Federal forces used a variety of munitions overnight to disperse protests in the city of Portland that began peacefully and degenerated into looting and violence, the city's police force said in a statement on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2020) Federal forces used a variety of munitions overnight to disperse protests in the city of Portland that began peacefully and degenerated into looting and violence, the city's police force said in a statement on Tuesday.
"At about 12:38 a.m. federal law enforcement began dispersing the crowd using a variety of munitions," the Portland Police Bureau said.
Demonstrations began peacefully with crowds converging near the Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland, the statement said.
"Several hundred people concentrated on the west side of the Federal Courthouse and dozens of them pounded on and began breaking the plywood covering the west side of the building," Portland police said in a statement. "People were using hammers, crowbars and other pry tools. Many people could be seen carrying bats and shields, people wore helmets and gas masks."
Just after 3 am local time, a caller reported that people had broken into a jewelry store.�Police responded and found the windows broken out and could see that valuables had been removed. A caller reported that windows at City Hall were broken out.
Local police did not deploy CS gas and made no arrests, the statement said. Local media reports said federal officers used tear gas, stun grenades and other riot munitions to disperse the crowd.
Federal forces were sent by Trump to help maintain law and order and protect Portland's federal courthouse, the focus of continuing protests over several weeks. The deployment has drawn criticism after reports emerged that officers, without badges or name tags, have detained protesters - and rioters - in an extrajudicial manner.
Local leaders including the city mayor and state lawmakers have called on the US administration to withdraw the federal forces.
Ongoing protests in Portland are a continuation of a nationwide movement against police brutality and racial injustice triggered by the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody in late May.
