PORTLAND, Ore. — A large group of demonstrators calling for defunding of police and reform addressing systemic racism marched in Portland Tuesday night.
The protesters went across the top deck of the Fremont Bridge. They entered southbound Interstate 405 via the Cook Street on-ramp around 8 p.m. Shutting down traffic southbound I-405 at Interstate 5.
The demonstration, led by Rose City Justice, originally started at Jefferson High School in North Portland. A few days ago, demonstrators toppled a statue of former President Thomas Jefferson, the namesake of the school.
Protesters were on the bridge for about an hour. From the sky, banners were seen hanging from freeway signs that said "Defund Police" and "No Justice, No Peace."
The crowd wrote messages on the pavement that read "Black lives are everything" and "Community not Cops."
Tuesday’s demonstration also comes ahead of Wednesday’s City Council meeting, which is expected to address the funding of the Portland Police Bureau. Last week, the council appeared set to cut the bureau’s budget by $15 million but Commissioner Chloe Eudaly voted against the plan, saying the cuts weren’t deep enough.
Many of the amendments that Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty proposed last week are expected to be voted on again. Hardesty has called for the elimination of the Gun Violence Reduction Team, funding to be cut for the transit police and the re-allocation of $5 million to Portland Street Response, among other changes.
