Police Arrest 6 Following Clashes Outside Portland City Council Meeting

By Laura Klinkner (OPB)
Portland, Oregon March 30, 2017 1 p.m.
Supporters for Quanice Hayes protested in downtown Portland, Wednesday, March 29, 2017.

Supporters for Quanice Hayes protested in downtown Portland, Wednesday, March 29, 2017.

Laura Klinkner / OPB

Six people were arrested and a Portland City Council meeting was delayed following protests Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of protesters blocked off the entrance to the Portland Building, where the City Council meeting was taking place.

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The demonstrators chanted and carried signs calling for “Justice for Quanice Hayes,” a black teenager who was killed by Portland police Feb. 9.

Officer Andrew Hearst, who shot and killed Hayes, was cleared of any wrongdoing by a Multnomah County grand jury last week.

City officials put the Portland Building on lockdown and restricted access to the council meeting using a ticketing system.

From left Damion Feller, Adebisi Ashley Okuneye and Hollis McClure were arrested for disorderly conduct during a protest in downtown Portland, March 29, 2017.  They were booked, released and given traffic citations for "improper position on highway."

From left Damion Feller, Adebisi Ashley Okuneye and Hollis McClure were arrested for disorderly conduct during a protest in downtown Portland, March 29, 2017. They were booked, released and given traffic citations for "improper position on highway."

Courtesy of the Portland Police Bureau

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Protesters who were barred from the building continued to march through downtown and blocked traffic at times.

Police said they arrested Hollis Laray Patrick McClure, 34; Adebisi Ashley Okuneye, 20; Damion Zachary Feller, 22; Tara Parrish, 46; Lucy Elizabeth Smith, 35; and an unidentified 14-year-old male.

Police booked McClure, Okuneye, Feller and Parrish into the Multnomah County Jail and charged them with second-degree disorderly conduct. Officers also charged Feller with reckless burning for lighting a road flare outside the Portland Building. Smith was charged with fourth-degree assault and strangulation for an assault police say occurred in front of the Portland Building. The 14-year-old also faces second-degree charges of disorderly conduct, according to the police.

Police said they received reports of two assaults and property damage near the building and are continuing their investigation of those incidents.

After the council meeting began an hour late, at least one person who made it into the meeting was given a blue warning card for disrupting the proceeding. They then left the meeting.

"You have engaged in disruptive behavior affecting the orderly conduct of the Council meeting," the card said. "You are directed to immediately leave the Council meeting. You will be subject to removal and arrest for trespass if you do not do so."

Wednesday's protest is the most recent in a string of disruptions to city council proceedings.

Last week, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced arrests would occur if disruptive behavior continued.

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