The police shooting of Daunte Wright on Monday night included angry protests in many US cities – with a riot which was declared in Portland, Oregon, as a crowd of hundreds of police officers, according to officials.
At least 40 people were arrested during a second night of violence in Brooklyn Center, the city on the outskirts of Minneapolis, where Wright was killed Sunday, and protesters gathered in other cities in a show of unity.
“Burn the area to the ground, in every city and every city!” a crowd marching through Portland was filmed.
There were also reports of protests in Los Angeles, California, while areas in Seattle, Washington, were covered under anti-group graffiti as protesters with black-clad protesters repeatedly blocked highways, KIRO 7 said.
Photos also showed protesters, also in black clothes, streaming through a subway station in Washington, while hundreds gathered in the capital.
In the Big Apple, dozens of marchers closed a section of Manhattan Bridge Monday night in a peaceful protest.
Only one woman, a 22-year-old, has been issued summonses for obstructing government administration, resisting arrest and the criminal possession of a weapon due to pepper spray, the NYPD said.
However, Portland – the troubled city that saw the most tumultuous protests following George Floyd’s death last May – once again saw Antifa militants clash with police on Monday night and tried to storm government buildings.
According to police, the reports first came from homeowners that people marching through their area stole rocks and bricks to use as weapons against the downtown police.
They then attempted to storm the Penumbra Kelly building, which houses offices for several law enforcement agencies, including Portland police and the sheriff in Multnomah County.
According to Portland police, there was a crowd of ‘about 200 people, most aggressive towards the police’.
‘People [threw] “Glass bottles, frozen water bottles, rocks, ball bearings and other objects, and fireworks were fired in parallel with the ground in the direction of the police and the building,” the department said, initially declaring it an illegal gathering.
“The behavior of the crowd did not improve, and the order over the incident declared a riot.”
Officers responded with ammunition and grenades, and at one point the protesters chased them to the ground and pushed them to the ground and pinned them down, reports The Oregonian.
Elsewhere in the city, a group cut through a chain fence to gain access to a parking lot at the historic building that houses the traffic offices of the Portland Police Department while the riot took place.
The suspects, who fled before officers responded, smashed windows and cut tires of several police vehicles.
In Seattle – another hotspot of violent protests last year – police have warned people to avoid an area where protesters repeatedly block traffic.
Photos shared by police showed graffiti, including “BLM” and the anti-police phrase “F – k 12.”
In DC, photos showed a large group of black-clad protesters jumping over turnstiles at a subway station while hundreds demonstrated Monday night, Fox 5 said.
