Portland Police Arrest 14 During Clashes with Protesters

Police in Portland have arrested 14 people during an overnight clash with protesters, as rallies against racial inequality and police brutality continue unabated in the US city.

Police announced on Sunday that the 14 people arrested had been booked into jail on charges of rioting, disorderly conduct and resisting apprehension.

Security officials said they declared a riot just before midnight after a group of about 250 people, many of them wearing black and carrying shields, helmets and gas masks, had tried to march on a government building that has often been the scene of violence during nearly three months of nightly protests.

The police department said in a statement that crowd control munitions had been used to disperse the protesters in Portland.

Violent demonstrations have been taking place in Oregon's largest city for more than two months following the brutal murder of unarmed African American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May.

The 46-year-old died after a white officer knelt on his neck and pinned him to the ground for nine minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.

Floyd's death unleashed protests against police brutality and racial justice in the US, with many world countries also rejuvenating the Black Lives Matter movement.

Portland police said this week that they have declared a riot at least 18 times since May 29.

US President Donald Trump ordered in July for the deployment of federal forces to deal with the protests in the city. He denounced the demonstrations as “crazy” and said only cities run by Democrats had descended into chaos.

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