Portland’s Black police chief says violent protesters have ‘taken away from’ the Black Lives Matter movement

  • Chuck Lovell, the police chief of Portland, Oregon, called for violent protesters to stop their actions at a Wednesday press conference.
  • While protests in downtown Portland have been peaceful since the presence of federal agents was scaled back last week, there have been violent offshoot protests in other parts of the city.
  • “Portlanders need to send a strong message that enough is enough. This is not forwarding the goals that are going to lead to better outcomes for people of color,” said Lovell, who is Black.
  • Wednesday marked the 70th consecutive day of demonstrations in the city, which started after George Floyd’s death in late May.
  • The Portland police declared riots on Tuesday and Wednesday night as this smaller group of protesters targeted a police union office and a police precinct. 

Portland’s police chief called out a small band of agitators who have started violent offshoots of the largely-peaceful Black Lives Matter protests, saying they have “taken away from” the movement.

Speaking at a Wednesday morning press conference, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, who is Black, said that the violence “is not forwarding the goals that are going to lead to better outcomes for people of color.”

https://www.insider.com/portland-police-chief-chuck-lovell-violence-taken-away-from-blm-2020-8