Several protesters in Portland have been arrested over the last week following night after night of demonstrations, which saw activists hurling projectiles at officers and disrupting public transportation in the area.
Journalist Andy Ngo, who has firsthand experience with Antifa, provided an updated list of arrestees in Portland, many of whom were released without bail — a common theme through the 100+ days of protests:
Andrew R. Duran, 18, was among the 11 individuals arrested during the September 8-9 protests. He was charged with resisting a peace officer and resisting arrest and released without bail. Peter Curtis, a 40-year-old protester, and Tracy L. Molina, 37 — both of whom have been arrested for protesting on more than one occasion — were also released:
According to Portland police, protesters, on the night of the September 8-9 protests, blocked vehicular traffic, vandalized property, and threw objects at officers.
This week, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to Mayor Ted Wheeler’s (D) demand to halt the use of tear gas, warning that banning its lawful use “will make it very difficult to address this kind of violence without resorting to much higher levels of physical force, with a correspondingly elevated risk of serious injury to members of the public and officers.”
“CS, while effective, is a significantly lower level of force than impact weapons, which would very likely be necessary to disperse riotous groups with its prohibition,” PPB said. “We do not want to use gas. We do not want to use any force”:
CS gas is a tool which has been used sparingly in the last 104 nights. We want to clear up a misconception that it is being used as crowd control. It is not. It is being used to disperse crowds only when there is a life safety event. Most recently, it was used to disperse a crowd from which a Molotov cocktail was thrown at officers and ended up injuring a community member who was on fire. We understand that this gas seeped into nearby homes and that is not something we desire. However, the community should be asking the rioters why they are committing violence that threatens the very lives of others nearby. When people gather lawfully, peacefully, there is no need for intervention by police, much less the use of CS gas. That is evident from several nights, even within the last 104 days, when people gathered and police had no need to interact to prevent crime or restore order. In fact, that happens all the time in Portland.
Wheeler, in his role as police commissioner, directed police to “end the use of CS gas for crowd control” in a September 10 statement.
“I call on everyone to step up and tamp down the violence. I’m acting. It’s time for others to join me,” he added.
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