Activists clash with Portland police as council OKs contract
PORTLAND, Ore. — Police used pepper spray and arrested 10 people as demonstrators stormed City Hall in Portland, Oregon, Wednesday trying to stop the City Council from voting on a new police contract that includes more pay for officers and raised questions about the future use of body cameras.
Police said Wednesday evening they had arrested nine people but later revised that number to 10.
The demonstration forced Mayor Charlie Hales to stop the meeting, but city commissioners soon reconvened in a secure, third-floor room to vote while protesters from Black Lives Matter and Don’t Shoot Portland were kept below.
Amid chants and shouts from below, the commissioners voted 3-1 in favour of the new contract, setting off another round of protests that briefly blocked public transit in the downtown core.