Last night, while cities around the nation howled with outrage over the freedom of Officer Darren Wilson, Portland kept mostly quiet. It was easy to wonder if “Little Beirut” had lost some of its edge along the way.

Tonight mostly dispelled those questions. What began as a heavily attended rally, march, and sing-along near the Multnomah County Justice Center at 4 pm took a turn around 6, when protesters decided there were better things to do than repeat “We Shall Overcome” again.

Hundreds upon hundred of incessantly chanting Portlanders began marching the wrong way down SW 3rd and, when cops threatened to arrest them at the foot of the Morrison Bridge, took to the Burnside Bridge instead, blocking both lanes of traffic at points. Then they blocked NE MLK. Then SE Grand.

Throughout all this, the police were content to follow, and watch, and admonish people to get out of the street from their ice cream truck-like public address wagon.

“The AMA (Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform) thought they were going to hijack our protest,” one activist said around this time. There was a palpable resentment that the early hours of the demonstration—led by the AMA—lacked antagonism.

That ended at SE Washington and Water, when a small contingent hopped onto the long, curving viaduct that puts you onto Eastbound I-84 from the Morrison Bridge (because blocking freeways is in this year). The cops, watched closely by police bureau bigwigs, got upset.

Denis believes he saw Sgt. Kyle Nice (he of the road rage and James Chasse complicity) pepper spray someone. I saw cops throwing their bicycles down in frustration, and looking on helplessly as marchers tipped a parked police motorcycle. Overall, though, they showed admirable restraint during the portions of the march I saw, even amid some pretty bad behavior.

One guy threw something heavy at a brand new car as we passed the Chevytown dealership. A bunch of people set themselves on a dark SUV as marchers trekked west across the Morrison Bridge, bashing out a window and smashing it with heavy objects (I’m told it had hit a bike someone was using to block the road). The vast, vast majority of people, though, were content to march, chant, and block traffic.

By the time I parted from the protest to type this post, it had lost roughly a third of its members, and was making its way up to Providence Park, where Denis’ tweets suggest things are tense, and where people are calling individual cops out for condoning the “I Am Darren Wilson” sentiments of their colleagues.

Follow Denis for the latest. That’s all for now.

(Except that tonight was the first and only time I’ve walked across the automobile lanes of the Morrison Bridge, and so the first time I was able to examine the bridge’s worrying defects up close. It looks bad, with screws and bolts showing through the surface all over the place. I’d have taken pictures, but my phone died.)

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

13 replies on “Portland’s Up for a Michael Brown Protest, After All”

  1. I was watching KGW when they were walking across the burnside bridge and then turned south on Grand. They were standing in front of cars, etc. One guy was sitting in his car and had words with a few masked men who would not move, then they punched him in the nose.

  2. So they are protesting the jury’s decision? If so i hope none of them are ever selected for jury duty. You can’t bring your emotionally heated baggage and prejudgements to court. You have to weigh the facts and evidence and base your decision on that. Maybe it’s just been too long since the last march. It was a nice day out! I’m sure if they have a message it will be even more vague than Occupy.

  3. I love that you looked at the decking, Dirk. I thought to do it only after we were past it, heading down to SW 3rd on Washington.

    Everything ended peacefully and brightly after the flareup at Providence, a partly silent march down to Waterfront Park where speeches were made.

  4. “”The AMA (Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform) thought they were going to hijack our protest,” one activist said around this time. There was a palpable resentment that the early hours of the demonstration—led by the AMA—lacked antagonism.”

    Props to AMA for being on top of this since the beginning– they really did organize the event. That “activist” quoted is wrong to think it’s “theirs” when they weren’t organizing it.

    On the one hand, the protest belongs to the community, on the other hand, it’s important that it’s being lead by those most effected– like AMA.

  5. ‘It was easy to wonder if “Little Beirut” had lost some of its edge along the way.’

    People are hesitant to come out to make their voices heard because they don’t want to give tacit support to the assholes.

  6. You would think everyone would be celebrating the fact that the cop followed the law? Everyone who had their faces covered deserved to be thrown into the Willamette, what a bunch of little cowards.

  7. I’ve never ever thought about the issues surrounding police brutality even once in my life until some guy jumped in front of my car on the I-84 onramp wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. Now, I’m totally on board with this and truly understand the issue.

  9. The Grand Jury considered one question: Is there sufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal prosecution against Darren Wilson. As frustrating as it may be, they probably got the answer right: It would be impossible to prove criminal intent in a trial.

    That said, nothing in their decision supports Andy from Nutriatown’s claim that “the cop followed the law.” He did not. Nothing in the ruling absolves Wilson or justifies the killing of Michael Brown.

    The prosecutor’s announcement misled the public about what the verdict meant. Most press coverage has done the same. That’s what’s led to this false belief among many people that the Grand Jury was making some kind of generalized determination about who was right and who was wrong, or that the ruling means that the shooting was justified. They weren’t and it wasn’t.

  10. Just chiming in to say, Denis and Dirk: this post embodies a lot of the kind of reporting I have appreciated from the Merc for many years: what we know as we know it, consistent updates, determined and honest reporting. Well done and I hope we’ll continue to see more of it. It’s a niche in this town that your team has filled very well for a long time.

  11. If Michael Brown hadn’t assaulted Officer Wilson, he would be alive today. This is what happens when you have no respect for other peoples’ property and/or legal authority. He got what he deserved, as far as I’m concerned.

  12. Would there be protests if the situation was reversed? If Michael Brown would have shot Officer Wilson? Or if Michael Brown was white? Michael Brown set this in motion when he chose to steal the cigars and confront Officer Brown. Where is Brown’s culpability? Brown stuck his head in the car and punched Officer Brown, if Michael would have walked on the sidewalk when Officer Brown told him to none of this would be happening. He has a responsibility in this. It is sad that this happened. But Officer Brown was doing his job.

Comments are closed.