Protests in Portland turned violent as protesters attempted to establish an autonomous zone and looted stores around a police precinct, turning it instead into a “war zone”. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the North Precinct on the one month anniversary of George Floyd’s death while in police custody. While protests earlier in the day had been peaceful, protesters set fires around the precinct as they attempted to “burn the building down” after failing to take control of it. A Portland police report described how protesters gathered, bringing supplies “to build a fence.” While some protesters blocked traffic and attempted to build an autonomous zone outside the precinct similar to the one in Seattle, others hurled projectiles, including glass bottles and fireworks, at police. At least one officer was taken to hospital with injuries, though he is expected to make a full recovery.
During a special committee on police reform held Wednesday, the Los Angeles city council approved a motion to create an "unarmed" response unit, tasked with handling non-violent emergencies. The motion directs the #LAPD to work with other local entities in responding to health and homelessness issues. It also seeks to “develop an unarmed model of crisis response that would divert non-violent calls for service away from LAPD to the appropriate non-law enforcement agencies and related matters," The Los Angeles Times reported. The move comes after the council's budget and finance committee reportedly received pushback for only slashing $133 million from the LAPD's budget. The annual budget for LA's police force is over $1.1 billion, according to Forbes.
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Meanwhile, in Portland right now, in front of Justice Center.
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Meanwhile, somewhere in Russia
Statement Released about August 2019 Officer-Involved #Shooting in Response to Attorney’s Press Conference. Hours after attorney Marc Brown held a press conference Friday morning regarding an officer-involved shooting involving his client, Sir Brandon Legette, back in August 2019, a spokesperson with the Columbia Police Department called information provided by Brown “inaccurate, incomplete, and irresponsible.” Legette, 29, is suing the City of Columbia, the Columbia Police Department, and Officer Sean Rollins after he was injured following a shooting in a parking lot off Broad River Road. According to CPD, the facts given concerning the August 2019 incident do not tell the entire story.
Clashes between police and protesters Friday night near the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Va. -- in which officers were hit with paintballs and other objects -- resulted in six arrests. The monument to the Civil War general, in the city that served as the capital of the Confederacy, has been the site of frequent clashes in recent weeks, following the George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. A crowd of about 75 to 100 people that gathered near the monument started to disperse around 10 p.m., the police declared an unlawful assembly when officers started being hit with paintball pellets. Other objects also were directed toward officers, prompting police to arrest five adults and one juvenile. Police had at least five vans parked in the area for transporting detainees. Charges included unlawful assembly, trespassing and obstruction of justice. The crowd was mostly gone by 11:35 p.m.
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In Portland, a group of several hundred demonstrators set fire to the North Precinct building while people were inside and barricaded the doors after they were unable to break in through a garage, according to a Portland Police Bureau account of the incident. Police in riot gear used CS gas, a type of tear gas, around 2:15 a.m. to disperse the crowd. A federal judge on June 9 issued a 14-day court order barring the launching of the riot-control agent except when a life is at risk. The judge extended the temporary order through July 24.
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National forecast for Saturday, June 27
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In Seattle, protesters attacked a police station. During the clashes, police managed to push back the attackers. According to preliminary data, none of the officers was injured.
The #NYPD precinct boss who retired in protest this week blasted politicians for wanting to “vilify” cops during a raucous final walk-out celebration at his Bronx stationhouse Friday. Deputy Inspector Richard Brea rode off in a restored classic police car at about 3 p.m. after the celebration outside the 46th Precinct, which featured an NYPD helicopter fly by and NYPD bagpipers. In a speech at the ceremony, Brea slammed politicians for not backing police officers amid nationwide protests against police brutality. “Their blood is in the concrete of every street corner, but these politicians don’t want to remember that. They want to blame and vilify everyone here. I won’t have that. No sir. We have a duty and a responsibility to respect and guide other cops,” he added. After his remarks, he shook hands with his officers and posed for photos as the crowd cheered and clapped for him. He then climbed into the vintage police car rode around and rode shotgun as the driver made a ceremonious trip around the block.
Michigan authorities have charged an 18-year-old black man for the “unprovoked,” caught-on-video assault of a white Macy’s manager, officials said. Damire Palmer, of Mount Morris Township, faces one count of felony assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder for the June 26 attack on the employee inside the Flint department store. Palmer is still in the wind. “This was an unprovoked attack on a Macy’s employee,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton in a statement. “This behavior as seen on the video is unacceptable, it is criminal, and it cannot be allowed. ”Contrary to initial claims, police and prosecutors didn’t uncover any evidence that Palmer assaulted the staffer after he’d allegedly used the N-word, officials said. “We don’t believe any racial slur was made by the store manager,” Leyton said.