Downtown Portland Protests Follow Memorial Service for Teen Killed by Police

PORTLAND, OR – Protesters gathered in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center and Portland Building Wednesday afternoon following the memorial service for Portland teen Quanice Hayes, the 17-year-old who was shot and killed by Portland police Officer Andrew Hearst in February.

Around 1:30 p.m., more than 50 people met at the Justice Center, 1120 S.W. Third Ave., before walking to the Portland Building at 1120 S.W. Fifth Ave., Portland police spokesman Pete Simpson told Patch Wednesday.

When they arrived, based on the aggressive crowds and unruly behavior, Simpson said, police encouraged Portland Building staff to lock the doors and prevent the protesters from entering.

In response, the protesters attempted to block anyone else from entering, which affected the scheduled 2 p.m. Portland City Council meeting.

A physical altercation ensued, which was captured on video by KGW news crews:

Police Vans and SUVs arrived within the hour, all carrying officers wearing riot gear. However, Simpson said, no force was necessary and no projectiles were fired into the crowds.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, one of whom was also charged with reckless burning.

All three were given traffic citations for Improper Position on a Highway, Simpson said, with other reports of two assaults and property damage still under investigation.

The city council meeting was postponed until 3 p.m.

Simpson said someone who works in the Portland Building was also injured, with that incident also under investigation.

A Grand Jury cleared Hearst March 21 of any wrongdoing in the shooting incident that killed Hayes, finding the officer justified in his use of lethal force Feb. 8.

The Oregonian/OregonLive provided background in its report:

Hayes was a suspect in an armed robbery outside a hotel about two blocks from the scene of his death on Feb. 8, police said. During a search, Portland Police Bureau officers came face-to-face with Hayes in the side yard of a home in the 8300 block of Northeast Tillamook Street.

Officer Andrew Hearst, who fatally shot Hayes, testified he warned the teen several times to keep his hands away from his waist before firing three times, grand jury transcripts released Monday show.

Hearst said he heard other officers tell Hayes to keep his hands up, but they only appeared halfway extended, he told a Multnomah County grand jury recently.

Police said a replica tan and black gun was later found near Hayes.

A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by Hearst. The grand jury heard testimony for two days before returning its decision earlier this month that the shooting was justified in the case that has drawn local protests over another death of a young African American man at the hands of a police officer.

Hayes' family has decried the circumstances of the shooting and media coverage.

"Neither robbery, theft, menacing, property damage or any crimes like this are punishable by death," a cousin, Terrence Hayes, said to a crowd outside a City Council meeting earlier this month. "Oregonians have been deceived into believing that an officer can execute another Oregonian just because he may or may not be guilty of a crime."

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