Several hundred people gathered late Tuesday in downtown on the 41st day of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, calling for defunding of the city’s police force, talking about injustices they had experienced and remembering a demonstrator killed by a car Saturday in Seattle.
A crowd gathered at the federal courthouse, sitting in the street in front and on its steps, listening to speakers, occasionally chanting and holding a moment of silence for Summer Taylor, 24, of Portland.
In nearby Chapman Square by the Multnomah County Justice Center, another group gathered to remember Taylor, lighting candles and carrying signs.
Taylor was hit by Dawit Kelete early Saturday, Seattle authorities said, when he drove his car onto a closed freeway where people were holding a Black Femme March protest in the ongoing movement.
The gatherings remained peaceful for more than two hours and then about midnight a small fight broke out among some demonstrators at Chapman Square. Police suddenly showed up and moved toward people in the park, then receded after setting off two loud munitions. The crowd split among Chapman Square and the Justice Center, and remained there as the night wore on.
Both Portland and Seattle have been the site of prolonged protests and rallies in the wake of the May death of George Floyd in Minneapolis under the knee of a white police officer while he was handcuffed on the ground.
Protesters have a sit-in at the federal courthouse on July 7, 2020. Speakers announced the sit-in to prove that they aren't just about violence.Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian
Another protester was seriously injured in the Seattle crash, Diaz Love, also of Portland, who is recovering at Harborview Hospital in Seattle.
Kelete was booked into King County Correctional Facility on two counts of vehicular assault and has a $1.2 million bail.
Protesters in Seattle have held vigils in Taylor’s memory and started fund drives for Love’s hospital bills.
-- Oregonian staff reports
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Demonstrators gather to remember Portlander killed at Seattle protest, support Black Lives Matter - OregonLive
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