Portland Residents Protest Police Killings

Portland, OR—Around fifty people gathered at the North Park Blocks in downtown Portland today to protest police brutality and the recent death of James Chasse who died in police custody. The event was held in conjunction with similar events around the country to highlight police abuses, but was organized autonomously of the national coalition. Most participants dressed in black to show support for the families of people killed by police.

People started banging on plastic bucket drums and a parade formed
behind the banner "Cops and Klan go hand in hand." People paraded
through downtown streets chanting against police abuse and the system that fosters it. Portland police remained mostly out of sight except for a few plainclothes officers videotaping the crowd.

The parade ended in Pioneer Square where people unrelated to protest
held signs reading "free hugs." Many people accepted the free hugs.
People soon gathered again to talk about police abuse and why they
were there. The names of people killed by the police in the Portland
area were announced over the megaphone. One man spoke in detail about how his cousin Fouad Kaady was murdered by police. These speeches attracted more people from the square who were curious what was going on.

The event ended without incident. Some participants expressed the
need to do more outreach and education to get more people involved in the future. Others expressed the continued importance of people standing in solidarity with the families and friends of people victimized by the police.