PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police made three arrests Wednesday night as a small crowd of people gathered near the North Precinct and refused to leave the area when told. Some people in the crowd threw items toward officers stationed on the roof of the North Precinct, police said.
It was a quiet start as a crowd of around 100 gathered at Woodstock Park on Wednesday night. Independent journalists there reported that people in the group argued about where to march for close to an hour.
Some of that group made their way to North Portland, where they marched to the Portland police North Precinct, according to Sergio Olmos.
Around 11:15 p.m., police announced that the street next to the precinct, Northeast Emerson Street, was closed between Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Northeast 6th Avenue. They told the group not to enter the area or engage in any criminal activity.
Police said that area is a vital entrance and exit to the North Precinct and must remain clear so police officers can get to calls for service.
The group continued to congregate on Northeast Emerson Street and police said some people in the crowd threw water bottles and rocks toward officers on the roof of the North Precinct.
Police made three arrests. They released the following arrest information on Thursday morning:
- Tara Bratton, 43, of Portland — Interfering with a peace officer
- Rosalind Benoit, 31, of Portland — second-degree disorderly conduct
- John Yingling, 18, of Portland — Interfering with a peace officer; second-degree disorderly conduct
Portland is in its 14th week of protests since the death of George Floyd, the Minnesota man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes.
On Wednesday it was released that President Trump ordered a federal review of ways to defund the city of Portland and other cities he deemed "lawless."
In a five-page memo that was signed on Tuesday, President Trump orders federal agencies to send reports to the White House on how funds can be redirected elsewhere, away from the cities like Portland, Seattle and New York City.
On Tuesday night, a small group went to Alberta Park and decided not to march due to low numbers.
On Monday, however, a crowd of a few hundred people gathered in the North Park Blocks for an “Unhappy Birthday” celebration for Mayor Ted Wheeler's birthday. The group then marched to Wheeler’s apartment complex on Northwest 10th Avenue and Glisan Street.
Police declared a riot after members of the group broke windows, burglarized a business, shot off fireworks, lit a picnic table on fire and set a fire inside an occupied apartment building.