Two arrested in protest at East Portland law enforcement building

PORTLAND, Ore. — Police say a demonstration in downtown Portland remained peaceful Monday night, but the same cannot be said about a protest outside the city-owned Penumbra Kelly Building in East Portland.

According to police, about 200 protesters marched on East Burnside Street from Laurelhurst Park to the building at 47th Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. Once there, police said the group blocked the road in both directions and Portland Fire Bureau had to take a detour around the crowd to reach a reported house fire near East Burnside Street and Southeast 57th Avenue.

Police said some members of the crowd threw items at officers and pointed lasers, bright lights and strobe lights in officers' eyes. They said one officer was punched and a protester struck another officer on the arm with a swinging stick or baton.

Police declared an unlawful assembly shortly before midnight and said they deployed gas after moving the crowd several blocks.

According to police, city employees were working in the Penumbra Kelly Building at the time of the protest.

Police said protesters left the area by around 1:30 a.m.

The two men officers arrested are 23-year-old Zachary Perry, of Portland and 27-year-old Travis Hessel, of Portland. Both were booked in the Multnomah County Jail.

Perry is facing a charge of second-degree criminal trespass. Hessel faces a charge of assaulting a public safety officer.

The Penumbra Kelly Building is owned by the city and is used by city and county employees.