Protesters against police violence marched onto southbound Interstate 405 and remained on the Fremont Bridge for about two hours Tuesday near downtown Portland.
Thousands of people started marching at Jefferson High School in North Portland and exited on to the interstate around 8 p.m. Marchers continued toward the middle of the Fremont Bridge, where several people used a megaphone to address the crowd.
The march was organized by Rose City Justice as the latest in a string of protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
Organizers called on the Portland City Council on Wednesday to vote down a proposed plan for the police bureau’s budget that falls far short of the $50 million in cuts called for by hundreds of people. Some people attached “Defund police” and “No justice, no peace” banners to the midspan of the bridge.
Cars blocked traffic from Interstate 5 from exiting onto southbound I-405 as marchers made their way across the bridge. Protesters started to turn around at 9:30 p.m. and walked back toward North Portland.
A separate group of demonstrators also gathered near the downtown Justice Center — a flashpoint for Portland protests.
Demonstrators removed a flag from outside the doors to the Portland Police Bureau’s Central Precinct, which is located inside the building, shortly after 11 p.m., police said. They used the flag cord to keep a roll-up door from opening, according to police.
Demonstrators also locked the precinct’s main doors from the outside with a U-lock and lit the flag on fire, police said.
The burning flag hurt one person, according to police. Police gave warnings to the crowd, which marched to the Pearl District.
In the biggest public safety incident of the night, a driver hit three demonstrators in the area of Southwest Third Avenue and Alder Street shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
The driver, identified by police as 27-year-old Anthony Eaglehorse-Lassandro, drove away “at a high rate of speed” but was tracked and eventually arrested on suspicion of hit and run, reckless driving and possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Two people were taken from the scene by ambulance, police said. Another was taken for treatment in a personal car. Police don’t think any of them suffered injuries that threatened their lives.
Eaglehorse-Lassandro hit at least one other car and a barrier during the incident, police said. He was the only person arrested in connection with the protests.
Demonstrators in Portland have marched every day for nearly three weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Tuesday was the second time marchers have filled a major freeway. A demonstration earlier in June shut down eastbound Interstate 84 for nearly an hour.
-- K. Rambo and Jim Ryan
krambo@oregonian.com; jryan@oregonian.com
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Portland protesters march on Fremont Bridge; driver later hits demonstrators downtown - OregonLive
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