PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police arrested two people after a group of of people marched through a Portland neighborhood Friday night, with some blocking streets, breaking windows at some businesses and spraying graffiti.
The Portland Police Department released a statement early Saturday morning saying the demonstration had been declared a riot. The police statement said about 75 people began marching in the streets at about 9:15 p.m., and the department received reports of broken windows and graffiti a short time later. Two people were arrested on suspicion of criminal mischief.
The city has seen repeated protests and vandalism since George Floyd’s death last May.
Earlier Friday, Mayor Ted Wheeler said he was extending a state of emergency declared for the verdict at the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter for pinning Floyd to the pavement with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Wheeler and Acting Police Chief Chris Davis urged members of the public to write down the license plates of the demonstrators who frequently wear all black attire designed to make it difficult to recognize individuals, and to report anyone who is overheard bragging about committing violence.
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