Portland police disperse pepper spray to the crowd after a deadly shooting involving an officer

A suspect described only as a white male was fatally shot in the morning by an officer who responded to a report that a man pointed a gun in the park, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said in a press release.

The PPB says lethal force was used after attempts were made to commit “less lethal” rounds, the press release said. Officers provided emergency medical care, but the male subject was declared dead on the spot.

While the shooting was under investigation, a crowd gathered and began yelling at officers, the PPB said.

“The hostile crowd estimated to be more than 100 people has broken off the police tape from the crime scene and encroached on the work area,” the Portland Police Department said in a news release Friday night.

Protesters beat officers with sticks and water bottles as they left the park, the PPB said.

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According to the department, no chemical ammunition was used against the crowd, but they did use a ‘Rubber Ball Distraction Device’.

No officers were injured and no arrests were made.

The PPB said “the concerned desk member” is an 8-year veteran of the department.

The officer’s name will be released Saturday, and the officer will be given paid administrative leave until the investigation is completed by police and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, the PPB said.

As in cities across the country, protests erupted in Portland late last spring over George Floyd’s death by the Minneapolis police and expanded to include demands for police accountability and prosecution reform in the cases of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain and other black victims.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler released a statement on Friday encouraging everyone to “continue with empathy and peace.”

“These shootings are always traumatic for everyone involved and for our community, regardless of the circumstances. I want to express my condolences to the person involved and their family. I am also thinking of the agents involved,” said Wheeler.

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