Wednesday, August 12, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Unrest continues in Portland over weekend Sisters man arrested
By Martha Bellisle & Gillian Flaccus
Associated Press
PORTLAND (AP) 4 A
fire inside a police union
building led authorities in
Portland to declare a riot and
force protesters away from
the offices as violent demon-
strations continue in the city
that had hoped for calm after
federal agents withdrew more
than a week ago.
Three officers were hurt,
including two who were taken
to a hospital, during efforts
to clear a crowd of several
hundred people outside the
Portland Police Association
building late Saturday, police
said in a statement. The two
hospitalized officers have
since been released.
Rallies had been held
earlier in the afternoon and
evening throughout the
city, including at Peninsula,
Laurelhurst, and Berrydale
parks, local media reported.
Police said a group from
Peninsula Park marched to the
Portland Police Association
building, which is located
about 5 miles north of the
federal courthouse that had
been the target of nightly vio-
lence earlier this summer. The
Portland Police Association is
a labor union that represents
members of the Portland
Police Bureau.
A group of demonstra-
tors broke into the building,
set the fire and were add-
ing to it when officers made
the riot declaration just after
11:30 p.m., police said. Video
shot by a journalist, and sur-
veillance video from inside
the building obtained by the
police department, shows
smoke and flames arising
from inside the building.
Officers formed a line
and used flash bangs and
smoke canisters to force the
protest several blocks away.
Demonstrators congregated
at Kenton Park, where they
were again ordered to dis-
perse. Most of the crowd had
left by 2 a.m., police stated.
The gatherings this week
had been noticeably smaller
than the crowds of thousands
who turned out nightly for
about two weeks in July to
protest the presence of U.S.
agents sent by the Trump
administration to protect the
federal courthouse downtown.
This week9s clashes have,
however, amped up tensions
after an agreement between
state and federal officials
seemed to offer a brief
reprieve.
Police arrested 24 people
during demonstrations over-
night Friday after they said
people defied orders to dis-
perse and threw rocks, frozen
or hard-boiled eggs and com-
mercial-grade fireworks at
officers. An unlawful assem-
bly was declared outside the
Penumbra Kelly public safety
building.
Most of those arrested
were from Portland, while
one man was from Oakland,
California, and another was
from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Most
were in their 20s or 30s. The
charges included assault on
an officer, interfering with
an officer, disorderly conduct
and resisting arrest.
An Oregon State Police
trooper was struck in the head
by a large rock and suffered
a head injury, police said. The
trooper9s condition was not
immediately known.
Some demonstrators filled
pool noodles with nails and
placed them in the road, caus-
ing extensive damage to a
patrol vehicle, police said.
Oregon State Police worked
with Portland officers to clear
the protesters.
Since George Floyd was
killed in Minneapolis, pro-
tests over racial injustice and
police brutality have occurred
nightly for more than 70 days.
Democratic Mayor Ted
Wheeler said violent protest-
ers are also serving as politi-
cal <props= for President
Donald Trump in a divisive
election season where the
president is hammering on
a law-and-order message.
Trump has called the protest-
ers <sick and dangerous anar-
chists= running wild in the
city9s streets.
during Prineville rally
Michael Satcher, 42, of
Sisters was arrested after an
altercation during a Black
Lives Matter rally at the
Crook County Courthouse
in downtown Prineville on
Saturday.
The demonstration was
organized by the Central
Oregon Diversity Project
and Central Oregon
Peacekeepers.
Satcher, 42, was charged
with disorderly conduct,
interfering with a police
officer and harassment. He
was reportedly released on
bail. In addition, Ronald
Campbell, 57, of Prineville,
was charged with disorderly
conduct. Jasmine Barnett,
40, of Bend, was charged
with disorderly conduct and
harassment.
Luke Richter, presi-
dent of the Central Oregon
Peacekeepers, provided The
Nugget with a statement on
the incident:
<Two Central Oregon
BLM leaders faced an
attack and violence from
counter protestors. The
people defending them
were arrested as a result,
while counter protestors
who instigated the attack
were allowed to walk free.
Due to impending legal
action, we will refrain from
further comments for the
time being.=
Video from the Central
Oregon Peacekeepers9
Facebook page appears
to show Satcher filming
the arrest of another pro-
tester with a phone. Satcher
appears to step forward
between two officers as
they are escorting the hand-
cuffed protester away from
the scene; an officer then
immediately grabs Satcher,
restrains him against a
police vehicle and takes him
into custody.
Prineville has seen mul-
tiple Black Lives Matter
protest rallies in the past
two months. Unlike Sisters9
demonstrations, which
have been trouble free, the
Prineville protests have
often featured confronta-
tions between demonstrators
and counter-protesters.
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