Protesters angry at police march in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A chanting crowd of at least 200 protesters angry over two recent police-involved shootings marched Monday evening through downtown Portland.
The Oregonian reported that police took at least four people into custody. One officer told dispatchers he had been hit by a rock.
Separately, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was in town Monday. He, too, criticized the recent fatal shootings, calling them "symptoms of a deeper problem of insensitivity and detachment."
On Jan. 29, Officer Ron Frashour shot and killed an unarmed man, Aaron Campbell, in an apartment building parking lot in a situation that started out as a welfare check.
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Campbell, 25.
On March 22, Officer Jason Walters shot and killed Jack Dale Collins, a 58-year-old homeless man who reportedly was causing a disturbance in Hoyt Arboretum. The officer said he fired when Collins came at him with a knife and refused to drop the weapon.
Jackson said the lack of resources available to homeless people is an "an embarrassment to the church and to the state.
"The homeless people must have shelter and mental health and help and care. We're too blessed to have that many homeless people," the veteran civil rights leader said.
A grand jury is expected to consider the Collins' shooting later this week.
During a visit in February, Jackson called Campbell's death an "execution" and criticized a Multnomah County grand jury's decision to clear Frashour of any wrongdoing. Jackson's latest visit was planned before the Collins' shooting.
A police spokeswoman said the Police Bureau didn't have a response to Jackson's comments.
During Monday evening's protest, police used bicycle officers and officers on horseback in an effort to keep the marchers on sidewalks as they followed a route past the federal courthouse, the justice center and the federal building.
At one point, a window was broken in a Bank of America office.
The protest was the latest of several recent demonstrations in reaction to the police shootings.
Monday's event was promoted by the Cascadia Convergence Network, which called online for a protest march to mark the second-month anniversary of the Campbell shooting.
A group known as the Black Bloc had also posted plans for Monday's protest, advising members how to split up and evade police detection by bringing a change of clothing.
The Oregonian reported that police took at least four people into custody. One officer told dispatchers he had been hit by a rock.
Separately, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was in town Monday. He, too, criticized the recent fatal shootings, calling them "symptoms of a deeper problem of insensitivity and detachment."
On Jan. 29, Officer Ron Frashour shot and killed an unarmed man, Aaron Campbell, in an apartment building parking lot in a situation that started out as a welfare check.
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Campbell, 25.
On March 22, Officer Jason Walters shot and killed Jack Dale Collins, a 58-year-old homeless man who reportedly was causing a disturbance in Hoyt Arboretum. The officer said he fired when Collins came at him with a knife and refused to drop the weapon.
Jackson said the lack of resources available to homeless people is an "an embarrassment to the church and to the state.
"The homeless people must have shelter and mental health and help and care. We're too blessed to have that many homeless people," the veteran civil rights leader said.
A grand jury is expected to consider the Collins' shooting later this week.
During a visit in February, Jackson called Campbell's death an "execution" and criticized a Multnomah County grand jury's decision to clear Frashour of any wrongdoing. Jackson's latest visit was planned before the Collins' shooting.
A police spokeswoman said the Police Bureau didn't have a response to Jackson's comments.
During Monday evening's protest, police used bicycle officers and officers on horseback in an effort to keep the marchers on sidewalks as they followed a route past the federal courthouse, the justice center and the federal building.
At one point, a window was broken in a Bank of America office.
The protest was the latest of several recent demonstrations in reaction to the police shootings.
Monday's event was promoted by the Cascadia Convergence Network, which called online for a protest march to mark the second-month anniversary of the Campbell shooting.
A group known as the Black Bloc had also posted plans for Monday's protest, advising members how to split up and evade police detection by bringing a change of clothing.
