Protesters calling for an end to police violence against Black Portlanders are holding vigil Wednesday in the same spot police shot and killed a 27-year-old Black man exactly two years ago.
A few hundred demonstrators marched five blocks to Southwest Fourth Avenue and Harvey Milk Street from Pioneer Courthouse Square. “Who are we marching for?” leaders asked. “Patrick Kimmons!”
Some people in the group painted Kimmons' name on the street. Others placed candles and flowers beneath a banner demanding justice for Kimmons. A series of speeches started around 8 p.m.
“Make it known by our presence, make it by our bodies, make it known by our voice, how much this matters,” activist Kinsey Smyth said. “It’s the least we can do.”
Portland police have shot and killed 40 people since May 2003. Those fatally shot were disproportionately Black, an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive found in August.
None of the more than five dozen officers who pulled a trigger in the shootings were ultimately disciplined or indicted by a grand jury, despite attempts to fire or suspend some of them.
Police have said Kimmons was armed. A grand jury convened after Kimmons' death found the two officers fired in self defense. Police have said Kimmons shot and wounded two men amid a fight, then ran toward officers who heard the gunshots. One officer said he saw Kimmons shove a gun into his waistband and then reach to pull it back out. The other officer said he saw Kimmons point the gun toward them. They fired 12 times as Kimmons ran in their direction and then turned toward parked cars. Police said they recovered a revolver near Kimmons.
His mother, Letha Winston, greeted demonstrators Wednesday as they gathered in Pioneer Square.
Winston holds a protest every week outside Portland police buildings to demand police reopen his case. She is a frequent speaker at nightly protests that started in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in late May.
The demonstration for Kimmons in Portland comes as city, state and federal officials dispute the federal deputization of 56 Portland police officers. The designation means federal prosecutors file charges of assault on a federal officer if the deputized officers face attacks from demonstrators, including thrown fireworks, rocks, bottles or other objects. Federal offenses typically carry a stiffer sentence.
Yet even before local officers were deputized, federal prosecutors have and will continue to select certain protest cases to pursue in federal court.
Beth Nakamura and Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report, which will be updated throughout Wednesday.
-- Eder Campuzano
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