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Wednesday, November 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 21 Unrest erupts over police killing of Black man near Portland By Gillian Flaccus Associated Press VA N C O U V E R , Wa s h i n g t o n ( A P ) 4 Tensions boiled over into unrest late Friday, October 30, following a vigil for a Black man shot and killed by law enforcement in a city near Portland, Oregon, in southwestern Washington state. Mourners gathered in Hazel Dell, an unincorpo- rated area of Vancouver, Washington, where family and friends say Kevin E. Peterson Jr., 21, was shot Thursday night. The city is about 12 miles (19 kilome- ters) north of Portland. Hundreds of people gath- ered for the vigil Friday evening, with some holding signs reading, <Honk for Black lives. White silence is violence= and <Scream his name.= Nearby, tensions flared between left- and right-wing protesters. Video recorded by journalists in a parking lot showed two groups of people shouting at each other. Also, some armed demonstrators gathered near a building they told reporters they were protecting. The crowds ultimately fizzled out near the vigil but a group of hundreds of pro- testers later marched through d o w n t o w n Va n c o u v e r. Windows were shattered, flags were burned and fed- eral agents clothed in riot gear surrounded a building 4 warning people that tres- passing on federal property would be subject to arrest. Multiple videos showed two vehicles facing each other just after midnight on a downtown street. Two shots were heard but report- ers at the scene said it didn9t appear anyone was hit. Authorities declared an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to dis- perse. At least one per- son appeared to have been detained, according to video posted online by a journalist. Family and friends had described Peterson as a for- mer high school football player and the proud father of an infant daughter. In a statement, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins said a joint city-county nar- cotics task force was con- ducting an investigation just before 6 p.m. Thursday and chased a man into the park- ing lot of a bank, where he fired a gun at them. A fire- arm was recovered at the scene, Atkins said. Authorities have not named the person who was shot, but Kevin E. Peterson Sr. told The Oregonian/ OregonLive the person was his son, Kevin E. Peterson Jr. Atkins referenced the Peterson family in his remarks but did not confirm Peterson was the person who was killed. <I can say that our agency is grieving as is the Peterson family and the community,= Atkins said. <As the commu- nity grieves, I call for there to be a respectful and digni- fied observance of the loss of life in this matter. There is always the potential for mis- information, doubt and con- fusion 4 and there may be those who wish to sow seeds of doubt.= The investigation has been referred to the S o u t h w e s t Wa s h i n g t o n Independent Investigation Team, and the Camas Police Department is taking the lead, Atkins said. Investigators said Friday evening that the narcotics task force had contacted a man suspected of selling ille- gal drugs in a motel parking lot and that he fled on foot with officers following. The man produced a handgun and the officers backed off, investigators said. A short time later, the man encoun- tered three Clark County deputies, all of whom fired their pistols at the man, they added. They did not say the man fired a handgun found at They’re not sure what happened, why the encounter took place. — Mac Smiff the scene, making it unclear what happened just before the shooting. The community is a short drive north across the Columbia River from Portland, where racial jus- tice protests have played out nearly every night since George Floyd9s killing by police in May. Southwest Washington is also home to the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, which has held rallies for President Donald Trump in Portland in recent months Quality Truck-mounted CARPET CLEANING Quality Cleaning 16 years in Reasonable Prices Sisters! — Credit Cards Accepted — ENVIROTECH 541-771-5048 that ended in violence. Earlier Friday, several people paid their respects to Peterson at the site of the shooting. Mac Smiff, an organizer of Black Lives Matter pro- tests in Portland, said he knows Peterson9s sister and spent more than five hours at the scene. <There was a ton of grief, a ton of grief. He9s 21 and has a baby, an infant,= Smiff said. <They9re not sure what happened, why the encoun- ter took place. Everyone was extremely disheveled and confused.= Jake Thompson, a high school acquaintance of Peterson, said he took photos at the wedding of Peterson9s parents in Portland in 2018. On Friday, he posted a black- and-white photo of Peterson in a suit and bow tie as he flashed a big grin. <I didn9t sleep much last night,= he said Friday. Peterson played foot- ball at Union High School in Vancouver, Washington, loved sports of any kind and was a big personal- ity who was known and liked by everyone at school, Thompson said. Gypsy Wind Clothing LADIES…YOU ARE AWESOME! I appreciate you shopping with and supporting us. — Janet Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062 RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL 183 E. HOOD AVE. • OPEN WED.-SAT., 10 A.M.- 4 P.M. We have something for ALL ages! and Fun Fitness Stay up to date on SPRD programs ms at... SistersRecreation.com 541-549-2091 • 1750 W. McKinney Butte Rd., Sisters This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper