence, etc., 'peace' and to remind them
"They don't have significant manpower to arrest anything but a small number of us," a member of the movement said live during a KATU interview. The protestor said jail crowding problems will ultimately spell the end of a police attempt to arrest them into submission. He says there simply isn't room in the jails. He said they want this to only be seen as a peaceful protest and all violence is dissuaded.
All sides agree that the police so far have done a good job of restraining themselves, showing their presence but also backing up when faced with overwhelming numbers of people, which happened repeatedly.
Watch live streaming video from occupyptown at livestream.com |
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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer
Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim is a former U.S. Marine.
Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.
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Douglas Benson November 13, 2011 5:43 am (Pacific time)
The government and police would like everyone to believe they can control large groups of citizens ,but the fact is they cant really stop them when its a hundred to one . I saw there are lawyers that are supporting them so why havent they filed an injunction in the federal court to prevent the city from depriving them of thier first ammendment rights? Is the city willing to pay for and face criminal charges for deprivation of rights ? While some constitutional rights are not clearly established the right to protest is . Oh they can arrest them ,but they cant take this to trial . Most likely they just drop the charges so protesters cant file claims . OCCUPY EVERYTHING !
Dexter November 13, 2011 3:39 am (Pacific time)
Pretty upset me and Tim could not make the effort to go down there tonight, especially being a HUGE one off event such as this in Portland...nothing ever else really happens in this State!, a huge waisted opportunity (especially if it really kicked off, that would certainly make it international news). Oh well :/
Tim King: I could not agree more Dexter!
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